A beautifully overstuffed collection of early work from New Orleans soul legend Allen Toussaint – a set that not only includes many of his key recordings from the scene in the 60s, but also some of his important productions for other artists too! The package begins with Toussaint in the lead on a series of sides on CD one – working either as himself, or as Al Touson, or with The Stones, The Rubyiats, or Allen & Allen – all with these choppy, loping, heavy-grooving rhythms that were Toussaint's huge contribution to New Orleans soul right from the start! Titles include "Whirlaway", "Whipped Cream", "Moo Moo", "Wham Tousan", "Omar Khayyam", "I Don't Need One", "Baby Do Liddle", "Tomorrow", "Fat Cat", "Banana Split", and "Java". CD2 features a series of recordings done for the Minit, Instant, and Sansu labels – all with Toussaint involved either as producer, arranger, or musician – on material that forever shaped the sound of New Orleans – titles that include "A Certain Girl" by Ernie K Doe, "Over You" by Aaron Neville, "I Like It Like That (parts 1 & 2)" by Chris Kenner, "Sophisticated Cissy" by The Meters, "Holy Cow" by Lee Dorsey, "I'm Evil Tonight" by Betty Harris, "Oogsey Moo" by Jessie Hill, "It Will Stand" by The Showmen, "Ruler Of My Heart" by Irma Thomas, "Fortune Teller" by Benny Spellman, and "Hot Tamales (parts 1 & 2)" by The Primemates. 50 tracks in all! CD

Jessie Mae Hemphill might look like an 80s blues artist on the cover, but the record's got a much more vintage vibe – as the set features field recordings done on New Years Eve in 1989, with Jessie Mae singing in a style that seems geared to ring in the year with the ghosts of the past! The music has this really dark, moody vibe – guitar progressions that are cyclical and downturning – almost the sort of energy that Nick Cave was trying to put in his music at the time, but could never do this well – especially when topped with the raw, raspy vocals of Hemphill. Titles include "Holy Ghost", "DC9", "Run Get My Shotgun", "Married Man Blues", "Train Train", and "Nothing That You Say". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work from Jesse Mae Hemphill – a female blues talent who lay undiscovered for many years in Mississippi, then burst forth late in her life with a fantastic run of sounds like this! Most of the tunes are relatively spare – with Jessie Mae playing electric guitar in these hypnotic passages that cascade and revolve around one another – while she sings in this way that's almost harmonic in relation to her instrument. The approach is a bit like Howlin Wolf, but made very much Hemphill's own on these tracks – and titles include "Standing In My Doorway Crying", "Take Me Home With You Baby", "Crawdad Hole", "Bullyin Well", "Brokenhearted Blues", "Go Back To Your Used To Be", "Shake It Baby", and "Tell Me You Love Me". LP, Vinyl record album