What a fine bowl of Southern gumbo this Johnny Jenkins disc is. Aided and abetted by the likes of Duane Allman (this started as an Allman solo disc, but when he formed the Allman Brothers Band, Jenkins put his vocals over the tracks best suited), Dickey Betts, and those great guys from Muscle Shoals, Jenkins cooks on such cuts as “Down Along the Covell” from the pen of Bob Dylan, and Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ Stone.” But it is Dr. John’s “I Walk On Guilded Splinters” which shines here and is the one which folks will recognize as the basis for Beck’s hit “Loser.” On the slippery “Blind Bats & Swamp Rats” you can almost feel the heat and humidity rolling out of the bayou. This reissue also includes the mighty fine bonus cuts “I Don’t Want No Woman” and “My Love Will Never Die.” Great Southern funk n’ roll for the discerning listener. It even includes educational linear notes which tell the tale behind each cut. – James Chrispell
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