Luther Allison - Blue Streak (1995)

Soul Fixin' Man was the first Luther Allison album recorded on American soil in 18 years, and it reminded the stateside blues community why this Paris-based expatriate was once considered one of the very best of Chicago's second blues generation. He builds upon that reputation with Blue Streak, a follow-up which is even bluesier and more guitar-oriented than its predecessor. If the previous disc emphasized Allison's Wilson Pickett-like singing, this new one focuses on his Albert Collins-like picking. --Geoffrey Himes