Junior Parker - Backtracking: The Duke Recordings, Vol. 2

This second volume of Parker's best for the Duke label, while leaving off early classics like "I Wanna Ramble," still delivers on a pile of great early and late tunes for the Houston-based label. Kicking off with the jump blues "Please Baby Blues" and the Howlin' Wolf-like "Can't Understand" from a 1953 session, the early sides vacillate between small rhythm sections with Pat Hare on guitar, to larger ensembles pointing toward Parker's musical future. The early sides reach their peak with the inclusion of "Pretty Baby," recorded in 1956, and Parker's version of Wolf's first single "Riding in the Moonlight." But in two years' time, Junior is recording more R&B-style material like "Barefoot Rock," "You're On My Mind," and culminating in "Annie Get Your YoYo" in 1961. Read More