Mighty Joe Young was a brilliant and well-established sideman, in the Chicago area, and beyond. He had played his axe and sang with the best of them-including Otis Rush. As a frontman, he recorded several albums on the Ovation Label (almost impossible to find in vinyl) between 1974 and 1976, that were utterly outstanding. And after all these years, Blind Pig Records has re-released this beautiful compilation of Young's work-which is as contemporary today as it was during the 70s. Young penned ten out of the twelve songs on the disc; the two cover songs were well chosen. The first track, "Green Light" has a nice bounce that pulls you into a dance mode. What I like about Young, he adds a second guitar for rhythm, plus the bass. I know of only a few bands that have rhythm guitarists. To watch all three guitars work off of each other and yet, remain in the groove was-and is-exhilarating. Young's lead is the standout on track #2 with heartfelt vocals-simply beautiful. Mighty Joe's guitar attack with all the appropriate bends ("On Need A Friend") remind me of a young B.B. King-killer indeed! "Big Talk" is my favorite-everyone holds their own-very tight, but more importantly-tough! "I Give" is just one hell of a goodtime-another favorite. Moving onto track #6, "Chicken Heads" (check out the bass and rhythm guitar work -very cool) is one of the few covers-you'll love it! "Take Money" is a Mighty Joe original and another winner. The final four tracks were penned by Young-classic blues the way you like it. Highly recommended.
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