For Christmas, my son bought be half a dozen albums from what I call the Discogs "bargain bin". These are the vinyl records being offered for two to five dollars from the same seller you might buy more expensive purchase as the shipping and handling gets cheaper per record when you buy more albums. It's really a hit or miss on the quality of used albums you can find at this price range. Despite the cheapest of these albums my son purchased, Tuff Enuff by The Fabulous Thunderbirds is the album I have enjoyed most out of the lot.

In the 1980's, The Fabulous Thunderbirds was the first rock band I saw in concert with friends and without my parents. I don't remember the exact year, but the venue was the Startlight Theatre in Kansas City and the Thunderbirds were the opening band for another favorite, REO Speedwagon. As much as I liked rock and heavy metal music as a teenager of the times, I have always had an interest in jazz and blues, so the Fabulous Thunderbirds playing blues rock are always welcome to my ears. 

The album Tuff Enuff is The Fabulous Thunderbird's fourth album. The album didn't come out until 1986 and wouldn't have been released until a year or two after I saw them in concert. While The The Fabulous Thunderbirds has always been popular in concert, this Texas blues band didn't sell too many albums until Tuff Enuff was released. The album was also the band's first really big mainstream success thanks to the single "Tuff Enuff" which could heard in a couple movies and the single "Wrap It Up" accompanying it on the radio play list. While both songs are good, I like a couple other songs even more from this album. The song, "Look at That, Look at That" gets me out of my seat almost every time I listen to it. When "Tell Me" is played I just want to seek out my bride of 20 years and ask her for a dance. If you like your blues and rock to be shaken not stirred, this is the album for you.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds band members for this album are Kim Wilson, Jimmie Vaughan, Preston Hubbard, and Fran Christina. Since the album was released the band's lineup has changed over the years under the consistent guidance of Kim Wilson. While maybe not the old band, the changes are fine by me because for 2022, The Fabulous Thunderbirds remain on tour and the alternative would be too tuff for me to bear.