I won’t say who thought this looked like a pretty interesting Chicago blues anthology, but it’s pretty obvious they were wrong. Despite its south side origins, this is only marginally blues. Several song titles date this one—“I’m a Streaker,” “Women’s Lib,” “California Girl”—just as much as the overuse of wah-wah pedals, fuzz tones and distorted guitars do. Bobby Rush is the best known name here, but “Bowlegged Woman, Knock Kneed Man” is frankly mindless.

Since many of these tracks first saw the light of day on Little Mac Simmons’ P. M. label, his harmonica is heard on several tracks. Mac’s playing is rather one-dimensional and is best listened to in small doses. When it’s heard back to back to back, as it is here, it has the same affect as a baby in the pew behind you crying through the entire sermon at Mass. Hubert Sumlin is on a track or two, but as good a blues guitarist as he is, he’s out of his element trying to wear a funk hat.

You can’t say this one doesn’t cover a specific genre of Chicago’s musical heritage, but you have to like your blues funky to care.