One of my favorite albums from my early days as a blues fan was the first volume of the Antone's Tenth Anniversary celebration, a live show which took place at the Austin club back in 1985. I wrote about this album in great detail here about three and a half years ago. I have an iPod Shuffle that I use to work out......one of the tiny ones that you can clip to a shirt sleeve or belt loop....that will hold about 400 - 450 songs. I have five songs from this album on that iPod, and could possibly include a few more. It was actually one of the first live blues albums that I owned and it was a very energetic set of tunes by some of the genre's legends.
I've mentioned this track several times before, so it shouldn't be a surprise to longtime readers that I would include it.......Otis Rush's inspired reading of "Double Trouble," one of the classic tunes he recorded for Cobra Records during the late 1950's. Though relatively brief at around 3:45, it's an action-packed 3:45. Rush's vocal is one of his most intense and his piercing guitar work is awesome. I've heard a lot of Rush's live recordings (and posted about them here) and to me, this is near the top of the heap for me.
Rush is one of my favorite blues artists, and has been for a long time. I've always thought that his style would appeal to new blues fans because of his strong, soul-influenced vocals and his versatile guitar style, which mixes his own distinct qualities with influences from others such as B.B. King, Albert King, T-Bone Walker, and jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell. When you listen to a collection of Otis Rush songs, you will hear hints of those other influences, but for this version of "Double Trouble," Otis is playing nothing but Otis. Check it out!!!
Your Blues Fix Mix CD (Volume One) to date......
Track 1: "Cold Women With Warm Hearts," Magic Slim & the Teardrops Track 2: "Son of Juke," Billy Branch Track 3: "Feel Like Blowing My Horn," Robert Lockwood, Jr. Track 4: "Big Boy Now," Big Jack Johnson Track 5: "Blues Man," B.B. King Track 6" "Four Cars Running," Larry Garner Track 7: "Cadillac Blues," Johnnie Bassett & the Blues Insurgents Track 8: "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues," Skip James Track 9: "Double Trouble" (Live), Otis Rush
No comments:
Post a Comment