Roughhousin'

Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alligator Records
• ASIN: B0000009YI
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,017 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD
Lil' Ed Williams's Chicago slide guitar is the dirtiest fun to be had since the passing of Hound Dog Taylor and his uncle, J. B. Hutto. Williams and his band learned the ropes in West Side dives, and their three hours in the studio one night in 1986 resulted in first takes that mirror their club wildness. The Roughhousin' session came about when label head Bruce Iglauer was floored by the band's wild one-song contribution to the Alligator anthology titled The New Bluebloods. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PARTY TIME !, September 20, 2000

By	Johan Adams (Brugge Belgium) - See all my reviews

True to the spirit of Alligator Records, this can best be described as "houserockin' blues". Three hours and fifteen minutes, according to the liner-notes that's all it took Lil' Ed Williams and his Blues Imperials to record their debut album virtually live in the studio. In fact, in that short period of time, they managed to record 30 tunes in all, of which 10 show up on this CD. There's nothing slick about this type of music, it's rough-and-tumble jumpy blues, dominated by Lil' Ed Williams' scorching slide guitar. This band had been playing together for ten years when this album was recorded, so they have a great rapport. Their very first visit to a recording studio was really only meant to cut a couple of tracks for an anthology of up-and-coming Chicago blues bands, but try stopping these guys ! Happy, energetic, raw ... It's hard to exactly pin down the mood of this music. Perhaps the term "party music" sums it all up. This band must be great to hear live, but this album serves as a great introduction !

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Party Albums of All Time!!!!, October 18, 1999

By A Customer

You can't listen to Lil' Ed while standing still. He really gets you moving. Raucous songs sung with feeling and an abundant amount of energy. Sizzling slide guitar backed with a rythm section that would put the Rolling Stones to shame.

5.0 out of 5 stars one bad axe, April 6, 2008

By	W. Landis (des moines, iowa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

lil' ed's bloodline goes back to chicago slide guitarist j.b. hutto. lil' ed takes over, sliding the speaker pumping chicago blues out in perfect form. walking the dog is a tremendous ending song, giving everyone a chance to show their chops. crank it.