Albert Collins & The Icebreakers - Live In Japan (1984)

Collins's stage pyrotechnics endear him to a 1982 Tokyo audience ravished for more, more, more. As a master of pacing and the use of dynamics the guitarist also tells quietly suspenseful stories, notably "If Trouble Was Money." Either way he relies heavily on stock licks and phrases-not that they're lacking for emotional uprightness, mind you. Drummer Casey Jones is a powerhouse and saxophonist A. C. Reed would have been if miked properly. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993