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| Popmatters |
 When you consider Bruce Iglauer’s remarkable story in starting and running the label, it’s easy to feel that Alligator Records deserves as much as any label to properly celebrate its 40th anniversary. Iglauer funded his own recording of Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, working nearly every aspect of the process. Starting out able to produce only one album a year, eventually Iglauer turned Alligator into one of the most respected blues labels around. Forty years is enough time to produce a surfeit of good music, but somehow the label’s staff has compiled a two-disc set, Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection that’s a fitting tribute. Opening with Koko Taylor’s “I’m a Woman” is a fantastic choice. The song, which plays as an answer song to the “Hoochie Coochie Man”/“I’m a Man” tradition, also defies expectations of Alligator fans who might consider the label more of a guitar haven, while Taylor’s a vocalist. At the same time, it honors a pivotal moment for both the label and Taylor. After Chess Records had shut down, the highly regarded Taylor moved to Alligator, releasing a string of Grammy-nominated albums and giving the label a national star. As nice as the track is for historical context, it’s more important to note that it’s simply a devastating performance. The fact that the song stands out in this compilation is even more noteworthy given that high quality of nearly every song here. Some of the picks are obvious. Lonnie Mack and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Double Whammy” reveals two guitars blending well and simply having fun. “T-Bone Shuffle” by Albert Collins, Robert Cray, and Johnny Copeland was a memorable point in each artist’s career, but it holds up as highly listenable. Of course, Mavis Staples with “Step Into the Light” from 2004 delivers a strong gospel-based performance. It’s not just that big names that keep this collection rolling, though. Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King hold their own with “Have Blues, Will Travel”, matching a fun lyric with a driving boogie and complaining lead guitars. Janiva Magness delivers a quirky, funky vocal on “Slipped, Tripped and Fell in Love”....full text |
| Rollingstone |
| Still thriving, still independent, this Chicago label still serves only Genuine Houserockin' Music, as it said in ads for guitarist Hound Dog Taylor's 1971 debut, Alligator's first release. Founder Bruce Iglauer has always gone deep and wide within that definition. So the icons and belters on this two-CD party include guitar lords like Albert Collins, Son Seals and Luther Allison; vocal volcanoes Koko Taylor and the Holmes Brothers; and the modern-Delta stylist Corey Harris. A track from Professor Longhair's last date is here, as is the guitar dream team of Lonnie Mack and Stevie Ray Vaughan — proof of a catalog worth further jubilant study....full text |
| Blues |
| Blues fan Bruce Iglauer formed Alligator Records in 1971 to release what he called "genuine houserockin' music," best defined by the label's initial release of Chicago bluesman Hound Dog Taylor's self-titled debut album. In the four decades since that first Alligator Records album, Iglauer has stayed true to his original vision, releasing a handful of subsequent Hound Dog Taylor albums, and following those with landmark blues recordings by artists as important and diverse as Koko Taylor, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny Winter, and many others. Alligator celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2011, and they're releasing the Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection, a two-disc set featuring 38 red-hot performances by some of the best artists that have appeared under the familiar reptile logo. Songs for the Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection were chosen by blues fans through an online poll. To say that these fans did an admirable job in their selections would be an understatement! Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection Aside from a bunch of great music, the Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection includes liner notes from label founder Bruce Iglauer, artist photos, and song-by-song commentary. The first disc gets the party started right with Koko Taylor's "I'm A Woman," from her 1978 album The Earthshaker. Taylor is one of Alligator's signature artists, a blues legend that landed on Alligator after Chess Records went out of business, staying for 35 years until her death in 2009. "I'm A Woman" is Taylor's take on the classic Muddy Waters' hit, delivered here with her trademark growl and plenty of energy. Disc one includes so much great material that we can only cover some of the highlights. Albert Collins' "I Ain't Drunk" is a humorous little ditty with gang harmonies, spoken lyrics and, of course, torrential downpours of Collins' trademark icy fretwork. Guitarist Michael Burks is a third generation bluesman and a natural choice for the label. Burks' "Strange Feeling" offers up plenty of scorching guitar, but also features Burks' powerful, roaring vocals and impressive songwriting chops....full text |
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