This is a rare follow up collection that is as good, if not better than the Allan’s original greatest hits package released in 1995. But considering Allan is perhaps the most prolific artist of the swamp pop genre—scores of singles and about a dozen vinyl albums—it wouldn’t be surprising if two excellent volumes of greatest hits couldn’t be assembled.

Containing tracks that date from 1960 to the mid-1980s, the high quality of Allan’s recordings rarely wavers. The earliest tracks, “Secret of Love,” “This Life I Live,” “I’ll Never Love Again,” “Somebody Else,” “I Trusted You” and “She’s Gone,” are quintessential swamp pop. The horn sections are brawny, the piano plays Fats Domino-like triplets, the guitar solos are economic, and Allan’s voice is laced with melancholy. Allan also takes on rock and roll (“Lover’s Question”), pop (“Talk To Me”) and country (“Sittin’ and Thinkin’”), and he manages to present them in an uncanny South Louisiana style. Unfortunately, the formula doesn’t work on “Woman Left Lonely.” Allan can handle soul, but he sounds awkward here and the distorted guitar solo doesn’t help at all.

Great obscurities here include “It Must Be Love,” “Another Man’s Woman,” “A Stranger To You” and “Nights of Misery.” As these titles suggest, like Cajun music, the subjects of many swamp pop tunes tend to be more than slightly depressing. Nevertheless, this music will put a smile on your face. At 23 tracks, it’s a generous package. Being that there is still a lot of great Allan material that has yet to be reissued on the CD, and that there might well be some interesting unreleased and alternate takes siting in the vaults in Ville Platte, don’t be surprised if a third essential collection doesn’t one day appear.