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To define this album, it would be enough to write, possibly with the left hand, the word: "Extraordinary". It's no coincidence that Albert King and Otis Rush are left-handed guitarists. There's no need to insert elaborate or grandiose words for an album of such magnitude, yet I'll try to 'convey' to you the historical value and artistic-musical essence of this album.
DeB guitarists section (vol 1.2). The musical influence of both Artists has been decidedly enormous for subsequent generations of Blues guitarists and beyond, but on this occasion, I prefer to avoid mentioning famous names because it is not the main topic of the review.
First part: brief biography.
King (1923 - 1992) learned to play the guitar as a young self-taught musician. His career began in the late '40s with the "Harmony Kings" quartet. He went through tough years and even played drums with Jimmy Reed, making his first recording in '53 for the Parrot label. Not having achieved the desired results, King returned to Arkansas. Later, he settled in St. Louis in '57, where his activities gained greater recognition... Even though King is the most famous, one should not underestimate Rush's (1934) talent and skills. He also started playing the guitar young and became a professional musician when he reached Chicago in '48. His first release was with Cobra, another label competing with Chess in the late '50s. The first group he played with was in '55, and he recorded for Chess in '60. Between the '60s and mid-'70s, he composed only two songs. The process of rediscovery began with the few albums released between '75 and '85. The following years gradually brought Rush back to a significant presence in the Blues circuit.
Second part: review.
This album was originally produced in October '69 as LP 1538 Chess. This version reissued in '98 by Universal (32 bit digitally re-mastered - length: 39 min. and 25 sec.) features excellent audio quality in an appealing digipak package. The album contains fourteen tracks, eight played by King and six by Rush, and is capable of 'capturing' the two guitarists and singers in a dazzling form. In '53 King recorded in St. Louis for Parrot the tracks "Bad Luck", "Merry Way" and "Murder", later acquired by Chess in '59. While "Searchin' For A Woman", "Howlin' For My Darling", "Won't Be Hanging Around", "So Many Roads" and "California" were composed in '61. The remaining "So Close", "I Can't Stop", "I'm Satisfied", "All Your Love", "You Know My Love" and "So Many Roads" are the ones played and recorded by Rush in '60. Despite various differences between the two Artists, both in character and music, the tracks 'complement' each other perfectly, creating a sublime and unrepeatable atmosphere. All songs are sung and played masterfully. On this occasion, I find it rather difficult to mention just a few pieces and at the same time, I would like to avoid the much-maligned track-by-track, so I will describe the album as a whole. Already in '53 King had a unique ability to transfer emotions to the listener through surprising sensitivity and incisiveness. The other five tracks demonstrate how his technical ability has improved over time and how far Blues has come. Indeed, this music can be indisputably defined as a modern 'street' Blues.
Characteristic is his style of 'manipulating' the strings to the point of conveying feeling and suffering. These particular chords and harmonies would be extensively reworked and then reproduced in the following years by subsequent Blues generations. Although Rush is less known than King in terms of popularity, in these tracks he is able to 'compete' admirably thanks to his instrumental and vocal skills. Otis Rush is a musician endowed with a particularly dramatic, intense, and genuine vocal tone, while also being refined and elegant. In some respects, Rush impressed me even more than King. Otis proves to be a sophisticated musician, skilled in creating unusual emotions thanks to his irrepressible exuberance. His guitar solos are superb and blend marvelously with a highly versatile and original voice. His creative completeness allows him to transport the Blues into territories little explored at the time. All other instrumentalists are no less, particularly the saxophonists and pianists, able to impart a freshness and musical spontaneity that time has not diminished in the slightest. As often happens, left-handers are endowed with originality and creativity out of the ordinary. Since childhood, they have had to 'maneuver' in a world structured mainly for right-handers. Perhaps the suffered hardships develop a particular cerebral or spiritual predisposition towards a superior perception of the musical dimension.
Guitaristic & Blues Greetings.
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