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What set Taylor apart was his uncomplicated rawness. He was heavily influenced by the masterful slide guitar playing of Elmore James, but Taylor upped the ante, and played his own ragged boogie versions, accompanied by Brewer Philips (guitar) and Ted Harvey (drums), aka The Houserockers. Together they kicked out the jams in an unconventional minimalist way: Taylor played loud, fast, and often very sloppy (on a cheap Japanese guitar), Philips played distorted ‘bass’ on a regular guitar (!), and Harvey provided an often manic backbeat. This album sounded as raw as the debut, and is also equally exciting. A lot of the tracks on here are fast instrumentals: their version of Elmore James’ “Hawaiian Boogie” swings like hell and speeds ahead at a frenzied pace, “Buster’s Boogie” has some crazy drumming, “You Can’t Sit Down” and “One More Time” feature very loud and fuzzy bass (almost sounding like ‘grunge’), a sound Jon Spencer is probably jealous of, and are guaranteed to have you yell along with the musicians in the background. Other fast boogie tracks, but with vocals, are “Take Five,” one of Taylor’s signature songs (and released as a single way back in 1960), and “Roll Your Moneymaker,” Taylor’s frenetic version of Elmore James’ fiery classic “Shake Your Moneymaker” (of which the most popular version was probably recorded by Fleetwood Mac in the Green-era).

A few times, the trio slows down a bit and stretches into a hypnotic groove like “See Me In The Evening,” a simple but effective roadhouse boogie, with nice shuffling drums, that sounds similar to the previously mentioned “Hideaway;” Elmore James’s “Talk To Me Baby,” a variation on “Dust My Broom,” and, finally, the album’s highlight: the six-minute trance boogie of “Sadie,” which should’ve been 15 minutes long. The only less appealing song is the slower “Sitting At Home Alone,” which is adequate but ultimately pales in comparison to the album’s rave-ups.

Robert Christgau (whose opinion I usually don’t care too much about) once called this trio “the Ramones of the Blues,” and while they were never as productive (they released only three albums during Taylor’s lifetime), the similarities are there: instead of inventing a new product, they just dug in musical history, found some nearly-forgotten style, revamped it, made it their own, sped it up, cranked up the volume, and created music that was 100% genuine fun. If you’re looking for an elaborately arranged, impeccably played and spotless-produced blues album, choose another one. If minimalist but effective power is your thing, on the other hand, be as smart as to check it out.

Note: in the late 90’s, Taylor’s influence was ‘rewarded’ with a fine tribute album, that featured contributions from artists as various as George Thorogood (who had been an opening act before The Houserockers’ shows), Magic Slim, Elvin Bishop, Ronnie Earl, Vernon Reid and Alvin Youngblood Hart.