William Wray

Various Artists - The Alligator Records 25th Anniversary Collection (1996) {2CD Alligator Records ALCD 110-111}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 979 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 348 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 82 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1996 Alligator Records | ALCD 110-111
Blues

This is a specially priced, two-CDs-for-the-price-of-one photo-cube set, loaded with great stuff from Charlie Musselwhite, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Johnny Winter, Billy Boy Arnold, Lonnie Mack, and a host of others who have trotted their wares on the label over the years. Besides giving the novice one great introduction to the label (as the music runs from traditional to modern), the big bonus here is a treasure trove of previously unissued tracks from Roy Buchanan (a chaotic version of Link Wray's "Jack the Ripper"); Floyd Dixon (a recut of his Blues Brothers-approved hit "Hey Bartender"); Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland in a marvelous outtake from the Showdown! album ("Something to Remember You By"); and the band that started it all, Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers, with a crazed version of Elmore James' "Look on Yonder's Wall," as sloppy as it is cool. Very good stuff.

This is a specially priced, two-CDs-for-the-price-of-one photo-cube set, loaded with great stuff from Charlie Musselwhite, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Johnny Winter, Billy Boy Arnold, Lonnie Mack, and a host of others who have trotted their wares on the label over the years. Besides giving the novice one great introduction to the label (as the music runs from traditional to modern), the big bonus here is a treasure trove of previously unissued tracks from Roy Buchanan (a chaotic version of Link Wray's "Jack the Ripper"); Floyd Dixon (a recut of his Blues Brothers-approved hit "Hey Bartender"); Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland in a marvelous outtake from the Showdown! album ("Something to Remember You By"); and the band that started it all, Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers, with a crazed version of Elmore James' "Look on Yonder's Wall," as sloppy as it is cool.

Like another Canadian group from the same era (Mashmakhan out of Montreal), Motherlode will forever be ensconced in that ignominious club known as the One-Hit Wonder, probably due to the fact they had to be one of the most fluid bands of that time, eventually encompassing some 19 different members in no less than five reincarnations over the years. Starting their careers primarily in Toronto, saxophonist/harmonica player Steve Kennedy and keyboardist William "Smitty" Smith both played in a band called The Soul Searchers which featured vocalists Eric Mercury and Diane Brooks.