made a series of demo-like recordings for 's imprint in the early '60s well before his official transformation into the persona in 1967 and before his early-'70s hits and brought him a wider audience. As such, these recordings literally are an introduction to , since they were among the first he recorded as a bandleader, and all the essential ingredients of his later style are pretty much in place on these sides, although a certain intangible spark seems missing at times and the demo feel is obvious. and the impressive wouldn't sound too far out of place on one of 's later albums, though, and the loose-limbed is a wonderful slice of pure Crescent City . Pleasant, if a bit understated, these recordings don't necessarily make the best introduction to , but serious fans of will want to pick them up, either in this incarnation or 's 1999 version of the same tracks called . ~ Steve Leggett