Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers

Released - 1971, Alligator Records. Produced by Hound Dog Taylor, Bruce Iglauer and Wesley Race

SHE'S GONE (Taylor)	7.7
WALKING THE CEILING (Taylor)	8.0
HELD MY BABY LAST NIGHT (James)	9.1
TAYLOR'S ROCK (Taylor)	7.6
IT'S ALRIGHT (Taylor)	8.8
PHILLIPS THEME (Taylor)	8.6
WILD ABOUT YOU BABY (James)	9.1
I JUST CAN'T MAKE IT (Taylor)	7.9
IT HURTS ME TOO (James)	8.0
44 BLUES (Taylor)	7.2
GIVE ME BACK MY WIG (Taylor)	10.0
55TH STREET BOOGIE (Taylor)	8.0

Average	8.3

Hound Dog Taylor's debut album and the first release for Alligator Records, which was formed by his manager/producer Bruce Iglauer as a vehicle to get the Dog's sound out to the masses. So before I praise Hound Dog's work here, equal kudos to Iglauer for helping the Dog's music get recorded and released in the first place!

An outstanding first album put together by Taylor. One key to any great album is to have that great music flow between each song, and every song found here has just that! There isn't one mediocre tune on this album. From it's somewhat mellow opening track, to it's closer, Taylor's bottleneck blues make you beg for more. My favorite song here is his best known (and perhaps his best penned), "Give Me Back My Wig". I remember hearing this years ago and wondering who this Hound Dog was. Wish it hadn't taken me so long to find out.

Other super efforts here include "It's Alright" with it's wicked riff, his crying guitar on "Held My Baby Last Night" and his frenzy playing on "Wild About You", are as good as you can ask for. We even get to hear Taylor and his rhythm guitar player Brewer Phillips play a small bit of a fine guitar weave on "44 Blues". Makes you wish the whole song was played that way as it sounds so fine.

Along with Phillips and solid drumming from Ted Harvey, the sound Hound Dog creates here helped a new label get the word out on a new star, even if sadly he would become a shooting star.