Luther Allison - I Owe It All To You (HD Tracks)

Size: 948 MB
Time: 53:04
File: Flac
Released: 2024
Styles: blues, jazzy blues
Art: Front

1. I Owe It All To You (4:33)
2. Until I See You Again (5:00)
3. Say Dr. J (4:29)
4. Knocks Me Off My Feet (5:39)
5. I Didn't Know What Time It Was (5:43)
6. There But For The Grace Of... (6:27)
7. The Things We Used To Say (5:32)
8. New York (4:26)
9. From Day To Day (7:17)
10. Lu's Blues (3:54)

Pianist Luther Allison launches an explorative interpretation of his musical mentors on his debut album as leader, "I Owe It All To You.” While jazz fans may already know Allison from his earlier work, this album marks uncharted territory as he steers his piano trio through varied melodic landscapes and unpredictable rhythms. Supported by bassist Boris Kozlov's solid harmonic foundation and drummer Zach Adleman's energetic percussion, Allison utilizes his visionary talent to uncover latent possibilities in these songs, making bold yet faithful statements. For longtime fans or new listeners alike, "I Owe It All To You" promises to delight with its originality and fresh takes on Allison's influences.

I Owe It All To You (HD Tracks) FLAC

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Luther Allison - Reckless

Size: 149.8 MB
Time: 65:26
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Low Down And Dirty (3:46)
02. You Can Run But You Can't Hide (3:32)
03. Living In The House Of The Blues (5:32)
04. You Can, You Can (3:42)
05. Will It Ever Change? (5:09)
06. Just As I Am (4:55)
07. There Comes A Time (4:12)
08. Drowning At The Bottom (3:54)
09. Playin' A Losing Game (5:30)
10. It's A Blues Thing (5:40)
11. Cancel My Check (4:19)
12. Pain In The Streets (4:43)
13. You're Gonna Make Me Cry (6:13)
14. I'm Back (4:13)

Luther's third album for Alligator finds the 50-something bluesman truly at the peak of his powers. His superb guitar playing has never been more focused, and his singing shows a fervent shouter in full command. But Allison's songwriting has made giant strides as well, and ten of the 14 tracks aboard feature him as a co-writer as well. The production by Jim Gaines delivers a modern-sounding album that stays firmly in the blues tradition while giving full vent to Luther's penchant for blending soul, rock and funk grooves into his musical stew. There are really no duff tracks aboard, but special attention should be paid to the sloppy but right slide guitar-meets-rock & roll groove of "Low Down And Dirty," and Allison's incredibly hot minor key soloing (at full rock volume) on "Drowning At The Bottom," an acoustic duet with his son Bernard on "Playin' A Losing Game," and the grinding social commentary of "Pain In The Streets." If Allison had made albums like this for Motown 20-some years ago, it would be very interesting to speculate on how the blues history books just might have been rewritten. ~Cub Koda

Reckless MP3
Reckless FLAC

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Luther Allison - Soul Fixin' Man

Size: 124,7 MB
Time: 53:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1994
Styles: Blues
Art: Full

1. Bad Love (6:24)
2. I Want To Know (4:53)
3. Soul Fixin' Man (3:07)
4. Middle Of The Road (4:55)
5. She Was Born That Way (4:38)
6. Gave It All (3:56)
7. You Been Teasin' Me (3:01)
8. Nobody But You (4:31)
9. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (6:29)
10. The Things I Used To Do (3:19)
11. Love String (3:53)
12. Freedom (4:46)

Soul Fixin' Man was blues guitarist/vocalist Luther Allison's first American recording in nearly 20 years. However, his domestic inactivity was not because Allison had stopped playing music. Far from it, since he was based in Paris and worked constantly on the European continent. A powerful player whose intensity on this set sometimes borders on rock (although remaining quite grounded in blues), Luther Allison (who contributed eight of the dozen songs) displays the large amount of musical growth he had experienced since the mid-'70s. Joined by his quintet, the Memphis Horns, and (on "Freedom") a choir, Allison is heard throughout in top form. /Scott Yanow, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

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Otis Rush & Friends - Live At Montreux 1986

Size: 126.1 MB
Time: 53:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Tops (4:39)
02. Natural Ball (5:37)
03. Right Place, Wrong Time (6:09)
04. Mean Old World (5:18)
05. You Don't Love Me (3:45)
06. Crosscut Saw (With Eric Clapton) (7:04)
07. Double Trouble (With Eric Clapton) (5:11)
08. All Your Love (I Missing Loving) (With Eric Clapton) (7:07)
09. Everyday I Have The Blues (With Eric Clapton & Luther Allison) (9:07)

Southpaw guitarist Otis Rush made his debut in 1956 with a cover of Willie Dixon?s "I Can?t Quit You Baby", charting his first Top Ten R&B hit. Over the course of his 50-year career, Rush has established himself as one of the premiere bluesmen on the Chicago circuit.

Often credited with being one of the architects of the West side guitar style, Rush?s esteemed status as a prime Chicago innovator is eternally assured by his trademark sound. Blues fans have said that his combination of ringing, vibrato-enhanced guitar work with an intense vocal delivery is powerful enough to force the hair on the backs of their necks upwards in silent salute.

Otis Rush Live At Montreux 1986 features the Chicago blues legend at his spine-tingling best. For his first appearance at the Montreux Festival, Rush is joined on stage by fellow blues stars Eric Clapton and Luther Allison for a truly special show. The CD features nearly an hour-and-a-half of performances of Rush classics, including "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)", "Double Trouble" and many more.

