Larry Davis didn't record all that often, but when he did, he certainly made it count. That's the case with this fine St. Louis recording. Produced by Oliver Sain (who handled all sax work) and featuring Billy Gayles on drums and pianist Johnnie Johnson, the set is a ringing endorsement of Davis's slashing, tremolo-enriched guitar and booming vocals.

Only bad luck and the follies of the record industry have prevented Larry Davis from being the well-known blues star he should be. Davis has never received either sustained label support or concentrated marketing and thus is only a footnote when he should be a full chapter. His playing is energetic and varied, while his vocals are animated, soulful, and expressive. He recorded the nine tracks on this '85 date (newly reissued on CD by Evidence) with longtime blues and soul producer and instrumentalist Oliver Sain at the controls, and Davis demonstrated his convincing appeal on Sain's title track, as well as the defiant "I'm A Rolling Stone" (another Sain original), Davis' own anguished "Giving Up On Love," and "Please Don't Go," a Chuck Willis composition.

Anyone who associates "Texas Flood" only with Stevie Ray Vaughan has never auditioned Larry Davis' version. Davis debuted on vinyl in 1958 with the song, his superlative Duke Records original remaining definitive to this day despite Vaughan's impassioned revival many years down the road. Davis grew up in Little Rock, AR, giving up the drums to play bass. Forging an intermittent partnership with guitarist Fenton Robinson during the mid-'50s, the pair signed with Don Robey's Duke label on the recommendation of Bobby Bland. Three Davis 45s resulted, including "Texas Flood" and "Angels in Houston," before Robey cut Davis loose. From there, Davis was forced to make the most of limited opportunities in the studio. He lived in St. Louis for a spell and took up the guitar under Albert King's tutelage while playing bass in King's band.

This, despite the appearance, is not a duet album. Instead, this captures a session from November 20, 1985, with guitarists Larry Davis and Byther Smith fronting the same studio band consisting of guitarist Maurice John Vaughn, bassist Douglas Watson, drummer Julian Vaughn, and tenor saxophonist A.C. Reed. As Bill Dahl points out in the liner notes to the 1994 Evidence reissue Blues Knights, the two frontmen keep true to their essential style, with their supple supporting band following suit. As such, the four Davis cuts are pretty relaxed and jazzy, usually quite alluring but at times a little sleepy…