If there were any need at this late stage to verify Earl's credentials, a few minutes spent with Ronnie Earl and Friends would see the job done. The guitarist opens with a swaggering Magic Sam riff on "All Your Love" and proceeds through a programme of exquisite blues standards such as Eddie Taylor's "Bad Boy", Little Walter's "Last Night" and James Cotton's moving slow blues "One More Mile". On the last two the joint frontman is Kim Wilson, playing harmonica and singing as well as he's ever done. Wilson features on four other tracks, among them an affectionate Howlin' Wolf pastiche, "No More", while the other "friends" of the title include Irma Thomas (gorgeous in an extended "I'll Take Care of You" that segues into "Lonely Avenue"), Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, the aforementioned Cotton, pianist David Maxwell, and Levon Helm on drums. It was intended to sound like a collaborative effort, and does, but inevitably the sheer, joyful versatility of Earl's playing swivels the spotlight in his direction over and over again. --Tony Russell