ALLIGATOR RECORDS TO REISSUE TWO CLASSIC TITLES ON VINYL LP ON SEPTEMBER 13

        

"Live wire exuberance and hard-as-nails force, natural for partying, drinking and talking loud...Extra wicked, hellfire slide guitar from the Mississippi-born dynamo” —Rolling Stone

"Four of the world's greatest blues harp players meet head to head in a 'blowdown' super-session. The cream of the Chicago sound...a must for harmonica fans" —DownBeat

On Friday, September 13, Alligator Records will reissue two classic titles from its unparalleled blues and roots rock catalog:  Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers' GRAMMY-nominated Beware Of The Dog! and the James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell and Billy Branch classic, Harp Attack!. Both albums have been remastered, pressed on 140g black vinyl and will be available for the first time on LP in 35 years. Additionally, 500 green vinyl copies of Beware Of The Dog! will be pressed as an "Indie Exclusive" to be sold only in U.S. independent record stores.

Originally released in 1976, Hound Dog Taylor's raucous and feral Beware Of The Dog! is now considered one of the blues' greatest live albums. Released shortly after Taylor's death in 1975, Beware Of The Dog! captures the primeval glory and pure joy of Taylor and his HouseRockers -- guitarist Brewer Phillips and drummer Ted Harvey -- playing fast, loud, foot-stomping, soul-satisfying music. "The Ramones of the blues," said Village Voice critic Robert Christgau, who called Beware Of The Dog! "a celebration for those who like their blues hot." Since its 1976 release, Beware Of The Dog! has sold over 100,000 units worldwide. Taylor was inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame in 1986.

Originally released in 1990, Harp Attack! brought four of the finest blues harmonica players in the world together in the studio for the first and only time. James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell and Billy Branch had been friends for years. Cotton, Wells and Bell all previously held the coveted harmonica slot in blues icon Muddy Waters' band. The younger Billy Branch, a veteran of Willie Dixon's band, was "the new kid", giving the older artists a run for their money. Alligator president and album producer Bruce Iglauer told DownBeat magazine that Harp Attack! is “the summit meeting of Chicago’s four best blues harmonica players, close friends who loved each other and also loved to ‘cut heads’ (try to outplay each other). We created different combinations of players on different tracks, with the harps sometimes soloing, sometimes playing together like a horn section, sometimes trading licks, always challenging each other.” Since its 1990 release, Harp Attack! has sold over 90,000 units worldwide.