Search - Various Artists :: Crucial Live Blues

Crucial Live! Blues is not to be missed

Tim Holek | 11/23/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"VARIOUS

Crucial Live! Blues

Alligator ALCD 119



Alligator has converted more fans to the blues than they will ever know. Now another generation's ears will be called to the blues due to the Crucial Blues series. In addition to the authoritative music, Crucial Live! Blues comes with an attractive and tempting low-cost price tag, 60 minutes of music, 13 cuts (mostly covers), tracks recorded in the U.S., Australia, and Japan and originally released between 1974 and 2002, simple yet expressive cover art, and liner info extracted from Alligator's mail order catalog. The greatest differences between this sampler and other Alligator compilations include not being as long in duration and un-detailed credits.



The vital CD features the label's finest musicians. Most of them are guitar slingers. You will encounter nine of them at this concert while the rest of the gig consists of two prized vocalists, one harp phenomenon, and one acoustic act. Lonnie Mack performs alive and kicking blues-rock with a rolling rhythm on "Riding The Blinds". The track will have you wondering why he didn't become as big a star as Stevie Ray Vaughan given the fact that Vaughan was his most devoted disciple. "Tired Man" features the unmistakable piercing guitar of Albert Collins along with impressive sax and bass that drives the definitive rhythm. More than one song will have you longing to be relaxing in a smoky Chicago blues bar. One example is "Going Back To Iuka", which showcases two hot guitarists on a rolling shuffle led by Koko Taylor's roaring throat. With classy guitar, Little Charlie & The Nightcats have the innate ability to make the blues fun. As do the acoustic and folky Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women. Ironically, their hilarious song contains lyrics written by Charlie's Rick Estrin. Lonnie Brooks' booming voice, sassy guitar, and enthusiastic rhythms are as fulfilling as a bowl of gumbo. His masterful band supports Elvin Bishop during "My Dog" and makes him vibrant. Sporting an ultra, funky, big, eight-member band, James Cotton slightly personalizes the lyrics of "Born In Chicago". Like a spontaneous, wild party thrown by your roommate, Hound Dog Taylor creates a welcome racket that you can't resist joining. Son Seals' music is raw, tough, and unpolished - just like the side of town you were told to avoid. "Cherry Red Wine" is taken from Live In Chicago, which is quite possibly, the finest live, electric, Chicago blues recording ever made. Here, Luther Allison's tantalizing live guitar work is a testimony to his brilliance.



In having to bypass other great live Alligator recordings by Elvin Bishop and Little Smokey Smothers, Big Twist, and Siegel-Schwall, it must have been a struggle for the producers to narrow their selections. Since blues is such an in-the-moment music, which is best experienced live, Crucial Live! Blues is not to be missed. The only thing that could have made this a better compilation was a previously unreleased track or two thrown in for good measure. Let's hope the crucial keyboard, vocalist and horn collections aren't far behind.



-- Tim Holek

"

Great, GREAT album

Reader | United States | 08/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have probably 50 or more blues CD's. I got this one maybe a month ago, and it immediately became one of my favorites. The only dud is "Dump That Chump." Whatever your thoughts on Saffire, this particular song is a clunking boogie that just doesn't fit with the other songs. Otherwise, every song on the album is a ton of fun to listen to. I play guitar myself, and it's also a great album to jam along with. This CD would be worth a lot more than they're charging for it! And that comes from a person who thinks that most CD's are worth maybe $4."

GOD, I LOVE THIS CD!!

Scott Dewey | Los Angeles, CA USA | 09/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"GOD, I LOVE THIS CD!! It is truly alive, in a way most other live or studio recordings cannot even come close to. It showcases extremely high-energy live performances from almost twenty different Chicago-based or Chicago-visiting blues acts between about 1980 and 2000. These are great songs performed by great blues artists, some of them funny and high-spirited, all of them raw and electrifying. This is one of those rare CDs that is unrelentingly excellent and sparkles and crackles with energy all the way through. Alligator Records offers a number of really good blues collections of acts that have come through Chicago, but I'd say this one is the best of all. [That claim is based on a familiarity with both Alligator's other compilation CDs and several dozen (or maybe a few hundred) other blues recordings--this one is one of my all-time favorites!.] If you enjoy the blues, or if you aren't sure but are curious to try it out, this is a GREAT (and inexpensive) place to start!"