What It Takes: The Chess Years (Expanded Edition)

The Chicago blues scene was rocked to its core when Koko Taylor hit the Windy City in the early '60s. The former Cora Walton's gutsy, hard-belting style quickly earned her the title "Queen of the Blues" - and she's kept her crown ever since. Deluxe Edition: Koko Taylor brings together her best performances from her first seven Alligator Records albums. Taylor beats male blues shouters at their own game on tough, swaggering tracks such as "I'm A Woman," "Beer Bottle Boogie," and "Come to Mama." She pairs up with Buddy Guy on "Born Under a Bad Sign" and B.B. King on "Blues Hotel," and enlists Might Joe Young's muscular guitar for "Voodoo Woman." On the ballad side, she fills "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "Time Will Tell" with a desperate longing. And, of course, there's her raucous signature tune, "Wang Dang Doodle." Taylor's mighty-throated vocals and take-no-sass attitude makes Deluxe Edition a down 'n' dirty delight.