About two weeks before Nick Moss & the Flip Tops recorded their latest disc, their van and all their equipment was stolen in Montreal. Judging from the sound of things, having to use borrowed equipment to record wasn’t a setback at all. Clocking in at nearly 80 minutes, Live At Chan’s – Combo Platter No. 2 (Blue Bella Records) is as robust a set of Chicago blues as you’ve heard in a long time.

Moss certainly has the pedigree for Chicago blues, having played bass in the mid '80s for Buddy Scott, then Jimmy Dawkins, followed by the Legendary Blues Band, where he eventually graduated to guitar. After a three-year stint with Jimmy Rogers, Moss went solo and has released several albums of his own, including a 2006 live recording at Chan’s, a Woonsocket, R.I. Chinese restaurant.

Moss and the Flip Tops tear into rousing originals like the opening instrumental, “Spare Ribs & Chopsticks,” “Fill ‘er Up,” “Try To Treat You Right,” and “I Got All Kinds of Blues.” Flip Top Gerry Hundt pulls out the mandolin for the lively “Whiskey Makes Me Mean, while Moss plays harmonica. There’s also a great version of Curtis Jones’ “Lonesome Bedroom Blues.”

On the final four cuts of the disc, the band is joined by special guest Lurrie Bell, and an already fine album takes off into the stratosphere. Moss and Bell battle it out on four songs, the best of all being their magnificent thirteen-minute take on Eddie Boyd’s “Five Long Years,” a blues guitarist’s dream come true.

The Flip Tops (Gerry Hundt – mandolin, bass, harmonica, vocals; Willie Oshawny – piano and organ, Bob Carter – drums, and Moss’ wife Kate on bass) are nearly flawless in support of Moss and Bell, whose interplay is wonderful. Though the set is nearly 80 minutes, there’s never a dull moment.

Chicago blues doesn’t get much better than this set. This is another winning set from one of the best blues bands working today.