In 1989, Chicagoan Lil’ Ed Williams laid down his roughhousin’ slide manifesto, “Chicken Is Better than Biscuits.” The success of that tune, along with a host of other flamboyant jump boogie anthems that quickly caught on with the blues-loving public, made it possible for Lil’ Ed to quit his day job at the car wash and pursue music full-time. And virtually everything that he’s played since then has been in the same gutbucket shuffle-boogie mold. After some flagging of energy in the ’90s, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials returned to raw, irrepressible form on Get Wild! From the autobiographical opener “Singing Slide” to raucous shuffles like “Independent Superwoman” and “Pet Cream Man” to the rompin’ cha-cha “The Monkey and the Rabbit,” the energy is full-out and nonstop. Raw-boned party music in the tradition of Hound Dog Taylor…not pretty but full of spirit.
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