Live At Montreux 1986 MP3
Live At Montreux 1986 FLAC

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Otis Grand - Perfume & Grime

Size: 156,1 MB
Time: 66:35
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1996
Styles: Electric Blues
Art: Full

01. Six Ways (Pam's Tune) (4:26)
02. How Come (5:46)
03. Between Heaven & Hell (5:26)
04. Don't Ask Why (3:44)
05. Magic Mood (3:55)
06. Knock, Knock (3:00)
07. Perfume & Grime (8:04)
08. Just One More Time (4:00)
09. 100 Years (5:38)
10. She's Got My Dog (3:17)
11. When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer (5:59)
12. It Took A Long Time (4:16)
13. Has Been Husband (3:56)
14. Grime Time (5:00)

Personnel:
Otis Grand - Guitars
Luther Allison - Guitars on "Perfume & Grime"
Joe Louis Walker - Slide Guitar on "100 Years"
Curtis Salgado- Vocals & Harp
Darrel Nulisch - Vocals
Brother Roy Oakley - Vocals
Toni Lyn Washington - Vocals on "Took a long time"
Neil Gouvin - Drums
Rob Stupka - Drums
Steve Gomes - Bass
Eddie Bo - Piano on "Knock, Knock"
Al Rapone - Accordian on "Magic Mood"
Bruce Elsensohn/Chuck Chaplin - Piano & B3
Amadee Castenel - Tenor Sax
Stacey Cole - Trumpet
Joe Saulsbury - Jnr Alto Sax
Mike Hobart - Bari Sax
Steve Diamond - Keyboard

Otis Grand - who is, unquestionably, the biggest star of British Blues and the only UK artist in the genre to have had significant success in America for decades - releases his brand new album" Perfume & Grime " on Sequel Records. This new release was recorded in New Orleans on Feb. 1996 with some of America's top blues musicians, includinging Joe Louis Walker, Curtis Salgado, Luther Allison, and Eddie Bo.

While retaining his signature sound," Perfume & Grime " finds Otis moving forwards to create contemporary blues with the flavours and crosscurrents of Rap, World music, New Orleans Funk, and southern Soul.

"I am very excited about this new album," explains Otis " I have written with the influence of my Blues mentors in mind but also thrown in contemporary attitudes and stylings that I like. PERFUME stands for the beauty and soul Blues. GRIME stands for my hard-hitting and nasty style of guitar playing."

Perfume & Grime MP3
Perfume & Grime FLAC

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VA - Motown's Blue Evolution

Size: 140,6 MB
Time: 60:28
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1996
Styles: Blues, Funk, Soul
Art: Front & Back

01. Sammy Ward - Who's The Fool (2:52)
02. Mable John - Take Me (3:12)
03. Sammy Ward - Part Time Love (2:51)
04. Mable John - Actions Speak Louder Than Words (2:52)
05. Sammy Ward - What Makes You Love Him (2:29)
06. Mable John - I Guess There's No Love (2:39)
07. Sammy Ward - Bread Winner (2:53)
08. Sammy Ward - Someday Pretty Baby (5:56)
09. Amos Milburn - It's A Long Long Time (3:15)
10. Amos Milburn - I'm In My Wine (Previously Unreleased) (2:36)
11. Amos Milburn - Hold Me Baby (2:38)
12. Earl King - Three Knocks On My Door (Previously Unreleased) (2:59)
13. Earl King - A Man And A Book (Previously Unreleased) (2:19)
14. Earl King - Hunger Pains (Previously Unreleased) (2:05)
15. Sammy Ward - Then You Changed (Previously Unreleased) (3:02)
16. Arthur Adams - Cold Cold Heart (Previously Unreleased) (3:06)
17. Arthur Adams - Let Me Love You Tonight (Previously Unreleased) (2:41)
18. Luther Allison - Dust My Broom (2:45)
19. Luther Allison - Into My Life (3:31)
20. Luther Allison - I Can Make It Thru The Day (But Oh Those Lonely Nights) (3:37)

From the beginning, Motown was almost exclusively devoted to soul. But they did have a few blues-oriented artists on their roster, especially in the early 1960s. Truthfully, though, this 20-track compilation isn't exactly a blues anthology. It's more like a collection of soul cuts with a bluesy feeling, by performers who had substantial or deep roots in pure blues. Mable John (Little Willie's sister) and Sammy Ward, for instance, sing R&B/soul with some bluesy shadings; jump blues veteran Amos Milburn sings modified earthy R&B, married to Motown's embryonic production machine; Earl King has a slight New Orleans flavor to his previously unreleased performances. The unknown Arthur Adams sings blues/soul crossover; Luther Allison comes by far the closest to real blues, and is the only one of the artists whose selections date from the 1970s. You can quibble about the accuracy of the compilation's theme, but it's not a bad excuse to get some interesting Motown performances out of the vaults and onto CD, though it's not truly top-drawer blues or soul. Only one of these was even a modest hit (Sammy Ward's 1960 single "Who's the Fool"), and seven tracks were previously unreleased (King and Adams never even got to officially release anything on Motown), so even seasoned Motown collectors will find much of interest here. ~Richie Unterberger

Motown's Blue Evolution

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Luther Allison & Friends - Pay It Forward

Year: 2002
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:57
Size: 156,5 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. I Wanna Be With You (w. Memphis Band) (4:10)
2. Still Called The Blues (w. James Solberg) (5:35)
3. Dock Of The Bay (w. Muscle Shoals R-Section) (8:17)
4. Just As I Am (w. Marla Glen) (5:09)
5. Nobody But You (w. Patrick Verbeke) (3:41)
6. Perfume & Grime (w. Otis Grand) (8:06)
7. Cherry Red Wine (w. Horns Of Holland) (4:25)
8. Idols In My Mind (w. Bernard Allison) (4:24)
9. Hoochie Coochie Man (w. Kenn Lending) (8:19)
10. Slipping Away (w. Joanna Connor) (5:27)
11. Love Is Free (w. European Band) (5:48)
12. I Know (Bonus Jam) (w. Friend 'N Fellow) (4:32)

