Various Artists
50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music
Alligator Records |
Has it really been 50 years???!!! Happy Birthday,
Alligator Records! You've aged very well, sounding
newer and more refreshed every year as the sound of
your recordings has changed over the years.
It all started when Bruce Iglauer, self-described as
a longhaired, bearded "hippy," decided that he just
needed to record his favorite Chicago band, Hound
Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. Alligator Records was
born in 1971 and has survived an ever-changing business
environment to release somewhere around 350 albums.
This rich 50-year history is now highlighted on
Alligator Records 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin'
Music, an overwhelming collection of music that
just skims the surface of the label's rich treasure
trove of blues and its related forms of
music. Some of the biggest names in blues history
can be found in the Alligator archives, but it's
also the lesser-known artists and rising stars that
continue to make Alligator the king of the castle
when it comes to blues labels.
Normally, in reviewing an album for this site I
would write about most if not all of the songs,
which ones I prefer and why. I'm going to mention a
few of my personal favorites, but, really, the list
of artists and their songs included in this
collection tell it all.
It's only appropriate that this collection starts
off with a classic from the band that inspired the
birth of Alligator, with "Give Me Back My Wig" by
Hound Dog Tyalor & The HouseRockers laying the
foundation for what's to follow. Disc One continues
with many of the early Chicago-based stars, such as
Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Son
Seals, Luther Allison, Lonnie Brooks, and more. But
Disc One also includes artists that showed Iglauer's
willingness to break out of the Chicago blues
confines, with contributions from Saffire-The Uppity
Blues Women, William Clarke, Johnny Winter, Roy
Buchanan, and The Paladins.
Perhaps the most notable selection on this first
disc is Professor Longhair's "It's My Fault,
Darling," from the Crawfish Fiesta album that
came out right around the time of the influential
New Orleans piano player's death in 1980. It's one
of the albums that I would absolutely need to have
on a desert island with me. I will be forever
grateful to Iglauer and whomever else was
responsible for recording and releasing it.
Disc Two shows the continuing diversity of artists
appearing on Alligator releases. Chicago-style blues
is still represented by artists like Carey Bell,
Billy Boy Arnold, Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin, and
The Kinsey Report. We also hear a wide diversity of
styles from Mavis Staples (gospel), C.J. Chenier &
The Red Hot Louisiana Band (zydeco), Cephas &
Wiggins (Piedmont blues), Long John Hunter (Texas
blues), as well as incorporating a newer generation of
performers like Michael Burks, Joe Louis Walker, Kenny Neal, Michael
Hill's Blues Mob, Little Charlie & The Nightcats,
Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King, Eric Lindell, and more.
The Holmes Brothers, one of my all-time favorite
groups, had moved to Alligator after releasing
earlier albums on Rounder. Every recording from
this wonderful trio of musicians should be
cherished, with their "Run Myself Out Of Town"
included here. I still can't get enough of the blues
from both the late Michael Burks and Michael Hill's
Blues Mob, so I'm again grateful for Alligator for
getting these cats recorded.
Disc Three starts with numbers from Marcia Ball, who
has never made a recording that's less than
fantastic, and Alligator stalwarts Lil' Ed & The
Blues Imperials. Most significant on Disk Three (for
me, at least) are the cuts from some of my current favorite
blues artists, especially newer names like Christone
"Kingfish" Ingram, Selwyn Birchwood, Shemekia
Copeland, and Toronzo Cannon, plus veterans Chris
Cain, Roomful of Blues, and Curtis Salgado, all who
shifted to Alligator later in their career.
Unless you already have every single Alligator album
in your collection, you will want to own
Alligator Records 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin'
Music. You will probably want a copy anyway for
the liner notes and artist bios. I'm including the
complete artist and song list here just to further
tempt you. It's one of the most significant blues
collections to come out in many years.
--- Bill Mitchell
DISC ONE
1. Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers
Give Me Back My Wig (3:31)
2. Koko Taylor
I’m A Woman (4:36)
3. Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell
Have Mercy (3:45)
4. Fenton Robinson
Somebody Loan Me A Dime (2:54)
5. Professor Longhair
It’s My Fault, Darling (4:54)
6. Son Seals
Telephone Angel (5:25)
7. Johnny Winter
Lights Out (2:35)
8. Albert Collins
Blue Monday Hangover (5:35)
9. James Cotton
Little Car Blues (3:32)
10. Albert Collins, Robert Cray & Johnny Copeland
The Dream (5:28)
11. William Clarke Pawnshop Bound (4:22)
12. Lonnie Mack
Riding the Blinds (Live) (4:12)
13. Lonnie Brooks
Cold Lonely Nights (Live) (5:33)
14. Luther Allison
Soul Fixin’ Man (Live) (4:03)
15. Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown
Got My Mojo Working (4:45)
16. Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women
Sloppy Drunk (3:06)
17. Roy Buchanan
That Did It (5:07)
18. The Paladins
Keep On Lovin’ Me, Baby (4:02)
DISC TWO
1. Michael Burks
Love Disease (3:20)
2. Kenny Neal
I’m A Blues Man (4:11)
3. The Holmes Brothers Run Myself Out Of Town (3:26)
4. Little Charlie & The Nightcats
Jump Start (2:54)
5. Katie Webster
I’m Still Leaving You (3:36)
6. Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King
Don’t Lose My Number (3:32)
7. The Kinsey Report
Corner Of The Blanket (3:34)
8. Carey Bell
I Got A Rich Man’s Woman (4:43)
9. C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band
Au Contraire, Mon Frere (3:39)
10. Mavis Staples
There’s A Devil On The Loose (3:34)
11. Michael Hill’s Blues Mob
Presumed Innocent (4:37)
12. Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin
Not What You Said Last Night (2:49)
13. Billy Boy Arnold
Man Of Considerable Taste (4:31)
14. Cephas & Wiggins
Ain’t Seen My Baby (3:23)
15. Long John Hunter
Marfa Lights (4:53)
16. Dave Hole
Phone Line (3:42)
17. Eric Lindell
Josephine (2:45)
18. Joe Louis Walker
I Won’t Do That (5:01)
19. Janiva Magness
That’s What Love Will Make You Do (3:22)
20. The Siegel-Schwall Band
Going Back To Alabama (3:40)
21. Corey Harris & Henry Butler
Why Don’t You Live So God Can Use You? (2:11)
DISC
THREE
1. Marcia Ball
Party Town (4:16)
2. Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials
What You See Is What You Get (4:21)
3. Roomful Of Blues
In A Roomful Of Blues (3:31)
4. Billy Branch & The Sons Of Blues
Blue and Lonesome (4:11)
5. Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Outside Of This Town (4:08)
6. Shemekia Copeland
Clotilda’s On Fire (4:26)
7. Curtis Salgado
The Longer That I Live (3:51)
8. Selwyn Birchwood
Living In A Burning House (4:08)
9. Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite
Midnight Hour Blues (4:14)
10. The Cash Box Kings
Ain’t No Fun (When The Rabbit’s Got The Gun) (4:42)
11. Tommy Castro & The Painkillers Make It Back To
Memphis (Live) (4:55)
12. JJ Grey & Mofro
A Woman (Live) (3:24)
13. Rick Estrin & The Nightcats I’m Running (4:06)
14. Coco Montoya
You Didn’t Think About That (3:56)
15. Tinsley Ellis
Ice Cream In Hell (4:13)
16. Chris Cain
You Won’t Have A Problem When I’m Gone (3:08)
17. Guitar Shorty
Too Late (4:14)
18. The Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling
The High Cost of Low Living (4:04)
19. Toronzo Cannon
The Chicago Way (4:22)