At the time of the recording, Taylor was playing locally in taverns, but the higher profile the album's success gave him enabled him to obtain work further afield, eventually touring as far away as Australia.

[7] Cub Koda, writing for AllMusic, described it as "wild, raucous, crazy music straight out of the South Side clubs", and called it "one of the greatest slide guitar albums of all time".

[1] The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings describes its sound as "loud, harsh, boxy and exciting".

Taylor makes a neoprimitivist showboat like James Cotton sound like a cross between Don Nix and the Harmonicats, and about time.

: a guitar-playing friend tells me the axe Hound Dog brandishes on the cover is the cheapest you can buy.