A lot of folks first ran into Johnny “Guitar” Watson with a batch of very hip, funky records that came out in the ’70s that had very odd covers with scantily clad women and Johnny dressed like a pimp. Well, way before those great records were killer blues and R&B sides cut in the ’50s. Many of those are contained on this release.

In interviews, Johnny often refers to T-Bone Walker and Gatemouth Brown as huge influences. And it’s not hard to spot. But he took it somewhere entirely different, with his wild-but-very-precise fills and solos. Check out “Three Hours Past Midnight.” What a solo, what a sound!

It’s not hard to see where Robert Cray picked up his penchant for lightening fast jabs that punch you in the gut – this disc is pretty much a training ground for that sound and style. In fact, one of my favorite cuts here is a song Cray covered early in his career, “Don’t Touch Me.” Here it’s highlighted by killer fills and a wild solo.

Some of the 18 cuts here are alternates, and some are piano-based (Watson also played piano for a time). Those could have been lifted, and other stuff added. But that’s a minor quibble. If you’re only familiar with the funky ’70s version of Watson, get this and be introduced to another pioneer of electric blues guitar.