Otis Rush’s late ’50s recordings for the Cobra label are some of the most stark and disturbing of the era. He’s a raw, fiery guitarist, a clear precursor to Buddy Guy, and his vocals have a desperation at their heart that’s almost too intense to bear at times. And what he’s singing about is wild, too; songs like “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and “Violent Love” (“I want to make violent love/To you by the moon above/I want to make violent love to you”) skirt the fringes of acceptability, but it’s his classic “My Love Will Never Die,” on which the guitar and horns line up and wail in unison as Rush’s voice floats above it all like a howling revenant, almost as unhinged as Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, that truly sets him apart. It’s as frightening a performance as has ever been recorded.