Essential Little Walter

Amazon.com

Essential is right! The blues would be a very different, considerably tamer animal were it not for Little Walter. While the Chess roster in the ’50s was littered with aces, only Muddy Waters scored on the charts with greater regularity. The reason? While the man born Marion Walter Jacobs possessed a serviceable voice and penned some worthy tracks, he was a towering virtuoso on the harmonica. Indeed, he remains the single most influential figure in the development of amplified harp as a lynchpin blues instrument. This handy two-disc set features 46 tracks cut between 1952 and 1963. Tracks such as the revolutionary “Juke,” “Mellow Down Easy,” “Key to the Highway,” and “My Babe” have become roadhouse staples, but Little Walter’s versions stand their ground over most and top all but a few. –Steven Stolder