VA - Alligator Records 35X35 (2006)

35 X 35 is not just another best-of compilation. Alligator founder and president Bruce Iglauer and staff chose to spotlight songs from the Alligator debut release from each featured artist. From "She's Gone" (the very first track on the very first Alligator album, 1971's Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers) to the legendary Mavis Staples' chilling "A Dying Man's Plea," 35 X 35 is effectively a chronological history of Alligator, a story told in music highlighting every style of blues and roots music the company has released. From the searing hard blues of Hound Dog Taylor, Son Seals, Albert Collins, Luther Allison, Koko Taylor and Buddy Guy to harmonica-driven workouts from Big Walter Horton, Carey Bell, James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite and William Clarke to the Gulf Coast piano blues of Professor Longhair, Katie Webster and Marcia Ball to the acoustic music of Saffire The Uppity Blues Women and Corey Harris, it is clear that Alligator Records has been, and will remain, at the forefront of modern blues music in all of its many shades. With personal notes on each track from Iglauer in the accompanying 40-page booklet, 35 X 35 is proof of the staunchly independent label's single-minded vision for all these years: to record nothing but deeply rooted "Genuine Houserockin' Music.

TRACKLIST

CD1

01. She's Gone - Hound Dog Taylor
02. Have A Good Time - Big Walter Horton
03. Your Love Is Like A Cancer - Son Seals
04. Texas Flood - Fenton Robinson
05. I Got What It Takes - Koko Taylor
06. Honey Hush (Talking Woman Blues) - Albert Collins
07. Voodoo Daddy - Lonnie Brooks
08. In The Wee Wee Hours - Professor Longhair
09. Are You Losing Your Mind? - Buddy Guy
10. Don't Take Advantage Of Me - Johnny Winter
11. High Compression - James Cotton
12. Satisfy Suzie - Lonnie Mack
13. When A Guitar Plays The Blues - Roy Buchanan
14. Pride and Joy - Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials
15. She Winked Her Eye - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
16. Poor Tarzan - Little Charlie & The Nightcats
17. Can't You Lie - Tinsley Ellis

CD2

01. Lord, I Wonder - Katie Webster
02. Don't Lie To Me - Elvin Bishop
03. Lollipop Mama - William Clarke
04. Wild Women Don't Have The Blues - Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women
05. River Hip Mama - Charlie Musselwhite
06. Short Fuse Blues - Dave Hole
07. Lonesome Stranger - Carey Bell
08. Bad Love - Luther Allison
09. Bad Luck - C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band
10. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning - Corey Harris
11. Salt In My Wounds - Shemekia Copeland
12. I Need Your Love In My Life - Coco Montoya
13. Mean Old Lady - Michael Burks
14. Speaking In Tongues - The Holmes Brothers
15. Let The Tears Roll Down - Marcia Ball
16. That's Right! - Roomful of Blues
17. Old School - Guitar Shorty
18. A Dying Man's Plea - Mavis Staples