Mojo Boogie: An Essential Collection

This is pretty close to being the "Essential Collection" that Fuel 2000 boasts in its title. J.B. Lenoir was a consummate bluesman who walked the line between R&B, the new electric Chicago blues, and early rock & roll. His music was house-rocking, boogie-heavy, joyous rolling thunder. John Mayall's entire career has been influenced by Lenoir's singular if somewhat obscure mark. This collection features 11 tracks and nine alternate takes. They add up to a diverse portrait of an idiosyncratic yet highly accessible blues talent. Here are his early-'50s hits, such as "Let's Roll" (plus an alternate version) and "Mojo Boogie" (with another pair of alternates). But there is also the strolling "I Feel So Good," a couple of versions of the sensual "Slow Down Woman," and many others that offer an accurate, perhaps even revelatory, portrait of the artist in his prime.