"I agree totally with Scott Free's review. This is just a very bad session (Otis had to cancel his European tour imideately after) that should have remained in the can forever. Otis has done a lot of very good works over the years, beginning with his early master pieces on Cobra and Chess, two outstanding records in the seventies Right Place Wrong Time and So Many Roads Live In Japan, and returning to the studios in the nineties with two great albums Ain't Enough Coming In from 1994 and Any Place I'm Going from 1998."
Don't bother
Scott Free | san jose | 05/02/2000
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I love Otis Rush but this CD sounds as if he was really drunk when he recorded it. I believe his voice and guitar playing are flawless perfection when he plays now but this recording from the early seventies is terrible.Please go with one of his more recent albums like "Not enough coming in"."
Raw guitar without all of them horns
Redgecko | USA | 10/31/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I can take some horns with my blues, and with some artists, like B.B. King, it's to be expected. If you want a chance to hear Otis Rush play without all of the horns in the background which take away from rawness of the sound then listen to this CD. All of the songs are long--over 6 minutes and filled with extended guitar solos (except #7), sometimes punctuated with Rush's screamin' and cryin' (what did you expect, that's what the CD is titled!). Other Rush recordings like Ain't Enough Comin' In and Anyplace I'm Going sound too Motown and have too many horns. Screamin' and Cryin' is just bass, drums, guitar and a little bit of piano and organ in the background."
Otis and the Blues
bigbukka | Sweden | 07/12/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"When Otis Rush recorded this he was not feeling well and had had a drink too much. In fact he left the european tour he was on right after recording this and went back to the States. So is this a bad album? Should it not have been released? I say no to both of these questions. First, Rush is backed by a top-notch Chicago band with a mean Jimmy Dawkins on second guitar, and secondly, Otis seems at times possessed. He wails and screams and improvises, turning standard songs to a journey into his soul. Does this sound pathetic? Well, maybe so, but listen to Everyday I have the blues where Otis' anguished screams sends down cold chills along your spine. Or listen to the lyrics on A beautiful memory where Otis recalls how his parents listened to nice music but he only hears blues. This is not a nice blues album, it's not an album you play to feel good, but when you need some blues bordering to hell, you won't be disappointed. If you liked Cold day in hell, you should like this one too."