The Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Collection

 

This 20th Anniversary, 2-CD set was released over 30 years ago (!) in 1991 (!!) and gives a good overview of this blues-based record label that began in the 70's in a small apartment due to Bruce Inglauer's obsession with Hound Dog Taylor and became a Grammy-winning label a couple of decades later!

Hound Dog starts things off, appropriately enough, with his "Give Me Back My Wig" - trashy guitars, poundin' drums and Taylor's wacky sense of humor all on full display! From there, it ranges from the (formerly and sometimes futurely) famous blues acts to brand new, previously unheard-of folks. James Cotton, Albert Collins, Professor Longhair (showing off his whistlin' prowess!), Koko Taylor (still in fine voice on a slow-burnin' blues with moody organ and excellent guitar work), Elvin Bishop, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Roy Buchanan (excellent, of course), Charlie Musselwhite (great!), Big Walter Horton, Clifton Chenier, Johnny Winter and a host of others share the set with folks that I had never known like Tinsley Ellis, Lucky Peterson, Kenny Neal and plenty more in between! (Like the Siegel-Schwall Band, that I've dug since seeing them on public TV in the 70's!)

Recorded in the 70's and 80's, much of this does not have the dirty grit that I love from much of my fave blues from the 50's and before, but regardless, the performances are strong and the playing is pretty top-notch. Not every tune is a winner, natch, and it sounds better with a bit of volume (I initially tried listening to this at work quietly enough not to disturb my office-mate, which is NOT recommended), and while this collection won't replace my earlier blues sets for repeated listenings, its still totally worthwhile and Inglauer certainly did a service by keeping the blues and these artists alive and in the public eye!