This is one of the best efforts of John Hammond"s career. It features the old blues numbers that have been a staple of Hammond"s work, but with a slippery, playful funkiness that was never there before. Hammond has always had a strong voice, and the music flows out of him more naturally and appealingly than ever before. In fact, he sounds so at ease that he falls right in with Charles Brown on the two numbers where Mr. "Drifting Blues" himself plays piano. Little Charlie & the Nightcats back up Hammond on seven of the album"s dozen tracks. They introduce an easy-going swing to numbers by Little Walter, Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Howlin" Wolf that allows Hammond to give these old songs a new spin and make them his own. --Geoffrey Himes