The Unnamables

Doug Sahm once sang, "You just can't live in Texas if you don't have a lot of soul," and, as a proud son of the Lone Star state, he seemed bent on proving that every time he stepped in front of a microphone. Whether he was playing roots rock, garage punk, blues, country, norteño, or (as was often the case) something that mixed up several of the above-mentioned ingredients, Doug Sahm always sounded like Doug Sahm – a little wild, a little loose, but always good company, and a guy with a whole lot of soul who knew a lot of musicians upon whom the same praise could be bestowed. Pulling together a single disc compilation that would make sense of the length and breadth of the artist's recording career (which spanned five decades) would be just about impossible (the licensing hassles involved with the many labels involved would probably scotch such a project anyway), but this disc, which boasts 22 songs recorded over the course of eight years, is a pretty good starter for anyone wanting to get to know Sahm's music.

Beware of the Dog was Hound Dog Taylor's posthumous live album containing performances that are even steamier than his first two studio albums, if such a notion is possible. For lowdown slow blues, it's hard to beat the heartfelt closer "Freddie's Blues," and for surreal moments on wax, it's equally hard to beat the funkhouse-turned-loony bin dementia of "Let's Get Funky" or the hopped up hillbilly fever rendition of "Comin' Around the Mountain".

The Trip were but one of many Italian bands combining rock, classical, jazz, pop and folk to produce what is now known as the Italian rock renaissance. They are another three man classical rock band in the realm of the Nice and Le Orme. All four of their albums are completely different and bear the stamp of another international group or movement. "Caronte" was considered their best album by psych collectors. On their third, "Atlantide", The Trip looks squarely at Emerson, Lake & Palmer for inspiration. The both are recommended to ELP or Le Orme fans.

The Ultimate Collection spans the group's career in two discs, including the hits, B-sides, and key album tracks.
Although generally not as highly regarded by the critics as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, or the Who, the Kinks may well have influenced far more musicians. The three-chord sledgehammer proto-metal burst of teenage lust called "You Really Got Me," the Kinks' third single and first hit, touched off a garage band explosion, which in turn influenced the rise of punk a decade later. Blessed with an astute songwriter in Ray Davies, the Kinks followed the template of "You Really Got Me" for a couple years, racking up hits with "All Day and All of the Night," "Tired of Waiting for You," and "Till the End of the Day." But Davies had more than one card in his pocket, and he blossomed into a sharp social satirist ("Dedicated Follower of Fashion")…