In many cases, collections of musical odds and ends - a live rarity here, an alternate take there - can be uneven and inconsistent. And the people they're aimed at - mainly diehard fans and serious collectors - are willing to live with that. They have more than just a casual interest in the artist's work, and even the less-from-essential stuff excites and intrigues them. Assembled in 2002 - five years after Luther Allison's death - Pay It Forward is the sort of odds-and-ends collection that tends to appeal to diehard fans rather than casual listeners.

This CD, which spans 1985-1996, contains an abundance of previously unreleased material and ranges from various live performances to an alternate version of the dark, brooding "Cherry Red Wine." Pay It Forward would probably interest obsessive collectors even if it was wildly inconsistent, but thankfully, these live and studio recordings are generally solid - and some are even excellent. Although this CD doesn't limit itself to Allison's more essential work, it nonetheless reminds us how productive a time the '80s and '90s were for the late singer/guitarist.

Pay It Forward also demonstrates that Allison was more a prolific blues artist - he was also a prolific soul artist. Allison is quite inspired on a live performance of Willie Dixon's "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" (recorded at the Stockholm Jazz and Blues Festival in 1991), but he also has a lot to say when he gets into soul-singer mode on the congenial "I Wanna Be with You," and a sweaty version of Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" (which was recorded live at the 1985 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland). Again, Pay It Forward isn't recommended to casual listeners, but it's easily recommended to those who count themselves among Allison's hardcore devotees. /Alex Henderson, AllMusic

(For full personnel details and sessions info, see artwork included.)

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Luther Allison - Time

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:44
Size: 84.1 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1995/2005
Art: Front

[4:45] 1. Time
[4:36] 2. Give It All
[4:10] 3. Down South
[4:43] 4. I Can't Tell You What To Do
[3:32] 5. Compromizing For Your Needs
[3:57] 6. It's Partyin' Time
[7:56] 7. You're Doing A Super Homework
[3:01] 8. Just My Guitar (And Me)

Luther Allison's energy and focus bring crowds to their collective feet, and with this sweat-soaked, soul-fueled performance, he secures a place at the top of the blues world.

Time

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VA - Alligator Blues Guitar

Size: 172,5 MB
Time: 73:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01 Michael Burks - Hit The Ground Running (3:26)
02 Joe Louis Walker - Too Drunk To Drive Drunk (3:54)
03 Hound Dog Taylor - Take Five (2:42)
04 Sonny Landreth - Taylor's Rock (3:57)
05 Albert Collins, Robert Cray & Johnny Copeland - Albert's Alley (4:06)
06 Guitar Shorty - I've Been Working (4:32)
07 Johnny Winter - See See Baby (3:09)
08 Eddy The Chief Clearwater - Too Old To Get Married (3:53)
09 Coco Montoya - It Takes Time (4:49)
10 Luther Allison - Give Me Back My Wig (4:45)
11 Fenton Robinson - West Side Baby (5:03)
12 Roy Buchanan - You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover (3:21)
13 Long John Hunter - Ice Cold (4:21)
14 Elvin Bishop - The Skin They're In (4:02)
15 Tinsley Ellis - Amanda (4:19)
16 Left Hand Frank - One Room Country Shack (4:28)
17 Son Seals - Frank And Johnnie (4:26)
18 Lonnie Brooks - I Want All My Money Back (4:33)

Alligator Blues Guitar

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Luther Allison - Where Have You Been? Live In Montreux 1976-1994

Year: 1996
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:49
Size: 181,5 MB
Styles: Electric blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Introduction (2:25)
2. Gamblers Blues (6:50)
3. Sweet Home Chicago (5:08)
4. Same Thing (8:26)
5. Little Red Rooster (11:41)
6. Sky Is Crying (7:39)
7. Back Down South (3:48)
8. Memories (5:26)
9. Spontaneous Improvisation (5:10)
10. Bad News Is Coming (7:23)
11. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (4:59)
12. Bad Love (9:29)
13. Audience (1976) (0:20)

This 78-minute collection from four appearances at the famed Swiss blues festival displays the varied strengths of Luther Allison's music. The tensile, screaming guitar work and squawling vocal attack Allison is known for are here, of course, but there's another layer at work. A 1984 set with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, for instance, offers the Muddy Waters-like "Back Down South" (on which Allison lays down his ax in favor of a harp), as well as the Otis Redding-style shouts of "Memories".

The most intense moments come on "Bad News Is Coming" and "Bad Love" (with the Memphis Horns backing him up), when Allison pushes through to the pulse of his muse with a six-string expression of confusion and grit. They make his death in the late '90s poignant and that much more palpable. /Rickey Wright, Amazon

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Otis Rush - Natural Man / I Can't Quit You Baby: The Cobra Sessions 1956-1958

Album: Natural Man
Size: 174,1 MB
Time: 76:03
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1986
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front & Back

01. Warm Up Instrumental (7:11)
02. Lonely Man (4:03)
03. Love Is Just A Gamble (9:05)
04. Natural Ball (5:39)
05. Right Place Wrong Time (7:16)
06. Mean Old World (5:25)
07. You Don't Love Me (3:53)
08. Crosscut Saw (Feat. Eric Clapton) (7:04)
09. Double Trouble (Feat. Eric Clapton) (5:27)
10. All Your Love (Feat. Eric Clapton) (7:11)
11. Natural Man (Feat. Eric Clapton & Luther Allison) (9:08)
12. Caldonia (Feat. Eric Clapton & Luther Allison) (4:35)

Recorded Live At Montreux Jazz Festival 7 July 1986.

