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Working Man Blues - RSD 2026
Buy in-store on Record Store Day (18/04/2026). This product is an RSD Exclusive title and is not available to pre-order.
Remaining stock available online from:
- US - 03:00 ET (19/04/2026)
- UK - 20:00 BST (20/04/2026)
- EU - 21:00 CEST (20/04/2026)
Some titles will sell out prior to online sale and some will only be available in specific regions. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
âI wanted pure, authentic bluesâ (Al Cook) Al Cook is a legend. It's a label that is often applied to older musicians, but in this case it's true. The man's real name is Alois Koch. Cook, alias Koch, born in 1945, is probably Austria's best-known blues musician. The trained precision engineer was introduced to music through Elvis Presley films in Vienna in the early 1960s. After buying his first concert guitar and making some unsuccessful attempts at being a rock ânâ roll singer, he finally discovered the blues â purely by chance. And he has remained faithful to it ever since. That's the short version of Al Cook's story. The longer version goes like this: Growing up in a working-class neighbourhood in Vienna's LandstraĂe district, young Alois Koch wants to study astronomy, but his parents insist he do an apprenticeship as a precision engineer. The 15-year-old wanted to escape the career path laid out for him â and music seemed like the perfect way to do so. He discovered Elvis Presley and learned to play the guitar, but his first stage performance ended in disaster: at a time when the Beatles were causing a sensation, no one wanted to hear about Elvis anymore. After this experience, Alois Koch withdrew for a while â and during this time discovered the blues of the southern states. He taught himself the most common styles of the genre. With his first record, âWorking Man Bluesâ, the musician, now transformed into âAl Cookâ, attracted attention in 1970. In basement venues such as the legendary âGolden Gate Clubâ and âJazzlandâ, he found an audience that appreciated his work. Al Cook becomes a sought-after musician who masters the slide guitar and all styles of blues. He makes this genre socially acceptable in Austria and is considered the best blues performer in Europe. The self-taught musician makes no concessions to the music industry â he remains true to purist blues, even if this means limited commercial success. His life itself is a blues story; in his songs, he sings about his own difficult struggle in life. For him, blues is the remedy that allows him to endure the difficulties of everyday life. He continues to record CDs in his rustic basement studio. Despite three bypasses, the entertainer and his band keep their loyal audience in high spirits at concerts. In 2017, Al Cook published his memoirs (âNo Room for Johnny B. Goodeâ), and in 2020 he was awarded the Golden Medal of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria. âWorking Man Bluesâ, Al Cook's debut album, celebrated its half-century anniversary in 2025. The Viennese label monkey. took this memorable anniversary as an opportunity to reissue this style-defining record. With the original liner notes by Wolfgang Kos (âĂ3 MusicBoxâ), carefully remastered by Horst Pfaffelmayer (Gold Chamber), approved by Al Cook himself. Limited edition!
$72.02
Working Man Blues - RSD 2026â
$72.02
Working Man Blues - RSD 2026
Buy in-store on Record Store Day (18/04/2026). This product is an RSD Exclusive title and is not available to pre-order.
