In Brief

The final outing by the veteran Mississippi bluesman, who died in 1997 at 73, is more a celebration than a redefinition of the blues. Stellar admirers including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Taj Mahal and Stephen Stills show their respect for the man who helped invent electric blues in frequently inspired performances. What could be a better tribute?

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.

Hear the Music

* Excerpts from these albums and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: http://arstechnica.netblogpro.com/soundclips