Davenport, Lester Mad Dog
When The Blues Hit You
The "Mad Dog" is such a powerful soloist in the Little Walter vein (the Big Walter vein, too, before that worthy turned so introspective) such that you wish he'd just keep going. ...The model here is pretty clearly the Muddy Waters ensemble... That's OK with me -- the Morganfield model is a durable one and Lester even sings a bit like the Master... As for backup, we've got John Primer, guitarist in Muddy's last band and a student of Sammy Lawhorn... Add Sunnyland Slim, his accomplices Stroger and Covington, and the right amount of chugging and scratching from Willie Davis, and you've got a band that ought to tour... Excellent recording. Go for it.