Breaking into the R&B Top Ten his very first time out in 1956 with the startlingly intense slow blues "I Can't Quit You Baby," southpaw guitarist Otis Rush subsequently established himself as one of the premier bluesmen on the Chicago circuit. Rush is often credited with being one of the architects of the West side guitar style, along with Magic Sam and Buddy Guy. It's a nebulous honor, since Rush played clubs on Chicago's South side just as frequently during the sound's late-'50s incubation period. Nevertheless, his esteemed status as a prime Chicago innovator is eternally assured by the ringing, vibrato-enhanced guitar work that remains his stock in trade and a tortured, super-intense vocal delivery that can force the hairs on the back of your neck upwards in silent salute. If talent alone were the formula for widespread success, Rush would certainly have been Chicago's leading blues artist. But fate, luck, and the guitarist's own idiosyncrasies conspired to hold him back on several occasions when opportunity was virtually begging to be accepted.

Rush came to Chicago in 1948, met Muddy Waters, and knew instantly what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. The omnipresent Willie Dixon caught Rush's act and signed him to Eli Toscano's Cobra Records in 1956. The frighteningly intense "I Can't Quit You Baby" was the maiden effort for both artist and label, streaking to number six on Billboard's R&B chart. His 1956-1958 Cobra legacy is a magnificent one, distinguished by the Dixon-produced minor-key masterpieces "Double Trouble" and "My Love Will Never Die," the tough-as-nails "Three Times a Fool" and "Keep on Loving Me Baby," and the rhumba-rocking classic "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)." Rush apparently dashed off the latter tune in the car en route to Cobra's West Roosevelt Road studios, where he would cut it with the nucleus of Ike Turner's combo.

After Cobra closed up shop, Rush's recording fortunes mostly floundered. He followed Dixon over to Chess in 1960, cutting another classic (the stunning "So Many Roads, So Many Trains") before moving on to Duke (one solitary single, 1962's "Homework"), Vanguard, and Cotillion (there he cut the underrated Mike Bloomfield-Nick Gravenites-produced 1969 album Mourning in the Morning, with yeoman help from the house rhythm section in Muscle Shoals). Typical of Rush's horrendous luck was the unnerving saga of his Right Place, Wrong Time album. Laid down in 1971 for Capitol Records, the giant label inexplicably took a pass on the project despite its obvious excellence. It took another five years for the set to emerge on the tiny Bullfrog label, blunting Rush's momentum once again (the album is now available on HighTone). An uneven but worthwhile 1975 set for Delmark, Cold Day in Hell, and a host of solid live albums that mostly sound very similar kept Rush's gilt-edged name in the marketplace to some extent during the '70s and '80s, a troubling period for the legendary southpaw.

In 1986, he walked out on an expensive session for Rooster Blues (Louis Myers, Lucky Peterson, and Casey Jones were among the assembled sidemen), complaining that his amplifier didn't sound right and thereby scuttling the entire project. Alligator picked up the rights to an album he had done overseas for Sonet originally called Troubles, Troubles. It turned out to be a prophetic title: much to Rush's chagrin, the firm overdubbed keyboardist Lucky Peterson and chopped out some masterful guitar work when it reissued the set as Lost in the Blues in 1991.

Finally, in 1994, the career of this Chicago blues legend began traveling in the right direction. Ain't Enough Comin' In, his first studio album in 16 years, was released on Mercury and ended up topping many blues critics' year-end lists. Produced spotlessly by John Porter with a skin-tight band, Rush roared a set of nothing but covers, but did them all his way, his blistering guitar consistently to the fore.

Once again, a series of personal problems threatened to end Rush's long-overdue return to national prominence before it got off the ground. But he's been in top-notch form in recent years, fronting a tight band that's entirely sympathetic to the guitarist's sizzling approach. Rush signed with the House of Blues' fledgling record label, instantly granting that company a large dose of credibility and setting himself up for another career push. It still may not be too late for Otis Rush to assume his rightful throne as Chicago's blues king. After another decade performing and recording albums, Live and in Concert from San Fransisco was released in 2006. ~by Bill Dahl

Natural Man

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Album: I Can't Quit You Baby
Size: 174,1 MB
Time: 76:03
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1986
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front & Back

1. I Can't Quit You Baby (3:07)
2. Sit Down Baby (2:20)
3. Violent Love (2:25)
4. My Love Will Never Die (3:06)
5. Groaning The Blues (3:04)
6. If You Were Mine (3:06)
7. Love That Woman (3:00)
8. Jump Sister Bessie (2:34)
9. Three Times A Fool (2:50)
10. She's A Good 'un (2:49)
11. It Takes Time (2:49)
12. Checking On My Baby (2:56)
13. Double Trouble (2:43)
14. Keep On Loving Me Baby (2:20)
15. All Your Love (I Miss Loving) (2:38)
16. My Baby's A Good 'Un (2:40)
17. I Can't Quit You Baby (Alternate Take) (3:36)
18. I Can't Quit You Baby (Alternate Take #3) (3:33)
19. Sit Down Baby (Alternate Take) (2:18)
20. My Love Will Never Die (Alternate Take) (3:07)
21. Groaning The Blues (Alternate Take) (3:48)
22. Groaning The Blues (Alternate Take #3) (2:42)
23. Three Times A Fool (Alternate Take) (2:58)
24. She's A Good 'Un (Alternate Take #4) (3:16)
25. Keep On Loving Me Baby (Alternate Take) (1:36)
26. Double Trouble (Alternate Take) (3:35)
27. Double Trouble (Alternate Take #3) (3:37)

Personnel:
Otis Rush,: guitar, vocals
Shakey Horton: harmonica
Red Holloway: tenor sax
Lafayette Leake: piano
Wayne Bennett: guitar
Willie Dixon, bass
Al Duncan: drums
Little Walter: harmonica

The title says it all. This is the essential Otis Rush, the singles recorded for Eli Toscano's Cobra label between 1956 and 1958. If Rush had never recorded another note, his legendary status would remain intact based solely on these recordings. With backing from players like Willie Dixon and Little Walter, it's Rush's impassioned vocals and stinging guitar lines that make "I Can't Quit You Baby," "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)," and "Double Trouble" the classics they are. In addition to the A- and B-sides of all eight singles released by Cobra, eight alternate takes are included, four more than the Paula edition of this material released in 1991. Along with a slightly better transfer from the original tapes, this is not only one of the best places to start for someone getting interested in the blues, but a vital part of any blues collection. Outstanding. ~by Sean Westergaard

I Can't Quit You Baby: The Cobra Sessions 1956-1958

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Luther Allison - Live In Chicago

Size: 154,9+150,9 MB
Time: 66:40+65:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1999
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

CD 1:
01. Intro ( 0:22)
02. Soul Fixin' Man ( 4:02)
03. Cherry Red Wine ( 8:36)
04. Move From The Hood ( 4:48)
05. Bad Love (10:15)
06. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is ( 6:00)
07. Big City ( 9:07)
08. Give Me Back My Wig ( 5:21)
09. It Hurts Me Too ( 7:39)
10. Gambler's Blues/Sweet Little Angel (10:25)

CD 2:
01. Party Time ( 5:19)
02. All The King's Horses (12:17)
03. What Have I Done Wrong? ( 7:11)
04. Walking Papers ( 6:48)
05. Think With Your Heart ( 6:27)
06. What's Going On In My Home? ( 7:14)
07. Will It Ever Change? ( 5:48)
08. You're Gonna Make Me Cry ( 8:25)
09. Everything's Gonna Be All Right ( 5:30)

Pulled from performances at the Chicago Blues Festival, Buddy Guy's Legends club with a couple of strays recorded in Lincoln,NE, that were too good not to include, this two-disc set captures Allison at the absolute peak of his powers.
Disc one is the Chicago Blues Festival in its entirety with a bonus track of Luther jamming on the finale with Otis Rush and Eddie C. Campbell on a medley of two B.B. King tunes.
Disc two is equally potent, a combination of performances pulled from Buddy Guy's Legends club and the Zoo Bar in Lincoln, NE. Luther simply played his heart and spirit out right to the end and these recordings spotlight it in a very fine manner.
One of the label's best. ~by Cub Koda

Live In Chicago CD 1
Live In Chicago CD 2

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Various - Blues Rock & Roll

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 80:18
Size: 183.9 MB
Styles: Assorted styles
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[2:42] 1. Luther Allison - Someday Pretty Baby
[4:09] 2. Howlin' Wolf - I Ain't Superstitious
[3:13] 3. John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - Hide Away
[5:26] 4. B.B. King - Let The Good Times Roll
[2:30] 5. Chuck Berry - Rock & Roll Music
[4:50] 6. Lucky Peterson - Up From The Skies
[2:39] 7. Little Walter - My Babe
[2:50] 8. Susan Tedeschi - You Got The Silver
[4:31] 9. Robben Ford & The Blue Line - He Don't Play Nothin' But The Blues
[4:29] 10. Howlin' Wolf - Wang Dang Doodle
[2:48] 11. Willie Dixon - Crazy For My Baby
[2:48] 12. Bo Diddley - Pretty Thing
[2:27] 13. Billy Young - Have Pity On Me
[3:06] 14. Big Maybelle - Don't Pass Me By
[3:40] 15. Clarence Gatemouth Brown - Blues Power
[5:31] 16. John Lee Hooker - I'm Bad Like Jesse James
[4:13] 17. Jonny Lang - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
[2:20] 18. Etta James - Tell Mama
[2:12] 19. Johnny Nash - Love Ain't Nothin' (But A Monkey On Your Back)
[2:47] 20. Juke Boy Bonner - Lonesome Ride Back Home
[3:37] 21. Joe Louis Walker - My Real Fantasy
[2:50] 22. Buddy Guy - Let Me Love You Baby
[4:32] 23. John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - They Call It Stormy Monday

The blues form was first popularized about 1911-14 by the black composer W.C. Handy (1873-1958). However, the poetic and musical form of the blues first crystallized around 1910 and gained popularity through the publication of Handy's "Memphis Blues" (1912) and "St. Louis Blues" (1914). Instrumental blues had been recorded as early as 1913. During the twenties, the blues became a national craze. Mamie Smith recorded the first vocal blues song, 'Crazy Blues' in 1920. The Blues influence on jazz brought it into the mainstream and made possible the records of blues singers like Bessie Smith and later, in the thirties, Billie Holiday.The Blues are the essence of the African American laborer, whose spirit is wed to these songs, reflecting his inner soul to all who will listen. Rhythm and Blues, is the cornerstone of all forms of African American music.

