Release Date: July 15, 1997.
Releases: 2007 (Boxsets).
Recording Time: 83 minutes.
Release Info: Studio Recording.
Styles: Chicago Blues, Delta Blues, Modern Electric Blues, Regional Blues, Texas Blues, Electric Chicago Blues, Electric Harmonica Blues, Modern Electric Chicago Blues, Modern Electric Texas Blues, Soul Blues.
This is far from an ultimate blues collection: of the 22 selections on this two-CD set, only two -- "Messin' with the Kid" by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, and "Deep Freeze" by Albert Collins -- are definitive. You do get solid tracks from Charlie Musselwhite, Luther Allison, Buddy Guy as a leader, and Sunnyland Slim with an unidentified all-star band. Lesser-known but excellent contemporary bluesmen like Paul deLay, Roy Gaines, Billy Boy Arnold (with Tony McPhee, British blues-rock guitarist of the Groundhogs), and Greg "Fingers" Taylor with Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets add some interest. But if you are looking for a definitive collection, this falls way short and is not one to pay a high price for. - Review by Michael G. Nastos.
Credits: The Aces - performer, primary artist; Luther Allison - performer, primary artist; Billy Boy Arnold - performer, primary artist; Blues Burglars - performer, primary artist; Buddy Reed & The Th'rip It Ups - primary artist; Chicago Blues Meeting - performer, primary artist; The Chicago Blues Summit - primary artist; Albert Collins - composer, performer, primary artist; The Crusaders - performer; Paul deLay Band - performer, primary artist; Clarence Edwards - performer, primary artist; Sleepy John Estes - composer; Jane Feather - composer; Ferrante & Teicher - composer; Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets - performer, primary artist; Roy Gaines - composer, performer; Roy Gaines & The Crusaders - primary artist; Buddy Guy - performer, primary artist; Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks - performer, primary artist; Earl Hooker - composer, performer, primary artist; Eddie Jones - composer; Joe Josea - composer; Troyce Key - composer, performer, primary artist; King Biscuit Boy - performer, primary artist; B.B. King - composer; Paul Lamb - composer; Peter Lamb - performer, primary artist; Peter Lamb & The Blues Burglars - primary artist; Jerry Leiber - composer; John Lennon - composer; Robert Lockwood, Jr. - composer; Mel London - composer; J.J. Malone - composer, performer, primary artist; Paul McCartney - composer; Tony McPhee - primary artist; Tony McPhee Band - performer, primary artist; Charlie Musselwhite - performer, primary artist; Hammie Nixon - composer; Robert Petway - composer; Buddy Reed - composer, performer, primary artist; Th'Rip It Ups - performer, primary artist; The Ronny Hawkins Band - primary artist; Isaac Scott - performer, primary artist; Byther Smith - composer, performer, primary artist; Mike Stoller - composer; Sunnyland Slim - performer, primary artist; Jules Taub - composer; Greg "Fingers" Taylor - composer, performer, primary artist; Lou Teicher - composer; Troyce Key & J.J Malone - primary artist; Ike Turner - composer, performer, primary artist; Mercy Dee Walton - composer; Muddy Waters - composer; Johnny "Guitar" Watson - performer, primary artist; L.P. Weaver - composer; Junior Wells - composer, performer, primary artist; Johnny Whitehill - composer.
Tracks, Disc 1: 1) How Blue Can You Get? - Albert Collins; 2) Messin' with the Kid - Buddy Guy / Junior Wells; 3) Trouble No More - Charlie Musselwhite; 4) Rialto Rock - Buddy Reed / Buddy Reed & The Th'rip It Ups / Th'Rip It Ups; 5) Neighbour Neighbour - The Ronny Hawkins Band / King Biscuit Boy / Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks; 6) Ho Ho - Ike Turner; 7) You Upset Me Baby - Luther Allison; 8) Take a Little Walk with Me - The Aces; 9) Rocky Mountains - Clarence Edwards; 10) New Car - Troyce Key & J.J Malone; 11) Help! - Isaac Scott.
Tracks, Disc 2: 1) Deep Freeze - Albert Collins; 2) You Sure Can't Do - Buddy Guy; 3) One Room Country Shack - Johnny "Guitar" Watson; 4) The Foxtrot - Earl Hooker; 5) I Don't Like to Travel - Byther Smith; 6) Hell of a Night - Roy Gaines & The Crusaders; 7) Harpoon Man - Paul deLay Band; 8) Catfish - Billy Boy Arnold / Tony McPhee Band / Tony McPhee; 9) Spaced Out - Blues Burglars / Peter Lamb & The Blues Burglars / Peter Lamb; 10) Dixie Diner - Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets / Greg "Fingers" Taylor; 11) Can't Stop - Chicago Blues Meeting / Sunnyland Slim / The Chicago Blues Summit.