Remaining stock available online from:
- US - 03:00 ET (19/04/2026)
- UK - 20:00 BST (20/04/2026)
- EU - 21:00 CEST (20/04/2026)
Some titles will sell out prior to online sale and some will only be available in specific regions. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
âI wanted pure, authentic bluesâ (Al Cook) Al Cook is a legend. It's a label that is often applied to older musicians, but in this case it's true. The man's real name is Alois Koch. Cook, alias Koch, born in 1945, is probably Austria's best-known blues musician. The trained precision engineer was introduced to music through Elvis Presley films in Vienna in the early 1960s. After buying his first concert guitar and making some unsuccessful attempts at being a rock ânâ roll singer, he finally discovered the blues â purely by chance. And he has remained faithful to it ever since. That's the short version of Al Cook's story. The longer version goes like this: Growing up in a working-class neighbourhood in Vienna's LandstraĂe district, young Alois Koch wants to study astronomy, but his parents insist he do an apprenticeship as a precision engineer. The 15-year-old wanted to escape the career path laid out for him â and music seemed like the perfect way to do so. He discovered Elvis Presley and learned to play the guitar, but his first stage performance ended in disaster: at a time when the Beatles were causing a sensation, no one wanted to hear about Elvis anymore. After this experience, Alois Koch withdrew for a while â and during this time discovered the blues of the southern states. He taught himself the most common styles of the genre. With his first record, âWorking Man Bluesâ, the musician, now transformed into âAl Cookâ, attracted attention in 1970. In basement venues such as the legendary âGolden Gate Clubâ and âJazzlandâ, he found an audience that appreciated his work. Al Cook becomes a sought-after musician who masters the slide guitar and all styles of blues. He makes this genre socially acceptable in Austria and is considered the best blues performer in Europe. The self-taught musician makes no concessions to the music industry â he remains true to purist blues, even if this means limited commercial success. His life itself is a blues story; in his songs, he sings about his own difficult struggle in life. For him, blues is the remedy that allows him to endure the difficulties of everyday life. He continues to record CDs in his rustic basement studio. Despite three bypasses, the entertainer and his band keep their loyal audience in high spirits at concerts. In 2017, Al Cook published his memoirs (âNo Room for Johnny B. Goodeâ), and in 2020 he was awarded the Golden Medal of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria. âWorking Man Bluesâ, Al Cook's debut album, celebrated its half-century anniversary in 2025. The Viennese label monkey. took this memorable anniversary as an opportunity to reissue this style-defining record. With the original liner notes by Wolfgang Kos (âĂ3 MusicBoxâ), carefully remastered by Horst Pfaffelmayer (Gold Chamber), approved by Al Cook himself. Limited edition!
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Buy in-store on Record Store Day (18/04/2026). This product is an RSD Exclusive title and is not available to pre-order.
Remaining stock available online from:
- US - 03:00 ET (19/04/2026)
- UK - 20:00 BST (20/04/2026)
- EU - 21:00 CEST (20/04/2026)
Some titles will sell out prior to online sale and some will only be available in specific regions. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
âI wanted pure, authentic bluesâ (Al Cook) Al Cook is a legend. It's a label that is often applied to older musicians, but in this case it's true. The man's real name is Alois Koch. Cook, alias Koch, born in 1945, is probably Austria's best-known blues musician. The trained precision engineer was introduced to music through Elvis Presley films in Vienna in the early 1960s. After buying his first concert guitar and making some unsuccessful attempts at being a rock ânâ roll singer, he finally discovered the blues â purely by chance. And he has remained faithful to it ever since. That's the short version of Al Cook's story. The longer version goes like this: Growing up in a working-class neighbourhood in Vienna's LandstraĂe district, young Alois Koch wants to study astronomy, but his parents insist he do an apprenticeship as a precision engineer. The 15-year-old wanted to escape the career path laid out for him â and music seemed like the perfect way to do so. He discovered Elvis Presley and learned to play the guitar, but his first stage performance ended in disaster: at a time when the Beatles were causing a sensation, no one wanted to hear about Elvis anymore. After this experience, Alois Koch withdrew for a while â and during this time discovered the blues of the southern states. He taught himself the most common styles of the genre. With his first record, âWorking Man Bluesâ, the musician, now transformed into âAl Cookâ, attracted attention in 1970. In basement venues such as the legendary âGolden Gate Clubâ and âJazzlandâ, he found an audience that appreciated his work. Al Cook becomes a sought-after musician who masters the slide guitar and all styles of blues. He makes this genre socially acceptable in Austria and is considered the best blues performer in Europe. The self-taught musician makes no concessions to the music industry â he remains true to purist blues, even if this means limited commercial success. His life itself is a blues story; in his songs, he sings about his own difficult struggle in life. For him, blues is the remedy that allows him to endure the difficulties of everyday life. He continues to record CDs in his rustic basement studio. Despite three bypasses, the entertainer and his band keep their loyal audience in high spirits at concerts. In 2017, Al Cook published his memoirs (âNo Room for Johnny B. Goodeâ), and in 2020 he was awarded the Golden Medal of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria. âWorking Man Bluesâ, Al Cook's debut album, celebrated its half-century anniversary in 2025. The Viennese label monkey. took this memorable anniversary as an opportunity to reissue this style-defining record. With the original liner notes by Wolfgang Kos (âĂ3 MusicBoxâ), carefully remastered by Horst Pfaffelmayer (Gold Chamber), approved by Al Cook himself. Limited edition!