Many of Memphis' best Blues artists left the city at the time, when Mayor "Boss" Crump shut down Beale Street to stop the prostitution, gambling, and cocaine trades, effectively eliminating the musicians, and entertainers' jobs, as these businesses closed their doors. The Blues migrated to Chicago, where it became electrified, and Detroit. In northern cities like Chicago and Detroit, during the later forties and early fifties, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, and Elmore James among others, played what was basically Mississippi Delta blues, backed by bass, drums, piano and occasionally harmonica, and began scoring national hits with blues songs. At about the same time, T-Bone Walker in Houston and B.B. King in Memphis were pioneering a style of guitar playing that combined jazz technique with the blues tonality and repertoire.

Meanwhile, back in Memphis, B.B. King invented the concept of lead guitar, now standard in today's Rock bands. Bukka White (cousin to B.B. King), Leadbelly, and Son House, left Country Blues to create the sounds most of us think of today as traditional unamplified Blues. Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Wyonnie Harris, and Big Mama Thorton wrote and preformed the songs that would make a young Elvis Presley world renown.

In the early nineteen-sixties, the urban bluesmen were "discovered" by young white American and European musicians. Many of these blues-based bands like the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, Canned Heat, and Fleetwood Mac, brought the blues to young white audiences, something the black blues artists had been unable to do in America except through the purloined white cross-over covers of black rhythm and blues songs. Since the sixties, rock has undergone several blues revivals. Some rock guitarists, such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen have used the blues as a foundation for offshoot styles. While the originators like John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins and B.B. King--and their heirs Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and later Eric Clapton and the late Roy Buchanan, among many others, continued to make fantastic music in the blues tradition. The latest generation of blues players like Robert Cray and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others, as well as gracing the blues tradition with their incredible technicality, have drawn a new generation listeners to the blues.

Blues Rock & Roll mc
Blues Rock & Roll zippy

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Luther Allison - Standing At The Crossroad

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:36
Size: 161.6 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[ 5:56] 1. Love Me Papa
[ 5:55] 2. Goin' Down Take 1
[ 6:22] 3. Blues With A Feeling
[11:09] 4. It's Too Late
[ 3:13] 5. Standing At The Crossroad
[ 5:11] 6. Key To The Highway
[11:36] 7. Last Night
[ 5:33] 8. Feelin' So Good Take 1
[ 3:05] 9. Luthers Boogie
[ 4:26] 10. Goin' Down Take 4
[ 8:05] 11. Feelin' So Good Take 2

Luther Allison (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Dan Hoeflinger (guitar); Sidney James Wingfield (piano, organ); Donald Robertson (drums). Recording information: Barclay Studio, Paris, France (12/13/1977).

As accomplished a guitarist as he was, Allison wasn't a straight-ahead Chicago blues musician. He learned the blues long before he got to Chicago. What he did so successfully is take his base of Chicago blues and add touches of rock, soul, reggae, funk, and jazz. Allison's first two albums for Alligator, Soul Fixin' Man and Blue Streak, are arguably two of his strongest. His talents as a songwriter are fully developed, and he's well-recorded and well-produced, often with horns backing his band. Another one to look for is a 1992 reissue on Evidence, Love Me Papa. In 1996, Motown reissued some of the three albums worth of material he recorded for that label (between 1972 and 1976) on compact disc.

Well into his mid-50s, Allison continued to delight club and festival audiences around the world with his lengthy, sweat-drenched, high-energy shows, complete with dazzling guitar playing and inspired, soulful vocals. He continued to tour and record until July of 1997, when he was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Just over a month later, he died in a hospital in Madison, WI; a tragic end to one of the great blues comeback stories.

Standing At The Crossroad mc
Standing At The Crossroad zippy

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Luther Allison - 2 albums: South Side Safari / Songs From The Road

Album: South Side Safari
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 44:17
Size: 101.4 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1983/2014
Art: Front

[4:08] 1. Strokes
[5:46] 2. You're Gonna Need Me
[6:48] 3. You Upset Me Baby
[5:19] 4. Movin' On Up
[9:50] 5. The Thrill Is Gone
[7:52] 6. Cat Blues
[4:31] 7. Messin' With The Kid

Recorded live at The Other Side, Peoria, Illinois on April 18, 1979.

South Side Safari is Luther Allison at his live best. His guitar work here is excellent, as usual, and this album is full of juicy licks and long, wailing solos.

South Side Safari

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Album: Songs From The Road
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 71:38
Size: 164.0 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[ 6:40] 1. Cancel My Check
[ 6:37] 2. Living In The House Of Blues
[ 8:02] 3. What Have I Done Wrong
[ 7:04] 4. Will It Ever Change
[ 4:28] 5. You Can, You Can
[11:01] 6. There Comes A Time
[11:49] 7. (Watching You) Cherry Red Wine
[ 4:49] 8. Low Down And Dirty
[ 7:48] 9. It Hurts Me Too
[ 3:15] 10. Serious

The great blues singer and guitarist Luther Allison died in August of 1997, just a month after being diagnosed with a malignant lung tumor. Four days prior to that diagnosis, he played a blistering show in Montreal; it was filmed for later airplay on Canadian television, and most of the show is captured on this very fine CD/DVD set (several of the songs not included on the CD are covered on the DVD and vice-versa). The bitter irony is obvious here -- Allison is at the peak of his powers, and yet at the same time, it could be said that he's playing like a man with only weeks to live. The urgency and fire of his playing and singing on numbers like his slide showcase "It Hurts Me Too," and the powerfully swinging, barrelhouse blues of "Will It Ever Change" and "You Can, You Can" would put musicians half his age to shame. But what really sets him apart is the relentlessly positive nature of his message: whether preaching social uplift on "Move from the Hood" or entreating a reluctant lover on "You Can, You Can," Allison always seems to be encouraging and exhorting more than pleading or bemoaning. His "talking guitar" shtick is charming, his slide playing is beautifully greasy, and the gleeful disregard with which he struts back and forth over the lines that separate the blues from R&B and rock is inspiring. Songs from the Road is a bittersweet but more than welcome look back at one of America's lost musical treasures. ~Rick Anderson

