Live In Paris Medford MA

Live In Paris

Luther Allison

Ruf Records, 1979

REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 10/12/2000

If you want to get a good introduction to the Chicago bluessound, Luther Allison is a great introduction. With a listen to hisscorching guitar solos and his raw voice, Allison captured theessence of Chicago blues: that it is not necessarily a sound, but afeeling. Being fortunate enough to live in the city that has thelegendary blues bar, the Zoo Bar, I had a good introduction to anartist who never let a genre peg his style down.

His Live In Chicago double disc is almost too much to take in.Allison played the Chicago circuit in the middle and late 1970sbefore he relocated overseas. And by listening to Live In Paris, you get a feeling that Allison was ready fora change. Unlike far too many live albums, Live In Paris has the crowd responding politely. In fact,you never hear a crowd roar. It may be because the recording wantedto focus entirely on Allison or it could be that the audience waslistening to a sound that they typically don't hear.

The songs on Live In Paris have a simplicity that can raise the hairs onyour arms. "Crazy Jealous," "My Babe" and "I'm Leavin'" showcaseAllison's straightforward style of blues playing. Allison's banterwith the crowd is ripe with "thank yous" and "you've been such awonderful audience." But coming from his voice and listening to hiselectric playing, you believe it.

Many fans and critics are drawn to Allison's no-frills approachto music. No glitzy marketing, no computerized samples or beats,just straightforward playing. However, those appreciate Allison forjust that are missing the point of his style. Yes, his musicalapproach was free of some of the many unnecessary elementsassociated with making albums. However, Allison's music is anythingbut simple.