Complete Chess Masters
Lowell Fulson's career spanned too many styles and too many decades for any collection to be truly definitive; however,The Complete Chess Mastersis an excellent compilation of his work during the 1950s and early 1960s. Most of the material here wasn't commercially successful, which is a shame; there's some great music on this two-disc set, including previously unreleased takes of "Lonely Hours" and "Check Yourself." There's his hit "Reconsider Baby," of course, but there's also "Please Don't Go," "You're Gonna Miss Me," and "Love Grows Cold." Fulson's vocals and guitar work are the highlight, naturally, but his backing band's got a fine West Coast sound too.--Genevieve Williams