A fine starting place
Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 08/30/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is certainly not everything you could ever want from Lonnie Brooks, but it is a really great place to start.
Brooks (actually Lee Baker, Jr.) plays a tough synthesis of Louisiana swamp blues and gritty Chicago blues, and this fine collection rounds up 15 highlights from Brooks's stay with Alligator Records in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Lonnie Brooks started out as a session man, playing on Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man", and Charly released his first album, "The Crawl" in 1955, so he is no spring chicken, but his music is fresh and vibrant, an amalgam of blues, rock, R&B, and a little bit of soul, but blues first and foremost.
Lonnie Brooks is a great singer, a fine guitar player, and an excellent songwriter, and this collection is a great place to start appreciating one of Chicago's top bluesmen. A good hour of well-wrought, nicely varied contemporary blues highlighted by the swinging, soulful "Something You Got", the rootsy acoustic "Roll Of The Tumbling Dice", the funky "Hoodoo She Do", and the slow burner "Cold Lonely Nights". Well, everything is good, actually.
Other career highlights include the albums "Hot Shot" and "Bayou Lightning", and the delightful "Lone Star Shootout", a collaboration with fellow guitarists Phillip Walker and Long John Walker. All highly recommended."