Joe Houston's discography in the 1950s was a mess to work out, as he recorded for more than a dozen labels, and sometimes did the same songs under different titles. Without access to all of those records -- and probably very few people on the planet have heard all of them -- it's impossible to determine whether any given 1950s compilation, such as this one, is the "best." However, considering that this has 24 recordings from the early '50s to the early '60s that were done for (or licensed by) Modern, and that it has his best and most definitive honk blaster ("All Night Long"), this makes a pretty fair bid for that choice. In addition to Houston's very first single (1951's "Blow Joe Blow"), it also contains several of his 1950s Modern/RPM 45s; a few songs recorded for twist and surf albums for Crown in the early '60s; and half-a-dozen previously unissued alternate takes of Modern singles (although, oddly, the original takes of most of these are not included). As in the case of many vintage up-tempo R&B/blues albums that are mostly instrumental, you couldn't say this is the most varied listening experience, though a few jazzy accents (including vibes and organ) are thrown in on the more subdued later sessions. It's better for nonstop car cruising, and who can afford to do that for the length of this CD when, as of this writing, gas in California costs $2 or more per gallon? But as relentless rompin' stompin' sax-driven R&B verging on rock & roll's birth goes, it's one of the better single-artist comps around, never lacking in energy.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo