Various Artists

The Very Best of King/Federal/Deluxe, Vol. 2

The Very Best of King/Federal/Deluxe, Vol. 2 collects 25 tracks from the vaults of those labels, highlighting jump blues, electric blues, R&B, and doo wop. Recorded in the late '40s to mid-'50s, this package features hit performances from Little Willie John, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, Wynonie Harris, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Roy Brown, and Billy Ward & the Dominoes, alongside rarities by Todd Rhodes, Dorothy Ellis, and the Valtones. For the most part the sound quality is decent, but a few of the tracks ("Blues for the Red Boy," "I Want a Bowlegged Woman," "Moaning Blues") are particularly muddy, especially for a full-price CD compilation.

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time
1	Fever Eddie Cooley / John Davenport	Little Willie John	2:42
2	Have Mercy Baby Rose Marks / Billy Ward	The Dominoes	2:23
3	Dedicated to the One I Love Ralph Bass / Lowman Pauling	The "5" Royales	2:46
4	Long About Midnight Roy Brown	Roy Brown & His Might-Mighty Men	3:05
5	Finger Poppin' Time Hank Ballard	Hank Ballard & the Midnighters	2:37
6	Sittin' On It All the Time Henry Bernard / Sydney Mann	Wynonie Harris	2:39
7	Blues for the Red Boy Todd Rhodes	Todd Rhodes	2:41
8	My Boy Flat Top	Boyd Bennett	2:31
9	Let's Call It a Day Henry Glover	Sonny Thompson	2:36
10	That's Your Mistake Rudy Toombs	Otis Williams & the Charms	2:09
11	Walkin' the Chalk Line Henry Bernard	Tiny Bradshaw	2:41
12	I Want a Bowlegged Woman Henry Glover / Sally Nix	Bull Moose Jackson	3:03
13	Flame in My Heart	The Checkers	2:56
14	Drill Daddy Drill Alan Darnell	Dorothy Ellis	2:57
15	Gangster of Love Johnny "Guitar" Watson	Johnny "Guitar" Watson	2:53
16	Cherry Wine Henry Glover	Little Esther	2:21
17	Poor Little Dancing Girl	The Hurricanes	2:23
18	Jungle Juice Sticks McGhee	Sticks McGhee	2:25
19	Goodbye I'm Gone Tommy Brown	Tommy Brown	2:27
20	Dream On Rudy Toombs	The Five Keys	2:32
21	Hey Bernadine	Eddy Clearwater	2:40
22	Big Blue Diamonds	Earl (Connelly) King	2:49
23	Moaning Blues John Lee Hooker	Texas Slim	3:04
24	Johnny Feels the Blues	Johnny O'Neal	2:34
25	Tender Darling Henry Stone	The Valtones	2:22

blue highlight denotes track pick