Note: The CD I own is the original 9 track release. It has since been reissued several times in several formats which include a bonus track.
Don't be misled by the album title, this isn't a competition at all; it's a historic, house-rockin' modern electric–blues collaboration. Cray was up-and-coming at the time, but still fits right in with the other established two legends. Collins brings the Texas blues, Copeland brings the Chicago blues, and Cray somehow bridges the two plus adds some silky vocals. This album continues to be one of Alligator Records' best-known releases and helped usher in the late '80s blues revival. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album, the 1986 W.C. Handy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, and was later inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall Of Fame. Top notch.
Original liner notes by album producers Bruce Iglauer & Dick Sherman.
Press of the time:
- Billboard: "No clear winner in this showdown, but plenty of fine playing and singing"
- Musician: "if you still have doubts about Cray's credibility, here's where you'll lose them, once and for all."
- DownBeat (★★★): "reveals an underlying unity in their three quite individual styles"
- Robert Christgau (B): "Collins gets top billing not just because he's Alligator's man but because this is his album."
- The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★★
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #124
Tracks: 3 originals and 6 covers, all worth your time. I prefer the upbeat tunes like Lion's Den, Albert's Alley, or Black Cat Bone, but like I said, it's a collaboration, not a competition.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I was listening to a lot of music back in '85, but was just beginning my foray into blues with the purchase of SRV's Soul To Soul. Looking back, I find it rather odd that I was surrounded by musicians and academics constantly during those college years and not a single person was into the blues (other than my odd flirtations every now and again).
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