Songs From The Road

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Various - Bright Lights Big City: Urban Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 64:14
Size: 147.0 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Chicago blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:05] 1. A.C. Reed - Going To New York
[4:29] 2. John Hammond - Sweet Home Chicago
[3:49] 3. Hound Dog Taylor - Kansas City
[5:23] 4. Luther Allison - Big City
[3:06] 5. James Cotton - Born In Chicago
[3:20] 6. Kenny Neal - Big City Ways
[5:24] 7. Buddy Guy - Hello San Francisco
[3:54] 8. A.C. Reed - Moving Out Of The Ghetto
[3:52] 9. Roomful Of Blues - New Orleans
[4:59] 10. Roy Buchanan - Chicago Smokeshop
[4:52] 11. Big Mama Thornton - Lost City
[3:46] 12. Charlie Musselwhite - Mean Ole Frisco
[4:50] 13. Peggy Scott - Big City Blues
[4:59] 14. Michael Hill's Blues Mob - Living For The City
[3:20] 15. John Lee Hooker - Bus Station Blues

After World War II, the use of electrified instruments became inevitable. During the 1940s, some blues bands even incorporated saxophones, although the preference was for amplified harmonicas, especially in Chicago, a predominant center of blues recording in the 1950s. Blues from this period is often called “urban blues,” “electric blues,” or simply “Chicago blues.” Important urban blues musicians included Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, T-Bone Walker, and B. B. King.

Blues remains with us in contemporary American culture, and as a traditional musical form it has been subjected to countless revivals and reinterpretations. Its current practitioners often integrate the sounds and instrumental pyrotechnics of rock music and the sheen of urban soul; but the twelve-bar form, variations on the blues chord progression, and emotive lyrical content remain relatively unchanged.

Bright Lights Big City: Urban Blues mc
Bright Lights Big City: Urban Blues zippy

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Various - Alligator Records Playlists: Songs Of The City

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 61:22
Size: 140.5 MB
Styles: Assorted blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[5:18] 1. Koko Taylor - Bad Avenue
[4:06] 2. Son Seals - Gentleman From The Windy City
[3:51] 3. A.C. Reed - Moving Out Of The Ghetto
[4:59] 4. Michael Hill's Blues Mob - Living For The City
[5:23] 5. The Holmes Brothers - Concrete Jungle
[4:15] 6. The Kinsey Report - This Old City
[7:08] 7. The Kinsey Report - Code Of The Streets
[4:05] 8. Shemekia Copeland - Ghetto Child
[3:20] 9. Kenny Neal - Big City Ways
[4:43] 10. Maurice John Vaughn - Small Town Baby
[5:23] 11. Luther Allison - Big City
[3:42] 12. Luther Allison - Move From The Hood
[5:04] 13. Shemekia Copeland - Up On 1-2-5

Alligator Records Playlists: Songs Of The City mc
Alligator Records Playlists: Songs Of The City zippy

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Various - Down In The Swamp: The Very Best Contemporary Southern Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 65:05
Size: 149.0 MB
Styles: Southern blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:28] 1. Royal Southern Brotherhood - Left My Heart In Memphis
[4:13] 2. Samantha Fish - Down In The Swamp
[4:19] 3. BIG Daddy Wilson - Drop Down Here
[3:45] 4. Lightnin' Malcolm - North Mississippi
[3:52] 5. Bart Walker - Hipshake It
[6:37] 6. Luther Allison - Living In The House Of Blues
[3:19] 7. Skinny Molly - Two Good Wheels
[4:59] 8. Mike Zito - Subtraction Blues
[4:02] 9. Devon Allman - When I Left Home
[3:43] 10. Royal Southern Brotherhood - Moonlight Over The Mississippi
[4:26] 11. Samantha Fish - Let's Have Some Fun
[6:08] 12. Big Daddy Wilson - Brother Blood
[4:08] 13. Mike Zito - Death Row
[3:45] 14. Louisiana Red & Little Victor's Juke Joint - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
[4:14] 15. Cyrille Neville - Blues Is The Truth

Down In The Swamp: The Very Best Contemporary Southern Blues

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Luther Allison - The Alligator Records Years

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 69:12
Size: 158.4 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:44] 1. Give Me Back My Wig
[3:43] 2. Low Down And Dirty
[5:36] 3. All The King's Horses
[4:20] 4. Cherry Red Wine
[5:31] 5. Living In The House Of Blues
[4:09] 6. I'm Back
[3:07] 7. Soul Fixin' Man
[4:29] 8. Walking Papers
[5:04] 9. Should I Wait
[3:34] 10. Midnight Creeper
[3:17] 11. The Things I Used To Do
[4:52] 12. I Want To Know
[5:41] 13. It's A Blues Thing
[4:32] 14. Nobody But You
[6:27] 15. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

With the release of Soul Fixin' Man in 1994, Allison's first domestic album in 20 years, he announced his return. "Fever and chills performances," said Guitar Player, "ferocious solos combine the wisdom of a master storyteller with the elegance of B.B. King, the elasticity of Buddy Guy, and the big sting of Albert King." After three mammoth U.S. tours, America once again was paying attention to Luther Allison. Allison followed up with Blue Streak, and the praise and accolades poured in. "A sonic roar as soulful as his gospel-shout vocals," raved the Washington Post. "Luther Allison's latest is nothing short of a masterpiece by a master," reported Blues Revue. Continued touring brought Allison before raving fans around the world, as he brought his band from the San Francisco Blues Festival to New York's Central Park Summerstage, with all stops in between. With Reckless, Allison reached even greater heights. Guitar World said, "Reckless in the best sense of the word, dancing on a razor's edge, remaining just this side of out-of-control. Hard-driving, piercing West Side Chicago single-note leads with a soul base and a rock edge."

