John Lee Hooker used to say "the blues is a feeling," but this collection is proof that it's also a universal language. These 11 songs by musicians from South and North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa are a thoroughly enjoyable summation of the genre's ability to cut through cultural barriers to touch the heart. "Slide Blues" by Argentina's Botafogo could be a Delta relic if not for its Spanish lyrics. And singer Big Mama with harp man Victor Uris beautifully blur the lines between Catalonia and Chicago. The great pianist Otis Spann and the trio of Eric Bibb, Rory Block, and Maria Muldaur provide two straight-up shots of the style. The best tunes are outright cross-cultural collaborations.

Bonnie Raitt and Mali's Habibe Koité take the music to its deepest roots thanks to Koité's graceful kora-like acoustic guitar on "Back Around." The Unseen Guest, an Irish-Indian duo, bring microtonality to a blend of guitar, banjo, mandolin, and tabla in "Listen My Son." And Taj Mahal with the Culture Music Club of Zanzibar turn the standard "Catfish Blues" into a midnight howl that echoes from the Gulf of Mexico to the coast of the Indian Ocean. Mahal's guitar, a squeeze box, and a clutch of African stringed instruments pass rhythmic phrases and bursts of melody back and fourth until their musical points of origin are as delightfully blurry as a moonshine-fueled night in a Mississippi juke joint--or a dance hall in Zanzibar's Stone Town. --Ted Drozdowski