At last count, there are as many Magic Slim CDs as FEMA trailers in Gentilly. But you know what? They all have something to offer, and this one is no different. A native of Grenada, Mississippi, Slim moved to Chicago where Magic Sam mentored him. At the time of these recordings (and it holds true today), Slim was leading one of the hardest hitting blues combos going. Recorded in 1977, and produced by Ralph Bass (the guy credited with discovering James Brown), this would have been Slim’s first album (well half album), had it not languished on the shelf for a decade. A blues jukebox, Slim delivers on “Cummins Prison Farm,” “In the Dark” and “Just To Be With You.” His originals include “She Is Mine” and “Soul Blues,” which spotlight his guitar runs. This isn’t the best material Slim has recorded, as at times he sounds tentative (who wouldn’t with Bass in the control booth?), but it’s a jack next to the aces Slim would later deal.

Joe Carter (this is not the Joe Carter that hit the walk off home run in the ’93 World Series for the Blue Jays) was a slide guitar player reminiscent of Homesick James. He’s in good company here with Sunnyland Slim and Fred Below, and they get a vintage sound going. His blues are rooted in the first generation of Chicago blues, circa the late 1940s. Carter only handles traditional material, but he’s on the mark on Elmore James’ “Anna Lee” and “I’m Worried.” Ditto “Bobby’s Rock.” They don’t play it like this anymore, and they never will.