When I saw this CD’s primitive package and reading Alabama Slim’s bio, I thought someone was perpetrating hoax, creating the Sidd Finch [fictional baseball player] of the blues community. Come on, it’s 2021, and you’re telling us from out of the blue comes a relic blues guitar player from Klan country playing a style of music that originated on 78 r.p.m.s? Well, Alabama Slim is authentic and living here in New Orleans, and he’s not half bad. In fact, along with his buddy/cousin Little Freddie King (heard here on “Freddie’s Voodoo Boogie”), Slim is one of the last practitioners of raw juke-joint blues. The rawness here could be compared to Juke Boy Bonner, Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside. Influences from Muddy, Wolf and Hooker are clearly evident. This is evident on “Rock Me Baby,” “Someday Baby” and “Down In the Bottom,” which are loosely translated from the originals. Many of the tracks stay entirely on one chord. Slim and the small band often jump across the boundary of the 12-bar blues structure. “Forty Jive” stands out among the 10 tracks by delivering a political statement about the injustice perpetrated by the most recent ex-president and ICE agents putting little children in cages along the border. Now that’s a change-up, being sandwiched between “Midnight Rider” and “All Night Long.” One has to acquire a taste for this style of music—free-form blues, you can call it— as it actually translates better in a live performance. The Parlor, though, is a good introduction to Alabama Slim’s music, and he’s got something going here. If you’re into authentic blues, this one might be up your alley.