The Blues Is Alive and Why You Should Care
A review of ALLIGATOR RECORDS 30TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
Review by Garrett Peck
Blues is perhaps the most important and certainly the most inspirational genre of modern music. Most of today’s popular music forms are direct descendants of the blues. Rhythm and blues might be considered its legitimate child, where rock and roll is its bastard son. Even jazz, the only truly indigenous American music, traces its origins back to the blues. Blues also plays well with other forms, mixing quite comfortably with rock, R&B, jazz and country. Many television commercials employ blues tunes, such as those for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, blue painter’s tape and Axe’s new Clix fragrance. Yet strangely, surprisingly few people listen to the blues in its purest form. One of the reasons for this is doubtless because there are very few blues radio stations across the country and most people tend to buy music they’ve heard. The advent of satellite radio has now made it possible for more people to investigate the blues, as companies such as Sirius and Music Choice offer blues stations. Unless you have a satellite radio service, however, the only other blues you are likely to hear is on the aforementioned commercials or on rock radio, where a few blues artists like George Thorogood and Stevie Ray Vaughn managed to break through, which means you’ll find their records in the rock section of record stores, rather than the blues section where they belong. But another terrific way to introduce yourself to the power of the blues is through ALLIGATOR RECORDS 30TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION.
As its progeny began to dominate airwaves and the public conscience, both traditional acoustic and electric blues faded from notice. In stepped Bruce Inglauer, who used a small inheritance to produce an album by a raw and raucous three-piece group called Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers. This was the inaugural album from Alligator Records, which dedicated itself to seeing that blues would continue to grow and evolve into the 1970s and beyond. Thirty years later, Alligator Records is now the most powerful and influential record label in the genre. In celebration of its accomplishments and longevity, Alligator released this two-disc collection featuring some of the best songs from the many artists it has recorded, with a special emphasis on the past five years. Disc one covers studio recordings, while disc two is exclusively live recordings. Best of all, the company priced this set the same as a single disc, offering customers twice the music for their money.
Disc one, “in the studio,” starts off asking Shemekia Copeland to “Turn the Heat Up” to set the stage for the songs to follow. Michael Burns sings how about how he’s “Got a Way With Women,” then Marcia Ball proves she’s a woman who has a way with the blues in “Louella.” Junior Wells warns us to “Keep Your Hands Out of My Pockets,” and Coca Montoya agrees “Enough is Enough.” Robert Cray & Albert Collins suspect “She’s Into Something,” while Corey Harris & Henry Butler let you know what will happen “If You Let a Man Kick You Once.” William Clarke is “Broke and Hungry,” but Koko Taylor is thirsty and asks somebody to “Bring Me Some Water.” Corey Bell thinks she’s a “Hard Working Woman.” Rusty Zinn feels “The Chill” about Corey Harris’ “Basehead,” for whom The Kinsey Report believes “Time Is Running Out.” Cephas & Wiggins worry about “Mamie,” while The Holmes Brothers are more concerned about the “Homeless Child” and Davy Hole laments “Jenny Lee.” Johnny Winter promises it will be “My Time After a While,” while Philip Walker & Lonnie Brooks celebrate the “Boogie Rambler.”
Disc two, “on the stage,” presents the live recordings. Mediocre musicians can be made to sound better than they really are in a studio, so live performances are the real test. Lonnie Brooks champions the “Two Headed Man,” while Luther Allison prefers the “Soul Fishin’ Man.” C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band serve up some “Jambalaya (On the Bayou),” but it might have given Albert Collins & The Icebreakers the “Dyin’ Flu.” James Cotton knows that “When It Rains It Pours,” and Elvin Bishop hopes it will “Slow Down.” Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women say “You Can Have My Husband,” but Little Charlie & The Nighcats say “I’ll Take You Back” and Delbert McClinton is less sure, saying “Maybe Someday Baby.” Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials serve up “Chicken, Gravy and Biscuits” to Son Seals & Elvin Bishop’s “Sadie,” and Lonnie Mack wishes they’d just “Stop,” but Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers think “It’s Alright.” They get a chance to prove it on a bonus CD-ROM video track of them performing “Taylor’s Rock.”
In addition to the 26 songs (27 if you include the video track), the collection also includes a substantial booklet that provides the history of Alligator Records and detailed biographies of all the contributors and plenty of photographs. Not only does this package provide an excellent overview of Alligator Records catalogue and the state of the blues today, it provides a wealth of material for an extremely reasonable price. This is a good bet on Alligator’s part, as first time listeners are bound to discover many great artists they were previously unfamiliar with and are likely to want to buy albums by their favorites. So if you want to educate yourself on the length and breadth of what blues has to offer—from hard-rocking electric tunes to moody acoustic numbers—ALLIGATOR RECORDS 30TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION is a great and affordable way to get started.
Alligator Records online catalogue is found at http://www.alligator.com/. 
