Austin, Texas

"Ice Man" or not, Albert was on fire the night of his taping on October 28, 1991. "You just can’t believe how long it took me to get on this show!" he declared, and wasted no time proving why it was long overdue. His performance was a wild ride, and the ACL stage proved too small for his antics, so with his long guitar chord in tow he took off into the audience during his ten-minute-plus finale of "Frosty." He was first and foremost an entertainer, but nonetheless belongs up front in the pantheon of great blues guitarists. He awed at least two generations of young pickers, not the least of whom including Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, who was quoted as saying back in the 60's, "There’s one cat I'm still trying to get across to people…his name is Albert Collins … he’s good … really good."

In this 2003 performance from the Austin City Limits series, New England's Susan Tedeschi demonstrates a range that extends well beyond her blues base. Following the blueprint employed by Bonnie Raitt a few decades earlier, she covers John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" (a signature tune for Raitt), inserting a snippet from the Grateful Dead's "Sugaree." The piano balladry of her "Wrapped in the Arms of Another" could fit just fine on a Raitt album. The set also finds her sampling from the songbooks of Sly Stone ("You Can Make It If You Try"), Bob Dylan ("Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"), and Stevie Wonder ("Love's in Need of Love Today"), in addition to the more straightforward blues of Koko Taylor ("Voodoo Woman"). Though Tedeschi's stinging lead guitar provides the focus, she receives strong support from a band featuring the interplay of electric pianist Jason Crosby (who doubles on violin) and William Green on Hammond B-3 organ. Highlights include a tribute to jam-band inspiration Col. Bruce Hampton on "Hampmotized" and the simmering "Wait for Me," with its echoes of Aretha Franklin.