Chicago blues fans, young and old, veterans and newcomers, will want to grab Chicago Blues: A Living History (Raisin’ Music), a superlative two-disc set of vintage tunes, ranging from 1940 to the ’90s, presented by a stellar cast of current Chicago blues artists, including Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch, and Lurrie Bell. The set, produced by Larry Skoller, serves as a loving tribute to this music and its pioneers by their contemporaries.

Wisely, the album foregoes the familiar Chicago standards for the most part, so fans won’t be as familiar with most of these tracks. The songs are represented as faithfully as possible with only a few modern flourishes here and there, but sound as fresh and new as if they were recent compositions, thanks to the inspired performances.

The 21 songs are distributed pretty evenly, with Arnold taking on his hero Sonny Boy Williamson I’s “My Little Machine,” Tampa Red’s “She’s Love Crazy,” Big Bill Broonzy’s “Night Watchman’s Blues,” Memphis Slim’s “Memphis Slim U.S.A.,” and his own “I Wish You Would.” Primer does a couple of songs associated with his mentor, Muddy Waters (“Feel Like Going Home” and “Sugar Sweet”), along with Howlin’ Wolf’s “Moanin’ at Midnight,” Jimmy Reed’s “Can’t Stand To See You Go,” and Sonny Boy Williamson II’s “Your Imagination.”

Branch handles Little Walter’s “Hate To See You Go,” and offers funky versions of Junior Wells’ “Hoodoo Man Blues,” and Muddy Waters’ “One More Mile,” and backs Primer on harmonica for “Sugar Sweet.” Bell does a fiery version of Elmore James’ “I Believe,” and his vocal on Otis Rush’s “My Love Will Never Die” will raise chill bumps. Singer Mike Avery does a fine job covering his cousin Magic Sam’s “Out of Bad Luck,” and B.B. King’s “Three O’clock Blues.”

The only quibbles on the set are the two closing tracks. John Lee Hooker’s connection to Chicago is somewhat tenuous (though he did record for Chess and VeeJay) and “The Healer,” sung by guitarist Carlos Johnson, is a fine effort, but maybe a song from his earlier catalog might have been more appropriate. Ditto the Buddy Guy selection (“Damn Right I Got The Blues,” well-presented by Lurrie Bell).

Piano man Johnny Iguana is one of the unsung stars of this set. He does an excellent job on piano and keyboards, and gets the spotlight to himself on Big Maceo’s “Chicago Breakdown.” The other unsung star is guitarist Billy Flynn, who does a great job on tracks like “She’s Love Crazy,” and is featured on the incredible Earl Hooker instrumental, “Hooking It.” The rhythm section (Felton Crews on bass and Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith on drums) along with harmonica player Matthew Skoller (brother to producer Larry Skoller) are top-of-the-line.

It’s somewhat disturbing to think that of the artists here, supposedly representing the contemporary Chicago blues scene, well over half of them are in their 50s, with Primer and Arnold in their 60s and 70s, respectively. Hopefully, there will be some younger guns emerging from the shadows in the near future.

Despite that sobering thought, blues fans should love Chicago Blues: A Living History. It will lead younger fans to seek out the original classic versions and even seasoned vets will want to play this one over and over. This is a fabulous set of songs with dynamite performances.