Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection

This is the first Alligator compilation I've bought, and I think it's great. A great mix of songs and introduction to the label's artists, most I've not heard. I also bought their compilation "God Don't Never Change..." with cover versions of Blind Willie Johnson songs, which I also recommend.

Having purchased the Alligator Records 20th & 25th Anniversary collections as well as their 20th Tour and Houserocking editions over the years, I was able to revisit a huge diversity of some of the most important blues artists I had grown to love. These releases also introduced me to several artists with whom I might not be as familiar with, and then became an ardent fan of, resulting in my buying their individual releases on CD. I’ll never forget the first time I listened to a cut by Son Seals, I was blown away and immediately went out and bought as many of his CDs as I could. With the new release of Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection, one has the opportunity to listen to many of the latest and greatest of so many current artists as well as cuts from those who have long contributed to the blues community not only in America but world wide. Founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971 with a recording of Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers, the Alligator label has grown to be one of the most, if not the most, widely known blues label existing today and has produced and released albums by almost every great blues musician to date. Everyone from Koko Taylor to Johnny Winter to Albert Collins and then onto so many of the newest artists blazing the blues trail. This 2 disc 45th Anniversary Collection continues on in that tradition with tunes off many recent releases from artists such as Shemekia Copeland’s ‘Devil’s Hand’ and Rick Estrin & the Nightcaps ‘Callin All Fools’ to Delbert McClinton’s ‘Givin It Up For Your Love’ and Luther Allison’s ‘Will It Change’. Name the artist and there will be a cut from them in this collection, Son Seals, The Holmes Brothers, A.C. Reed and Bonnie Raitt, Joe Louis Walker, Lee Rocker, Jimmy Johnson, Hound Dog Taylor, Anders Osborne, Mavis Staples, Elvin Bishop and so many, many more. Many of the cuts on this two disc set contain tunes I was already familiar with, but there were also a few I had not heard before. If I had any complaint it was that when I would put a disc in the car to listen to while driving, while the display would show the name of the tune, it would not say who the artist was. It would simply show ‘Various Artists’. Surely, the CD designer could have just as easily put in the musician who was playing the tune as easily as they created ‘various artists’ in the manufacturing of the CD. I have produced enough CDs in my time to know how easy it is to do this. Of course, the enclosed, well written and documented booklet provides you with all the artist info ,as well as a short biography of the Alligator label, you just can’t read it while driving or listening to it on a cell. Never the less, the Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection fits in very nicely with the rest of my collection of the Alligator Records inventory. If you have not already listened to some of blues musicians for whom I have written reviews over the last years, then do yourself a huge favor and get this release for your own collection. I guarantee that you will enjoy a real diversity of blues cuts and will probably go out and order some individual CD releases based upon what you hear on this one. Hope this review has been of help. Thanks for reading

I love alligator records and their low-priced compilations, because i can always find something i need. i already have nearly all of this stuff, however; wish they would toss in a few previously hard-to-find gems. that said, salgado’s new “walk a mile in my blues” is well worth it, if you haven’t heard it before!