Metros double-disc The Legendary Story of Sun Records is a decent general retrospective of the seminal labels output, offering a good sampling of its blues, country, and rockabilly material. Little Juniors Blue Flames "Mystery Train," Johnny Cashs "Folsom Prison Blues," and Carl Perkins "Blue Suede Shoes" provide definitive examples of all of these styles, and while its true that this collection reprises many of the highlights found frequently on other Sun compilations -- particularly Roy Orbisons "Ooby Dooby," Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls of Fire," and Bill Justis "Raunchy" -- it does dig a little deeper into the labels catalog. The Million Dollar Quartets "Peace in the Valley" and "Down by the Riverside" arent frequently heard on this kind of collection, so they make a nice counterpart to the better-known "Paralyzed." Likewise, Barbara Pittmans "I Need a Man," the Prisonaires "Just Walking in the Rain," Howlin Wolfs "Color and Kind (Look-A Here Baby)," and Malcolm Yelvingtons "Its Me Baby" give the collection a little more depth than might be anticipated. Tracks by Carl Mann, Rosco Gordon, Sonny Burgess, and Little Milton round out this compilation, which may not be definitive but does manage to be better than average in terms of quantity and quality.

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Three decades ago Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator Records, selling his hero Hound Dog Taylors records out of his car trunk. Since then, Alligator has become Americas best-known and most prolific blues label, and many of the reasons for its success appear on this budget-priced, two-disc 30th anniversary collection. Much of the material, including Marcia Balls "Louella" and Shemekia Copelands "Turn the Heat Up," comes from relatively recent recordings, since the label also released anthologies honoring its 20th and 25th anniversaries. Those two collections are unreservedly recommended, with the 20th providing the best historical overview of the labels evolution.
But the 30th holds its own, presenting guitar greats like Lonnie Mack ("Stop"), Johnny Winter ("My Time After Awhile"), and Lonnie Brooks ("Two-Headed Man"), as well as harmonica heroes James Cotton ("When It Rains It Pours"), Junior Wells ("Keep Your Hands Out of My Pockets"), and William Clarke ("Broke and Hungry"). Several outstanding duets, including a fine and funky tune by Henry Butler and Corey Harris and a classic from a Robert Cray and Albert Collins collaboration, provide variety.

The second disc contains 13 live cuts, featuring some of the most exciting live blues acts ever, such as Albert Collins, backed by the Icebreakers; Luther Allison, who rips through his signature "Soul Fixin Man"; and Son Seals, who gets help from Elvin Bishop. Dynastic zydeco great C.J. Chenier serves up "Jambalaya," and Delbert McClinton dishes out blue-eyed soul with "Maybe Someday Baby" to further flavor the live action. And to top it off, theres a bonus video track featuring Hound Dog Taylor to make the celebration complete. --Michael Point

Product Description
Another stellar 2 CD set, but this time with a twist! The first disc contains studio material from the label’s archives, while the second disc features all live tracks — including some previously unreleased barn-burners from Albert Collins, Little Charlie & The Nightcats, C.J. Chenier and Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials. As an extra bonus, the second disc also features a CD-ROM section containing almost four minutes of the only known live footage of the great Hound Dog Taylor. All at the special 2-for-1 price!!