Name another group that's held together as long as The Dells, another band that has for the most part maintained its lineup throughout a nearly 50-year career, another act that has logged hit singles in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, and stayed true to its musical roots long enough to continue recording slick, soulful R&B into the 2000s. Aside from possibly the Isley Brothers, The Dells stand as the shining example of the power of cohesion in a vocal group, and the band's unity is in full effect on their 2000 recording, Reminiscing, on the Fantasy label Volt.

The album is all new material -- aside from a short revisiting of their 1971 hit, "The Love We Had (Stays on My Mind)," which opens the album -- and fans will find that the original vocal magic is still there, anchored by Marvin Junior's husky baritone and buoyed by Johnny Carter's falsetto and the shimmering backups of Mickey McGill, Verne Allison, and Chuck Barksdale.

A handful of tracks in particular stand out, including "Here 4 U," which has a layered, lush sound and a timeless hook; "The Whole Truth," a fresh piece of contemporary doo-wop; and "Baby Come Back," coming across like a lost cut from the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's sly 1997 blaxploitation ode, "Jackie Brown." The album is also a bit of a look back for The Dells, as many songs spotlight the glory of their past and how well the group has stuck to its beginnings and come out the better for it so many years later.

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Driftin' Slim's roster of pseudonyms is extensive even for a bluesman. He performed and recorded as Model T Slim, Driftin' Smith, Harmonica Harry, as well as under his given name, Elmon Mickle. And any additional confusion about his band might be forgiven, because on 10 of the 15 cuts featured on Somebody Hoo-Doo'd The Hoo-Doo Man, on the Original Blues Classics label, Driftin' Slim is the band: vocals, harmonica, guitar, and drums.

Slim often performed this way, a harmonica strapped around his head, a guitar in hand, a bass drum at one foot and a hi-hat at the other. And while the tracks on this release that do feature the band (Jack Wall on guitar, Ike Parker on bass, and Guy Jones on drums) are outstanding and allow Slim to stretch a bit more on the harp and vocally -- such as "Give an Account" and "Christine Blues" -- it's the solo recordings, for which Slim mans all the instrumentation, that really break the blues down into its most elemental components.

Part of what makes the solo songs so compelling is the power of Slim's storytelling. On songs like the Biblical blues narrative of "Jonah" and the hardscrabble "This World Is None Of My Home," Slim adds yet another job title to his impressive solo material, that of blues bard. And check out "Mama Blues," on which Slim makes his harmonica literally speak. It's an uncanny bit of simple virtuosity.

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R&B entrepreneur Rufus Thomas was not only the father of Carla Thomas, he was the godfather of the Memphis funk that helped put Stax Records on the musical map. There's no better sampling of Thomas' singular thick and nasty grooves than Funkiest Man Alive: The Stax Funk Sessions 1967-1975, a double-barrel 2003 Stax compilation which proves that Papa Rufus really was the funkiest man alive.

Thomas was famous for simple, repetitive dance tunes, and the seven on this set include every single one except for his famous fried "Funky Chicken." But those songs were for the pop charts -- the real funk action is in these other tunes. The rocking horse simplicity of "Give Me The Green Light Baby" and the bountiful "Funky Hot Grits" set your head bob on automatic, while rhythm guitar and bass scrape "Funky Mississippi" into a gritty blues about Thomas' backwater hometown, whose good folks still get funky just the same.

New tracks include "I'm Getting Better," Thomas' reflection on a life lived in love with music, and an update of his 1967 single "Memphis Train '75" that chugs with all the rhythmic power of a funk locomotive while Rufus delivers one of his most playful and versatile vocals on this entire collection.

Thomas' hearty Stax catalog includes Stax Profiles (2006); the inflammatory Rufus Thomas Live! (1994), recorded at a small Hollywood club in 1970; and the newly refurbished Do The Funky Chicken in the Stax Remasters series (2011).

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For more than four decades, Duke Robillard has been a jack of all trades guitarist, shifting effortlessly among a variety of styles, including blues, jazz, swing, rockabilly and more. In between assembling Roomful of Blues in the late-'60s and staying with the group through the '70s, then joining the Fabulous Thunderbirds in the 1990s, he has maintained a prolific and eclectic solo career along the way. Among his more notable efforts is Turn It Around, a 1990 recording on Rounder that mixes barrelhouse blues with shades of rock and pop.

He gets assistance from a hand-picked crew known simply as The Duke Robillard Band -- organist Malcolm Walsh, bassist Scott Appelrouth, drummer Doug Hinman and several backing vocalists -- along with guest vocalist Susan Forrest.

From the opening riff of the swampy "Down By the Delta," Robillard stakes out his territory with crunchy riffs and his own churning vocals. Forrest's style alternates between silky and raw as the occasion demands, and she adds an interesting dimension to the set overall. Noteworthy tracks include the lusty "Passionate Kiss" and the percussive "Just A Human." The title track, written and sung by Forrest, veers a little bit toward country, but not so much that it's inconsistent with the rest of the material. "Shoulda Coulda Woulda" is balls-out vintage rock and roll, while "Sweets For My Sweet" plays like simple but infectious '60s pop. His take on Buddy Holly's "Tell Me How" is true to the spirit of the Crickets' yet fresh enough for an entirely new era.

If you're a fan of blues and roots from any era, Robillard has your territory covered on this one.

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