Notes

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This album is a decent, but rather unfocused, compilation of outstanding electric blues guitarists from the 1950s and 1960s, including selections from B.B. King, Albert King, Elmore James, John Lee Hooker, Pee Wee Crayton, Guitar Slim, and less discussed masters like Jimmy Nolen (spelled "Jimmy Nolan" here) and Lafayette Thomas. The tracks and artists aren't linked by the same label, the same decade, or anything except outstanding guitar skills. They're not even all rare or uncommon: B.B. King's "Early in the Morning," Elmore James' "Dust My Blues," and Guitar Slim's "The Things That I Used to Do" are all well-known classics that are easy to pick up elsewhere. What might excite blues collectors are some of the lesser-heard items, such as the previously unissued "After Hours," a picked instrumental by Jimmy Nolen, who would become an important sideman to James Brown in the early funk era with his chicken scratch guitar. Perhaps this reflects a bias on the part of the compiler, but (on Nolen's selection and others) this disc generally favors the more cleanly picked and articulated, urbane blues than the looser and more wildly imaginative forms. There are exceptions to that, though, as on Lafayette Thomas' sudden stuttering flight up the strings on "Jumpin' in the Heart of Town," and Ike Turner's previously unissued "Twistin' the Strings." Original dates and labels are not supplied in the track listings — very unusual for Ace — although some are revealed in the liner notes.