Deluxe Edition
One could conceivably argue that Hound Dog Taylor was a blues punk; he favored energy, excitement, and above all, fun over minor considerations like, say, tuning. It's that exuberance that carries the day on this best-of collection. It's all material from Taylor's too-brief stint at Alligator in the 1970s (he died in 1975), but it's all good blues--blues good enough to launch a record label. Taylor's guitar is grungy enough to get a starring role in a Seattle band circa 1990, and while his voice never quite rises out of a monotone, it's still oddly expressive. Fast, furious, and brimming with energy, Taylor is the perfect cure for the wintertime blues. --Genevieve Williams