A dozen early-'50s sides are contained on this album, which is pretty smokin'
R&B
of the honkin' sax school. For someone trying to collect
Chuck Higgins
sides, though, the question is: does this have stuff I already have elsewhere, and is it the same as another prominent compilation with the same title? First clarification: it's an entirely different set than the one released on CD by
Specialty
in the early '90s that was also titled
Pachuko Hop
. Unfortunately, most of the dozen tracks also appear on another, more extensive
Ace
compilation,
Blows His Wig
, which has 24 cuts. But -- and this is a big but --
, unlike
, does not have the song
"Pachuko Hop"
itself, which is
Higgins
' most famous recording. It might be a lot to ask to fork out for a full CD just for that track, especially considering
's 2007 CD doesn't add any historical liner notes. But taken on its own terms, this is some of the most intense sax-driven
of the early '50s,
pealing off some truly thrilling squeals and honks on the frantic instrumentals that dominate the set, also throwing in some
Latin
rhythms (
"Blues 'n' Mambo"
) and unpredictably stumbling tempos that make it sound like the CD player is skipping (
"Iron Pipe"
). It's not entirely
instrumental
-- some good-humored vocal numbers are on board too, and even a
blues
ballad,
"Stormy,"
but it's definitely those hurricane-like instrumentals that carry the show. Here's another reason to consider getting this
' set: the cover photo of a just-barely-covered female model, which must have been one of the most risque LP sleeves yet issued when this album first came out in the early '50s. ~ Richie Unterberger