You Better Run: The Essential Junior Kimbrough

Gathering the best of his all-too-brief recording career, You Better Run: The Essential Junior Kimbrough includes most of his best-known songs, including "Done Got Old," "Meet Me in the City," "You Better Run," and "All Night Long." The collection does a good job of representing each of Kimbrough's albums, ranging from the rough-and-ready sound of All Night Long; Sad Days, Lonely Nights' dark, swampy feel (exemplified here by the title track and "Old Black Mattie"); the dense sonics of Most Things Haven't Worked Out's title track; and the gritty, uncompromising edge to God Knows I Tried's "Tramp." For anyone unsure where to dive into Kimbrough's catalog, You Better Run offers the ideal starting point.