Charlie Musselwhite - Vanguard Visionaries (2007)

This ten-cut compilation is representative of the earliest recordings by Charlie Musselwhite as a solo act who led his own bands after coming out from under the shadows of his Delta and Chicago mentors. Everything here has been released before and the previous two compilations of his work on Vanguard featured more than half of this material. For reasons of accuracy -- and since the label couldn't see its way clear to tell consumers which albums these tunes came from -- the version of Duke Pearson's "Christo Redemptor," is the original, shorter version from his 1967 debut, Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band, not the 11-plus-minute banger from the Tennessee Woman disc with Skip Rose on piano. There isn't a weak cut in the bunch, and Musselwhite recorded for Vanguard for only three years and issued three albums. There are two other compilations of the material form this period that are recommended over this one: The Blues Never Die, released in 1994, and Best of the Vanguard from 2000. Each costs a bit more, but double the tracks. This is great as far as it goes and serves as a cheap introduction, but that's all. © Thom Jurek