During 1956 and early 1957,
Ike Turner's
Kings of Rhythm recorded for the Cincinnati-based Federal label -- the group's personnel included
Raymond Hill and
Eddie Jones on tenor sax,
Jackie Brenston on baritone sax, Annie Mae Wilson and
Fred Sample on piano, Jessie Knight, Jr. on bass,
Eugene Washington on drums, and
Turner on guitar, with vocalists including
Brenston and
Billy Gayles. This is some of the most solid material in
Turner's output, with a rich, soulful sound, more polished than most of the group's output on Cobra. Some of the music is derivative -- in seeking chart success, the group at various times sought to emulate
the Coasters,
Bill Justis, et al., but they almost always put their own spin on these numbers.
Billy Gayles' impassioned vocals on "No Coming Back,"
Jackie Brenston's boisterous rendition of "The Mistreater," and the rest are all worth the price of admission, which is fairly low on this mid-priced import -- but, surprisingly, some of the best stuff on here is by
the Kings of Rhythm backing the vocal group the Gardenias ("Miserable," one of the best tracks among these 20, remained unreleased until 1991). And the real treat here is
Turner's guitar pyrotechnics. He could strum along like most band guitarists, and occasionally did this, but he preferred to step out front and, having discovered the use of the tremelo arm on his guitar, he fairly tortures the instrument on several of these sides (check out the break on "No Comin' Back," and his accompaniment on "She Made My Blood Run Cold," itself an R&B track deserving of legendary status), and even gets a Hawaiian sound out of his instrument on "Trail Blazer." Fans of rock & roll guitar must own this record.