Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets - The Best of Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets: Blast Off (2006)

Since their debut album for Black Top Records in 1981, Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets have been turning out their own brand of meat and potatoes blues with just a touch of hard Texas swing in the stew. This set collects key tracks from the group's seven albums for Black Top, along with tracks from their pair of albums for Rounder's Bullseye Blues imprint, to make an introductory overview of Funderburgh's career that spans the years 1981 to 2003. Nothing here is particularly innovative, but that isn't what Funderburgh is after, and thanks to Sam Myers' sturdy, everyman vocals and occasional Chicago-styled (by way of Mississippi) harmonica lines, not to mention Funderburgh's concise, slashing guitar style, what emerges is a pure Texas blues band, and no more or less. Among the highlights are the blues swing of "A Man Needs His Loving," a ragged take on Buddy Guy's "$100 Bill," a Funderburgh original, "Change in My Pocket," the relentless "Oh-Oh," and Funderburgh's angular guitar riff on "Mudslide." No-frills contemporary Texas blues with the fringe removed.