We know we just spotlighted a cover of Robert Petway’s blues classic “Catfish Blues” and had every intention of going a different direction with this week’s featured single, but then this happened… New West Records this week released another couple of singles from their upcoming box set Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues, and we just had to bring you this one right away: a terrific, previously unreleased 2004 live track of “Catfish Blues” from a then-rising 20-year-old blues artist named Gary Clark Jr. that exemplifies the raw sound that first drew us to Clark’s music. Joined here by James Bullard on bass and Jay Moeller on drums, Clark’s smoking playing on guitar and youthful yet confident vocals as demanded by the song make this another “Catfish” you’re going to want to keep!
If you’re looking to hear more of what’s currently available from the Antone’s box set, here’s a link to the Los Lobos cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Three Hundred Pounds of Joy” that appears as a bonus 45 on the box set and was also released this week, and here’s our earlier post on Doyle Bramhall II‘s “Bad Boy”.