Chicken Fat (Verve By Request Series)

Guitarist Mel Brown's 1967 Impulse! debut is possibly both the funkiest and most unique album ever released on the label. Brown's clean blues picking style—honed while playing in John Lee Hooker's and T-Bone Walker's bands—marinates funkily with the swinging soul-jazz organ of Gerald Wiggins.

Especially noteworthy are the title track, "Greasy Spoon" and the simmering lament of "I'm Goin' to Jackson". Audio transferred from the analog tapes. Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit.