Little Walter - Blues & Rhythm Series 5091: The Chronological Little Walter 1947-1953 (2004)

This 24-track compilation from the French Classics label focuses on Little Walter's crucial early sessions for Parkway, Ora-Nelle, and Checker. At the time of these recordings, the distorted amplified sound of Walter Jacobs' harmonica was helping map out the postwar blues idiom as an important presence in Muddy Waters' band, while under his own name Walter released such electric Chicago blues classics as "I Just Keep Loving Her," "Tell Me Mama," "Lights Out," "Blues With a Feeling," and the instrumental romp "Juke," which propelled the harpist into national prominence in 1952. Of the numerous available overviews of Little Walter's extraordinary career, this is one of the best. ~Al Campbell