Renowned as a piano-rippling sideman on the 1950s Chicago scene,
Henry Gray returned to his native Louisiana in 1968 before anyone recorded him too prolifically as a leader. This album at least partially makes up for the oversight; backed by a solid Chicago combo,
Gray alternates his own stuff with classics by
Big Maceo, Little Walter, and
Jimmy Reed, his ruminative voice and rumbling ivories prowess nicely spotlighted. ~ Bill Dahl