by Bill Dahl
Dixon landed at Art Rupe's Specialty label in 1953, his music jumping harder than ever. These 22 tracks rate with his best; the collection is full of rarities and previously unissued items, many featuring the wailing tenor sax of Carlos Bermudez in lusty support of the pianist. By 1957, when he momentarily paused at Ebb Records, Dixon could do a pretty fair breathless imitation of Little Richard, as the scorching &Oooh Little Girl& definitively proves. Also includes Dixon's best-known number, the often-covered rocker &Hey Bartender& (first out on Atlantic's Cat subsidiary in 1954).