To his eternal credit, R&B maestro Andre Williams always had a very strange idea of what constitutes a hit record.

Aside from the dance-craze tune “Bacon Fat”—which never tells you how the dance is done, or why it would be so named—his most notorious record is the 1957 single “Jail Bait.” A tune about the singer’s love for 15-year-old girls wasn’t about to hit the Top 10, but that’s what cult classics are made of.

This double CD collects 35 tracks that Williams turned out for the Fortune label between 1955-60.

Not every cut is a gem; many are shambling doo-wop that brings Frank Zappa’s Ruben & the Jets to mind (not coincidentally, Zappa was a fan). And many of the greatest tracks here are throwaways: “Pulling Time” and “Just Want a Little Lovin’” are blatant rewrites of the Coasters’ “Riot in Cell Block #9” and Muddy Waters’ “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” but more depraved, especially the howls on the prison tune. After “Bacon Fat,” he cut a few more hilarious food-themed tunes, notably “Pass the Biscuits, Please,” where the singer spends three minutes trying to get hold of one.

Sound quality on this reissue varies wildly from one track to another; some sound like they’re from the masters (or maybe from other CD’s), but vinyl noise is evident on the more rare ones. Because the singles are sequenced chronologically with A and B-sides included, the classic tracks are often followed by duds (notably “So Strange” for which a lead vocal apparently wasn’t recorded). And the liner notes forgo any real track info in favor of a rambling interview.

Still, it’s a good way to get some essential R&B in one place.