Picaninny Jug Band Tappin' That Thing

For something less traditional but no less killing, try Melvin Taylor & The Slack Band’s Bang That Bell. A post-Hendrix exercise in funky-blue wah-wah wailing, this one has more allusions to Prince and the Isley Brothers than Muddy and the Wolf. In the course of a single tune (“Another Bad Day”) he can blend jazzy, Wes Montgomery-styled octaves with over-the-top wah-wah work and metalesque speed picking. But in spite of all the virtuosic six-string technique, Taylor can also get up into some nasty real-deal shuffles and earthy funk, as he proves so convincingly on “It’s Later than You Think,” which features some brilliant harmonica playing by Sugar Blue, and on a super-funky updating of the Earl King classic “Trick Bag.” And he digs into a slow blues, “A Quitter Never Wins,” with fangs bared. The closer, “Even Trolls Love Rock & Roll,” is a wild fretboard scorcher featuring guest guitar slinger Eric Gales. A tremendous guitarist and soulful singer, Taylor is a major versatile talent on the crossover blues-rock circuit that includes the likes of Robert Cray, Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

JSP's Shake That Thing: East Coast Blues compiles four CD's of performances by country blues pickers Gabriel Brown, Dan Pickett, and Ralph Willis. It's hard to go wrong with these 105 obscure recordings cut between 1935 and 1953. The tracks have been remastered, making the majority of this material sound great. Unlike other packages of this type, the liner notes are informative; listing personnel, dates, and concise history without going on ad nauseam. As an extra bonus this is a budget-priced set making it highly recommended, for both the collector and the blues novice

Willie Bobo's first record for Tico is arranged around his previous double-sided single, "Bobo! Do That Thing" b/w "Guajira." The former, which leads off the set, is a sub-Ray Charles shing-a-ling number, with frequent calls for Bobo to get to it. "Guajira" is much better, Bobo's first minor-key Latin processional (many were to come), with great ensemble brass and reeds leading the way. "Azulito" is a racing stomp, while "Grab Your Hat" and "Chickadee" are nice piano-led numbers…