Battle of the Blues

Not Now's 2014 compilation Battle of the Blues is ever so loosely organized around the idea that these are all rough-and-tumble blues -- songs that either have a swagger or are itching for a fight. It's best not to take this concept too literally -- some songs have violence in their heart, some are just ready for a party -- but rather think of this as a nice grab bag of down-and-dirty electric blues, primarily from the '50s, that holds together pretty well over the course of 60 tracks. There are tons of well-known names here, often with songs that aren't especially well known, which makes this a cut above other similarly minded budget comps. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine