Sep 10
27
Luther Allison – Live in Chicago
With a cover like that you just know it’s going to smoke…
Luther Allison is an interesting character in the blues world in that blues fans know him and regular people never heard of him. Sure, everyone’s heard of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and B.B. King. I mean, they’re legends of the genre and deservedly so. But it’s damn near a cryin’ shame that Luther seems to fly under the popular radar as he is quite spectacular indeed.
Luther Allison Live in Chicago captures Allison in a sweaty, adrenaline charged set from the Chicago Blues Festival in the summer of 1995. There is also a entire second disc of potent performances from Buddy Guy’s Legends in 1995 and the Zoo Bar in Lincoln, NE, 1997. Regardless of where the songs were performed they all smoke, although the Chicago Blues Festival tracks are definitely the highlight of the set.
Disc 1 features a killer, perhaps definitive version of “Cherry Red Wine,” a song that proved to be somewhat of a hit for Allison and became an oft requested number in live performance. The lyrics, about a friend wasting away in the hard sting of alcohol, are passionately delivered and actually serve to denounce heavy drinking which is sometimes glorified, to an extent, in some blues songs. Allison’s guitar leads are anguished, pain filled, and near delirious in execution – there is indeed no doubt about his feelings on the matter.
Later on in the night we are treated to the heavy disco blues funk of “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is,” a song that sets Allison apart from most other blues artists in that he can do both blues and funk seemingly effortlessly. The bass line is straight out of some sort of late night disco and yet the vocals and lead guitar are delivered with nothing less than pure Chicago style blues played in a rock tempo. Yes, there are a lot of musical styles going on here but they are all expertly played and Allison kicks up quite a storm.
“It Hurts Me Too,” the old classic of blues, finds Allison administering some excellent slide guitar for the very, very appreciative crowd. Whereas the previous track, “Give Me Back My Wig,” featured delicious slide guitar that left the train tracks for complete mayhem, “It Hurts Me Too” features a controlled slide that burns slowly, reaching a satisfying climax towards the end.
“Gambler’s Blues/Sweet Little Angel” closes out the set and features blistering performances from none other than the legendary Otis Rush and Eddie C. Campbell on guitar. The track cooks throughout and is perhaps the most pure blues track featured on the set. Rush in particular sounds fantastic and with all three guitarist making noise it is indeed a blues experience. It’s all worth it just for this collaboration alone which I just can’t seem to get enough of.
Disc 2 features a slew of rousing Allison/Solberg originals ranging from the slow burn of “All The King’s Horses” to the rocking funk of “What Have I Done Wrong?” “What’s Going On In My Home?” features a smoking jam towards the end that somehow channels Hendrix and some fingers-a-fleeting soloing from Allison. It is both incredible and surprising and easily the highlight of disc 2.
Luther Allison Live in Chicago is a stunning document of the blues played live and in front of a highly appreciative audience. Whenever someone asks me to recommend them some blistering blues this is what I tell them. It is both pure blues and smoking rock all in one and can easily satisfy either genre.
Tracklist
Disc One:
- “Intro” – 0:23
- “Soul Fixin’ Man” – 4:03
- “Cherry Red Wine” – 8:36
- “Move From The Hood” – 4:48
- “Bad Love” – 10:16
- “Put Your Money” – 6:00
- “Big City” – 9:07
- “Give Me Back My Wig” – 5:22
- “It Hurts Me Too” – 7:39
- “Gamblers Blues / Sweet Angel” – 10:26
Disc Two:
- “Party Time” – 5:20
- “All The King’s Horses” – 12:19
- “What Have I Done Wrong” – 7:10
- “Walking Papers” – 6:48
- “Think With Your Heart” – 6:27
- “What’s Going On In My Home” – 7:13
- “Will It Ever Change” – 5:48
- “You’re Gonna Make Me Cry” – 8:26
- “Everything’s Gonna Be All Right” – 5:30
