Live In Chicago Medford MA

Live In Chicago

Luther Allison

Alligator Records, 1999

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 09/13/1999

As much as I love the blues, it seems strange that I didn'tdiscover the music of Luther Allison until his untimely death fromcancer. Live In Chicago, a posthumous release that serves as acelebration of the legendary guitarist/singer's life, actuallymakes me feel worse that I didn't discover the joys of his talentswhile he was still with us.

The title of this disc is slightly a misnomer; four tracks wererecorded in Lincoln, Nebraska, in one of Allison's final showsbefore his death. However, if he was sick, he didn't let cancermuffle his sound or his enthusiasm for the music, and theirinclusion in this set is both appropriate and fitting.

The first disc of this over two-hour set captures the intensityof Allison's performance at the 1995 Chicago Blues Festival. Havingjust flown to Chicago from Paris the day of the show, one wouldhave understood if Allison sounded a bit tired or rusty. This,however, is far from the case, as I can almost feel the joyoussweat from Allison's all-too-brief set. Allison's guitar workencompasses not only the blues, but the early days of rock androll; some of his solos could easily have come from the rock world,they have such intensity and bite.

Tracks like "Soul Fixin' Man," "Move From The Hood" and his takeon "It Hurts Me Too" show that Allison was ready to lay claim tothe blues throne in the United States, having spent the better partof two decades in Europe. The talent was there; it's just that thetime wasn't. Had Allison lived, there is no doubt that this discwould have served as the coronation music.