A former radio repairman, Elmore James spent a good deal of time re-wiring his amplifiers, giving him a raw, distorted, and urgent sound on electric guitar that, coupled with his killer slide style, made him the Godfather of modern electric guitar, and few gunslingers can match his intensity or powerful, dirty sound even when armed with a truckload of stomp boxes. He was also a passionate singer, making it is virtually impossible to pick up a bad Elmore James release. This one, however, is on the short side at only thirty-minutes long, and it lacks a version of his signature song, “Dust My Broom,” a re-working of the Robert Johnson song that James all but made his own. What’s included here is powerful, but there are several Elmore James collections on the market that will give you more bang for the buck. – Steve Leggett
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