In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the blues flooded out of Texas. The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble, Marcia Ball, Mike Morgan and the Crawl, Lou Ann Barton, the Cobras, and of course, Anson and the Rockets. Blast Off cherry picks the half-dozen or so releases the band had on Black Top Records.

Roughly, there were two versions of the Rockets. One version had Little Darrel Nulish on harp and vocals. The other (later) version included that dynamic gentleman of the blues, Sam Meyers, an alumnus of Elmore James and the Broomdusters, and a man who enjoyed concluding an evening with not one but two Paul Bunyan breakfasts. However, the straw that stirred the drink throughout was brother Anson, a sober Texan from Plano with a four handicap, whose Stratocaster picking was impeccable.

In the beginning, the Rockets were a very good “cover” band, evidenced here by “Come On” and “The Blues Seem To Follow Me.” Later on, their CDs and live performances were laced with great originals like “A Man Needs His Loving All the Time,” “My Heart Cries Out For You,” “I’m Your Professor” and “I Done Quit Getting Sloppy Drunk” to name a few. Again, not enough can be said about Funderburgh’s guitar technique. He’s understated, but his tone and technique is superb. The lone point of contention I have with Blast Off is that Shout! Factory overlooked the deadly title track of the band’s first LP, “Talk To You By Hand.” However, I did play this the other day and two friends remarked, “I forgot how good those records were.” So don’t just listen to me.