As a HUGE fan of RHINO and their really cool compilations and box set serious, as well as such great kiche as Capital's ULTRA LOUNGE series, I have to mention a little disappointment in this one... Great topic, great tunes but well, the guys didn't really dig too deep or do their homework - - Basically this isn't really a compilation but a TWO FOR ONE ALBUM Most the tunes come from the mid-60s Sonny Lester swing session turned post-Master's and Johnson novelty album HOW TO STRIP FOR YOUR HUSBAND Vol. 1 and 2 with three "bonus tracks" - - Had RHINO released it as thus, and perhaps included the original liner info, then I think it would have been a good deal... but since it was presented as STRIP TEASE CLASSSICS.... well, two words... JIMMY FORREST and EARL BOSTIC... uh uh, not there... Further, the liner notes don't really chronical the era or capture the story behind the music (you could find out more glancing through the Something Wierd Video catalogue) - - The story of the music, the clubs, or even the legends (two words - - Betty Page) don't really appear... In fact the guy writing the liner notes even jokes about having no idea who Sonny Lester was (!) As for the music itself - - heck yeah a lot of the stuff swings, grinds and bumps... (In my book Lullaby of Birdland and Strip Poker win the gold medal for sankiness !) but overall I think this compilation isn't just exactly what you'd come to expect from the same great label that put out the BEAT GENERATION BOX SET and all those other retro-era series...
(P.S. A bit of trivia... Sonny Lester recorded a follow up to HOW TO STRIP FOR YOUR HUSBAND called HOW TO STRIP FOR YOUR LOVER in the '90s featuring Lonnie Smith on organ ! Worth knowing !)