Deluxe Edition of what? Well, of Saffire itself. Don’t mistake this for a remodeled version of this group’s self-titled 1990 debut; this is a greatest hits, pure and simple, culling the best tracks from their seven Alligator albums including three tracks from 1998’s Live And Uppity. For aficionados of this female blues trio, the democratic nature of the selections gives a slightly unbalanced portrait of their repertoire. Hot Flash and Ain’t Gonna Hush get equal representation with lesser albums like Broadcasting and the trio’s debut. Still, as a generous 20-track overview, more casual Saffire fans will love it.

 

For the neophyte, this is still as good a place as any to get started, spotlighting the acoustic group’s best traits, particularly Ann Rabson, one of the best boogie-woogie pianists performing today. It also lays bare its greatest weakness, namely a tendency to get all lowest common denominator on the otherwise solid originals. If titles like “Silver Beaver,” “Bitch With A Bad Attitude,” and “There’s Lightning in These Thunder Thighs” are your idea of feminist discourse, enjoy. There’s a tradition of raunchy blues by female artists, but Saffire’s sit clumsily next to much cleverer Ma Rainey and Ida Cox originals, especially with lyrics like “Well, I’ll forget about my arthritis, my backache, my lumbago / That young man makes me tango at the horizontal disco.”