I saw Seasick Steve live at the Green Man festival and also once live on his own. He has a nice sound - he does that kind of "one-bar-blues" thing, and it's properly ramshackle and crude and doesn't sound complacent like boring mainstream contemporary so-called bluesmen. But he gets a bit of an easy ride from critics and doesn't push himself. Too self-indulgent – loads of his songs go on too long. He does have something though, and if he upped his game a bit he could probably make a great album... maybe if he worked with some challenging sidemen or something. I'd recommend pretty much anything on the Fat Possum label over a Seasick Steve album – but then again, rather Steve than any of those boring bluesmen like Corey Harris or Alvin Youngblood Hart or Keb Mo or Otis Taylor. I'd rather hear Steve on Jools than the majority of the turgid, uncritical careerists Holland regularly champions.

"listen to a few CDs from Mudcatters, esp. that Max. That kid is The Blues personified"

Sounds intriguing. Who is Max?

And hey, don't knock Ramblin Jack Elliott: his last album is really surprisingly good. Like Johnny Cash, age seems to do his music a lifetime's worth of good.

Here are my recommendations for recent, contemporary blues:

Duke Garwood
www.myspace.com/dukegarwood
Mr O'Muck
www.myspace.com/mromuck
Serious Sam Barrett
www.myspace.com/sambarrett
Boycott Coca Cola Experience
www.myspace.com/bcce
The Fuji
www.gramophone-records.co.uk