Twenty-two years ago, along with harmonica-playing and singing brother Michael, Andreas Arlt formed B.B. & The Blues Shacks, one of Europe's most successful, internationally touring blues bands. 2011 saw them perform at such prestigious festivals as the Byron Bay Bluesfest near Brisbane, Australia, the Doheny Blues Festival in the Los Angeles area, and the Dubai Jazz Festival in the Arabian desert.

With their CrossCut album releases, 'Unique Taste' (2008), and 'London Days' (2010), the B.B.s have established themselves as a leading force in melting blues and soul. For life-long fans of the band, there's not enough guitar on their recent albums. Now, with 'All-Time Favorites', his first solo project, Andreas is fulfilling his friend's demands for a traditional style of guitar playing. Furthermore, this solo album is allowing Andreas to introduce the music that originally inspired him to a larger audience, as blues remains a “… musical genre that still is without a lobby in mainstream culture.“
Early on, the Arlt brothers developed an interest in the blues. Andreas: “After I had studied the music of my heroes like Ronnie Earl, Anson Funderburgh, Jimmy Vaughan, or Junior Watson and Alex Schultz night after night, it occurred to me that these guys must have learned from somebody, somewhere. Thus I dug deeper and deeper into the blues, and I came across names like Lockwood, Tucker, Buddy Guy, the three Kings, and many swing and jump blues guitar players.“

'All-Time Favorites' neither delivers extensive guitar orgies, nor over-length soloing. Andreas is backed by a stellar group of players, and the album was recorded with a line-up similar to the band formats that originators like Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, or Pee Wee Crayton used as early as in the late 1940s. 'All-Time Favorites' will be taking you on a moving, intoxicating, and fascinating musical journey through the world of blues, and r&b. You will hear tips to big names in blues history; but you will also discover material from rather unknown or even obscure recordings and guitar players that were long forgotten. The recordings, arranged by Andreas Arlt, and Tom Müller (horns), come with a contemporary, powerful and pleasant mix, and sound. Jazz and blues guitarist, Dave Specter from Chicago, has written the liner notes, and in the 16-page booklet Andreas is giving his personal comments to each and every track.

After working as a professional blues guitar player for more than twenty years, 'All-Time Favorites' represents Andreas Arlt's masterwork, “… an appreciation of (his) personal heroes, freshly packaged.“ Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.