With Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson II, ruling Chicago's south side and Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Buddy Guy and Luther Allison ruling the west side, if you wanted to hear the blues all you had to do was listen. Melvin must have gone to the west side as he and band play some serious blues on this CD.

Melvin Taylor was born in Mississippi in 1959 and raised in Chicago. Dirty Pool, his second American album pays a huge tribute to his Chicago roots and even more to his huge influence, Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Along with the title track, this disc includes two other tunes done by Stevie Ray and co-written by S.R.V. and Doyle Bramhall: "Too Sorry" and "Telephone Song". In Dirty Pool, Taylor's first lead reminds me of Vaughan, while his second one sounds more like one of his most important inspirations, Jimi Hendrix. Melvin's got more than most Stevie immitators. He really cooks in his own style and makes you forget about all those other guys.