This month, I'd like to talk about three new releases in my blues in-box. This trio of CDs captures the soul, energy and passion of some great bluesmen. If you're particularly fond of blues guitar slingers, stay tuned. These guys've got blues chops to spare, and I'm happy to report that some of this year's best blues will hit the CD bins sooner rather than later. If you can't find them at your local retailer or online, let me know. I'll hook you up with the 411 on the nearest store or URL that carries these discs.
Bernard Allison's name should ring plenty of bells among blues fans everywhere. That's right, his late father is the legendary guitar slinger Luther Allison. But, just like Muddy Waters' son, Big Bill Morganfield, Bernard Allison is his own blueman. Bernard's made quite a name for himself overseas, selling out festivals and concert halls all over Europe for the last decade. Bernard Allison's debut on the Tone-Cool label, Across the Water, features some great full throttle blues like "The River's Rising." "Change Your Way of Living" is an instant classic, powered by some great barrelhouse boogie piano and keyboards. When Bernard slows it down on "Work It Out," it works out just fine: he can do the slow bluesy ballad just like he can play straight ahead, guitar-driven blues. Bernard gets a little funky on "Higher Love," a great original tune (not to be confused with the Steve Winwood song of the same name). Blues insiders might also recognize the Tone-Cool label, as it has been home to Susan (Just Won't Burn) Tedeschi and John Brim (who played with Elmore James on the seminal Chess set, Whose Muddy Shoes). Bernard's not only inherited some fine blues genes from his father, he's made the blues his own on Across the Water. This year's W.C. Handy award nomination for "Contemporary Male Blues Artist of the Year" is a sign of things to come: sooner or later, he'll be picking up that hardware, but I'm sure glad he's back stateside with Across the Water.
Last year, I sung Walter Trout and the Free Radicals' praises whenever and wherever I could, shouting about their 1999 release on Ruf Records, Livin' Every Day. Well, I'm back a-shoutin' louder this time about one of the most exciting blues discs to come around in a long time. At least since Livin' Every Day, anyway. This budget-priced double CD set was produced Jim Gaines (Blues Traveler, Bernard Allison, Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughn) and captures all the nuances of Walter Trout live at this year's 2000 Tampa Bay Blues Festival. If two full discs of blistering blues guitar in the tradition of SRV or Alvin Lee is what you crave, Live Trout will give you what you need. "I Call Tell" starts the set at full throttle and Walter doesn't let up through 14 great, long tracks that give him the time to shine on some pretty extended solos. My other favorites include "Come Home" and the down-home and dirty blues of "Finally Gotten Over You."
There's a story behind Live Trout that would give anyone the blues. Walter and his family hadn't eaten or slept in over 24 hours. They all had the airline blues en route to the 2000 Tampa Bay Blues Festival: missed flights from Los Angeles and Phoenix, not to mention a night without sleep or food. As the liner note says, Walter keyed in on the audience's energy.
"Thank God there was a great audience. They gave me the strength and energy to pull it through. This is pure adrenaline. You can hear that I'm floating on the crowd, and they are lifting me through. Right on, Walter!
Like Bernard Allison, Walter Trout is very, very popular in Europe. Walter's also been a sideman in demand for the likes of John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Canned Heat. It's no wonder, after checking out Live Trout.
David Raitt and Jimmy Thackery hit the blues nail on the head with their That's It release on Redwood Valley, California's little Blue Rock'It Records. You'll recognize that Raitt name from his sister Bonnie, but just like Bernard Allison, David's made his own way in the blues, even though it has taken over 30 years for singer David Raitt to reconnect with his friend, guitarist Jimmy Thackery. Way back when, David lent Jimmy a Buddy Guy vinyl LP. Remember those? In the meantime, David played stand up bass with Bonnie in clubs, and then moved out West where he started a family and established a successful business building yurts. Yes, yurts, round homes built on a Mongolian design.
Jimmy must've been inspired by that borrowed Buddy Guy LP. He first gained fame with an East Coast club band, The Nighthawks. Before I forget, the Washington, D.C.-based Nighthawks have weathered a few personnel changes over time, but remain one of the most vital blues bands on the Eastern Seaboard. From their 70's set Live at the Diner, more than a dozen CDs, to their 25th reunion featuring Jimmy Thackery in Pittsburgh three years ago, the Nighthawks have defined blues bar sound, with guitar aces like James Solberg. Jimmy's also gained some great blues experience with his own Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers, a great bar band steeped in the tradition of the blues just like the Nighthawks. On That's It, check out "I'd Rather Be Blind, Crippled and Crazy" and listen for Bonnie Raitt on back-up vocals and the swagger of "Driving Wheel" from this great little boutique blues record. My favorite is the closer "Cold Heart" that highlights Raitt's capable vocals and Jimmy's fine, fine guitar.
This past month, I've found some interesting blues programs on the Internet, including KPLU-FM, not too far from me here in the Pacific Northwest, out of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. Next month, I'll highlight a few blues programs that are available online through Microsoft's Media Player. In addition to some choice new blues releases, of course.
As David and Jimmy say on their fine Blue Rock'It release, That's It for September's Cosmik Blues.
