In my limited stint in New Orleans CD retailing, the reissues the public most often requested were the original “Home of Blues” albums that were issued in the early 1960s on Minit. Curiously, they never were reissued on CD, but this three-disc collection contains all the tracks that were on those LPs and a whole lot more. Plenty of Crescent City national hits here including, Jessie Hill’s “Ooh Poo Pah Doo,” K-Doe’s “Mother-In-Law,” Aaron Neville’s “Over You,” Benny Spellman’s “Fortune Teller,” Chris Kenner’s “Land of 1000 Dances”—the list is long. Local hits, too, including Roger and the Gypsies’ “Pass the Hatchet,” Raymond Lewis’ “I’m Gonna Put Some Hurt on You,” Art Neville’s “All These Things,” Irma’s “Ruler of my Heart” and Eskew Reeder’s “Green Door.” There are also some fabulous sleepers in the pack such as Mr. G’s “Everything Happens at Night,” Diamond Joe’s “Screamin’ and Moanin’,” the Del Royals “Always Naggin’” and Polka Dot Slim’s “Ain’t Broke Ain’t Hungry.” There’s also some unreleased Minit and Instant material here, not all of it good, however. Al Michael’s two tracks are a waste and China Flair’s “Rockin Way” is suspect. There are a handful of tracks credited to Edgar Blanchard, but they sound so unlike his other 45s that it’s very hard to believe he made them. Still, this is fabulous music that documents the golden era of New Orleans R&B/rock and roll—the most exciting music this city ever produced.