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- Artist: Hot Tuna
- Rating:





- Release Date: July 28, 1998
- Total Time: 145:44
- Type: Compilation (best of)
- Genre: Rock
Review
This two-disc compilation of RCA recordings, made between 1969 and 1977, traces Hot Tuna's evolution from an acoustic folk-blues group to an electric blues-rock band, and then to a near-heavy metal ensemble, and from a repertoire dominated by covers of songs by blues guitarists like the Reverend Gary Davis to one consisting largely of original material written by guitarist/singer Jorma Kaukonen. Actually, the transitions are not that dramatic, since Kaukonen continues to favor the same kinds of guitar figures whether he's playing acoustic or electric, and his own songs, albeit with more abstract lyrics, are steeped in the traditions that produced the cover material. The compilers might have pleased Hot Tuna fans by placing more emphasis on the group's jamming abilities, including more of its live material ("Death Don't Have No Mercy" is especially missed), and saved some of the Kaukonen compositions for a "best of Jorma" album. But that is not to say that the compilation isn't a balanced, representative condensation of Hot Tuna's career on RCA; it is. It's just that, like the Grateful Dead's, Hot Tuna's studio albums didn't necessarily reflect the best of the group as a performing unit. Note that the set includes a rare studio version of "Been So Long" originally released as a single and a previously unreleased 1977 live version of "Rock Me Baby." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Hesitation Blues (Lyrics) | Traditional | Hot Tuna | (5:05) |
| Know Your Rider | Traditional | Hot Tuna | (4:07) |
| Winin' Boy Blues | Hot Tuna | (5:31) | |
| Mann's Fate | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (5:20) |
| Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning | Rev. Gary Davis | Hot Tuna | (8:15) |
| Candy Man (Lyrics) | Rev. Gary Davis | Hot Tuna | (5:48) |
| Been So Long [Studio Single Version] | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (3:45) |
| Keep on Truckin' (Lyrics) | Hot Tuna | (3:40) | |
| 99 Year Blues (Lyrics) | Julius Daniels | Hot Tuna | (3:57) |
| Ode for Billy Dean (Lyrics) | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (4:50) |
| Sea Child (Lyrics) | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (5:00) |
| Water Song | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (5:15) |
| I See the Light (Lyrics) | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (4:15) |
| Living Just for You (Lyrics) | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (3:18) |
| Easy Now (Lyrics) | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (5:10) |
| Sally, Where'd You Get Your Liquor From | Rev. Gary Davis | Hot Tuna | (2:56) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Hit Single #1 | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (5:13) |
| Serpent of Dreams (Lyrics) | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (6:51) |
| Sleep Song (Lyrics) | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (4:23) |
| Funky #7 | Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (5:47) |
| Hot Jelly Roll Blues (Lyrics) | Bo Carter | Hot Tuna | (4:21) |
| Sunrise Dance with the Devil | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (4:28) |
| Bar Room Crystal Ball | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (6:52) |
| I Wish You Would | Billy Boy Arnold | Hot Tuna | (3:10) |
| Watch the North Wind Rise (Lyrics) | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (4:39) |
| It's So Easy | Norman Petty, Buddy Holly | Hot Tuna | (2:34) |
| Song from the Stainless Cymbal | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (4:02) |
| Genesis | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (4:16) |
| Rock Me Baby [#] | B.B. King, Joe Josea | Hot Tuna | (7:36) |
| Extrication Love Song | Jorma Kaukonen | Hot Tuna | (5:20) |





