Some interesting and uncommon tracks
The Turtle | Weverton, MD USA | 03/09/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Like most LaserLight releases, this one is a little light on the liner notes and leaves a couple of things out, but the quality of the recordings is quite good. The collection -- a good one if you want to introduce a friend to early Chicago blues -- ranges from a down-home, wide-open version of "Rollin' And Tumblin'" recorded by Little Walter, Muddy Waters and Baby Face LeRoy for Parkway in 1950, through a great track of Sleep John Estes doing "Drop Down Mama" in a 1962 comeback session. The only thing that doesn't fit all that well is the inclusion of some tracks by Memphis Slim -- they're almost TOO slick. They're worth listening to for their own sake, and for the appearance of a very young Matt "Guitar" Murphy -- he was 22 or 23 at the time. All in all, a solid disc and definitely worth passing on to anyone just getting started with Chicago blues."