In my (admittedly very personal) experience, the blues can require a different approach.
I grew up in a musical and academic family, and was therefore brought up with a backdrop of orchestral standards, with all of the harmonic complexity, melodic exposition, and cerebral theory to go along with them. From there I discovered jazz, and delved into the many phases of jazz, each with its own sophistication and rich harmonic and rhythmic palettes, but also with an extra dose of that intangible "feel" that begins to dawn on all of us as we mature as musicians. Parallel to this journey was my immersion in the Classic Rock radio of the day, and later Punk and New Wave, all of which brought a very definite energy and enthusiasm to bear, and often with clever or unique arrangements, melodies, and sometimes rhythms.
Later I learned of the history and cultural evolution of these genres, and discovered that both jazz and rock can trace their roots back to early blues. And while I understand that cognitively, it turns out that whenever I try to embrace the blues as a musical form in its own right, it feels - simplistic. To borrow a literary analogy, it's like I jumped into the story halfway through, when the characters were already developing, and the arc of the storyline was already well underway. From that vantage, it can be anticlimactic to then turn to the beginning of the book, where things are basic and nearly skeletal. To be honest, in comparison to all of those other genres that I've loved for decades, the blues feels simplistic and childish.
And that's when I have to remind myself that the blues, as an artistic expression, is less about musical sophistication or complexity, and much more about the unveiling of the more somber and sorrowful side of human existence itself.
In other words, you might have to consciously adopt a different mindset when exploring the world of blues.
Good luck, and have fun!
