You Better Run: The Essential Junior Kimbrough (CD - 2002)

Producers include: Robert Palmer, Junior Kimbrough, Matthew Johnson, Bruce Watson, John Herman.

Recorded between 1969 & 1996. Includes liner notes by Anthony DeCurtis.

Personnel: Junior Kimbrough (vocals, guitar); Charlie Feathers (vocals, guitar); Kenny Brown (guitar); Kenny Malone (drums).

Liner Note Author: Anthony DeCurtis.

Recording information: Home (1969-1996); Junioir's Juke Joint, Chulahoma, MS (1969-1996); Junior Kimbrough's Place, Holly Springs, MS (1969-1996); Lunati Farms, Holly Springs, MS (1969-1996); Sunflower Blues Festival, Clarksdale, MS (1969-1996).

Photographer: David Barry .

Gathering the best of his all-too-brief recording career, You Better Run: The Essential Junior Kimbrough includes most of his best-known songs, including "Done Got Old," "Meet Me in the City," "You Better Run," and "All Night Long." The collection does a good job of representing each of Kimbrough's albums, ranging from the rough-and-ready sound of All Night Long; Sad Days, Lonely Nights' dark, swampy feel (exemplified here by the title track and "Old Black Mattie"); the dense sonics of Most Things Haven't Worked Out's title track; and the gritty, uncompromising edge to God Knows I Tried's "Tramp." For anyone unsure where to dive into Kimbrough's catalog, You Better Run offers the ideal starting point. ~ Heather Phares minimize