Throughout it all, Allison delivered one show-stopping performance after another. His boundless energy and fierce guitar attack combined to make him a blues superstar who reached rock fans like no bluesmen since Freddie King and Albert Collins. When the news broke that Allison had been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in July of 1997, the blues world was shocked. When he died just four weeks later, they were devastated. Without a doubt, Luther Allison's death robbed music fans of one of the most exciting and popular blues performers ever. With Live In Chicago, Allison lives on, as he tears through the songs with the single-minded desire to give everything he has to his audience. While listening to the album, fans can immerse themselves in the explosive power of Luther Allison's music and experience the redemptive force of his legendary performances.

mc
zippy

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Luther ALLISON - Luther's Blues / Bad News Is Coming

Album: LUTHER'S BLUES
Styles: Modern Electric Chicaho Blues
Recorded: 1972/1973
Released: 1974
Bitrate: 320k/s
Size: 164.33 MB
Time: 70:21
Art: Full

1. Luther's Blues (6:22)
2. Someday Pretty Baby (2:42)
3. Easy Baby (5:18)
4. Part Time Love (2:46)
5. Now You Got It (3:41)
6. K.T. (3:09)
7. Let's Have A Little Talk (7:08)
8. Driving Wheel (5:37)
9. Into My Life (3:36)
10. San-Ho-Zay (5:23)
11. Bloomington Closing-early version (5:29)
12. Medley: I'm Gonna Miss My Baby/Bad News Is Coming/The Thrill Is Gone-live (19:10)

Personnel: Luther ALLISON - Lead & Slide Guitars, Harmonica, Vocals
Ray Goodman, Gene Block - Rhythm Guitars
Paul White - Keyboards
Bob Babbitt, Gary Beam - Bass
Andrews Smith, K.J. Knight - Drums

Note: 'Luther's Blues' is where Luther Allison began to come into his own, developing a fluid, gutsy style full of soulful string bending. There are still a few weak spots, but the album remains an effective slice of contemporary Chicago blues.

                                                                Luther's Blues
____________________________________________________________________________

Album: BAD NEWS IS COMING
Styles: Modern Electric Chicago Blues
Recorded: 1972
Released: 1972
Bitrate: 320k/s
Size:  130.70 MB
Time: 56:04
Art: Full

1. The Little Red Rooster (4:12)
2. Evil Is Going On (4:38)
3. Raggedy And Dirty (3:41)
4. Rock Me Baby (5:45)
5. Bad News Is Coming (7:25)
6. Cut You A-Loose (5:58)
7. Dust My Broom (2:48)
8. The Stumble (2:22)
9. Sweet Home Chicago (4:12)
10. It's Been A Long Time (10:43)
11. Take My Love (I Want To Give It All To You) (4:20)

Personnel: Luther ALLISON - Lead Guitars, Vocals
Ray Goodman - Rhythm Guitar
Paul White - Piano
Garfield Angove - Harmonica
Andrew Smith - Drums

Notes: The very thing that made Luther Allison noteworthy became an albatross around his neck. Years after his initial run of records in the '70s, he was known for the same thing he was at the time - he was the only blues artist on Gordy, or any Motown affiliated label. This was true and novel, but many focused on the novelty, not the truth, ignoring Allison's status as a terrific torchbearer of raw Chicago blues. Some of material illustrates some contemporary influence - dig that funky groove and organ on "Raggedy and Dirty," or the rock-oriented slow burn of Mel London's "Cut You A-Loose" - but as his original title track illustrates, he can also deliver a torturous, impassioned slow grind. Still, this isn't an album about originality, it's a record how tradition can remain alive in a contemporary setting. Apart from the slightly cleaner production and the extended running time, this could have been released 15 years earlier, since its heart is in classic Chicago blues, particularly Chess. He draws on Willie Dixon via Howlin' Wolf for the first two tracks, dipping into Elmore James and B.B. King's catalogs later on in the record. This accounts for over half of the album's running time, and every one of these tunes are familiar - and, for good measure, he dips into "Spoonful" on "Cut You A-Loose" - but what matters is Allison's performance, which is never less than committed and usually gripping. And that's what makes this record work - it's firmly on familiar territory, but Allison gives it his own personality through the sheer strength of his love for this music. Perhaps that doesn't make for a revolutionary debut - it's not a visionary record the way, say, Magic Sam's West Side Soul is - but that would come later. With Bad News Is Coming, Luther Allison just delivered one of the best straight-ahead Chicago blues records of the early '70s. Too bad everybody thought of it as a little folly on Motown.  [Allison and producer Joe Peraino cut a lot of material during these sessions, and four of the best of these outtakes - the original "It's Been a Long Time," plus versions of "The Stumble," "Sweet Home Chicago," and "Take My Love (I Want to Give It All to You)" - appeared on Universal/Motown's excellent 2001 reissue. There's really no difference in quality with these cuts; they simply couldn't fit on the original, but thanks to the expanded time of a CD, there's four other first-class cuts to savor on this fine modern blues platter.]

                                                            Bad News Is Coming
____________________________________________________________________________