One of the greatest albums to ever sum up the genius of
Lou Rawls in the 60s – a brilliant live set put together with the talents of David Axelrod! The record perfectly captures the easy-going soul of Rawls in the early years – a natural approach to his music that made him one of the best singers of his genre at the time, and which comes out especially strong in the album's upbeat monologues, which are often delivered by
Lou with musical accompaniment, then leap strongly into the lyrics of a tune. Backing is by a small jazzy combo that includes Herb Ellis on guitar and the great rhythm team of Jimmy
Bond on bass and Earl Palmer on drums – both of whom bring a nice little groove to most of the album's numbers. Titles include "Street Corner Hustler's Blues/
World Of Trouble", "Southside Blues/
Tobacco Road", "The Shadow of Your Smile", "In The Evening When The Sun Goes Down", "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good", and "The Girl From Ipanema".