Otis Rush

Although Albert King is pictured on the front cover and has the lion's share of tracks on this excellent compilation, six of the fourteen tracks come from Rush's shortlived tenure with the label and are some of his very best. Chronologically, these are his next recordings after the Cobra sides and they carry a lot of the emotional wallop of those tracks, albeit with much loftier production values with much of it recorded in early stereo. Oddly enough, some of the material ("All Your Love," "I'm Satisfied [Keep on Loving Me Baby]") were remakes – albeit great ones – of tunes that Cobra had already released as singles! But Rush's performance of "So Many Roads" (featuring one of the greatest slow blues guitar solos of all time) should not be missed at any cost.

Otis Rush and Buddy Guy were hot young Chicago guitar slingers in the 1950s, when legends like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf ruled the Second City. Rush was renowned for his nasty, over-amplified guitar sound, and songs like "All Your Love" and "Double Trouble" were seminal touchstones for such `60s British guitarists as Eric Clapton and Peter Green. Rush has lately been known more for live shows than records, and 1994's Ain't Enough Comin' In succeeded because it was programmed like a great concert set, with fat guitar solos that suggested Albert King in a sweat, and songs that drew from both the blues and soul songbooks. Rush sounds great singing Sam Cooke's good-news gospel ("Somebody Have Mercy" and "Ain't That Good News") and pays his propers to Ray Charles on "A Fool for You." Exciting takes on epic tunes associated with B.B. King ("It's My Own Fault") and Albert King ("As the Years Go Passing By") also leave no doubt that Rush hasn't forgotten how to burn down the house.

The powers that be at Alligator were subjected to a fair amount of criticism for taking a 1977 album of standards that Otis Rush had cut in Sweden and overdubbing Lucky Peterson's keyboards to make the thing sound fuller and more contemporary. History, after all, should not be messed with. But it's still a reasonably successful enterprise, with Rush imparting his own intense twist to "I Miss You So," "You Don't Have to Go," and "Little Red Rooster."

Troubles, Troubles was originally recorded for Sonet, but is probably better known through its re-release as Lost in the Blues by Alligator. Lost in the Blues was justifiably criticized because of the decision to have Lucky Peterson overdub a bunch of keyboards in order to give it a more "contemporary" (read: more "Alligator") sound. This release is of the original album (with a couple bonus alternate takes) without all the overdubbing, and is a vast improvement over the Alligator version. But how does it stand as an Otis Rush album? It's a very good set – perhaps "comfortable" says it best – recorded with Rush's longstanding band of Bob Levis on rhythm guitar, Bob Stroger on bass, and Jesse Lewis Green on drums (despite what the package says).

Otis Rush's crunching guitar and vocals were never more emphatic than during the '70s when it seemed that he would actually find the pop attention and mass stardom he deserved. These mid-'70s tracks were originally cut for the Black and Blue label, with Rush playing grinding, relentless riffs and creating waves of sonic brilliance through creatively repeated motifs, jagged notes, and sustained lines and licks, while hollering, screaming, moaning, and wailing. Jimmy Dawkins, an outstanding lead artist in his own right, has also long been one of Chicago's great rhythm artists and shows it by adding plenty of tinkling, crackling figures and lines in the backgrounds. While not as consistently riveting as his live Evidence date, this one is also a valuable Rush document.

This album on the House of Blues label is a bit smoother and more slickly produced (by Rush and famed Memphis producer Willie Mitchell) than Rush's classic, rough-edged Chess recordings, but there's still plenty here to like. With a solid horn section backing him on most cuts, Rush gets ample room to show off his razor-sharp guitar chops. And his distinctive, emotionally charged voice remains a true blues treasure. In addition to his own no-nonsense originals, Rush draws on some familiar tunes from classic soul and blues performers like Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Nappy Brown, and Little Milton.

Otis Rush is a stunning vocalist, innovative guitarist and songwriter who has hugely influenced blues and rock artists, including Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan (whose band, Double Trouble, was named after Rush's song of the same name), Jeff Beck, and Carlos Santana. Rush was inspired to become a bluesman after he moved to Chicago in the late forties and saw Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf perform. Along with Buddy Guy and Magic Slim, Rush developed a playing style that would become known as the "West Side sound," an emotionally intense combination of guitar licks and expressive vocals, with an urban sound that signified a departure from classic Mississippi Delta blues.

Recorded live outdoors in a Tokyo park in the Summer of 1975 with thousands of fans hanging on every note and word, Otis digs deep and delivers some of the most inspired singing and playing he's ever comitted to magnetic tape. All the performances are of a nice, comfortable lenth with none of the interminable soloing that mars other Rush live sets. This is the one to have.

Recorded in France back in 1977, this ten-song set finds Otis backed by strong trio support throughout in a delightfully engaged performance. Though several live albums exist on him, seldom has his declamatory vocals and stinging left-handed upside down guitar style been so well documented. Rush puts forth solo after solo, each with its own unique set of twists and turns, making this a veritable textbook of what he does best. Inspired listening and highly recommended.