Luther Allison, Songs from the Road (Ruff)

Luther Allison - Songs from the Road (Ruff)As great as the music is in New Orleans, and as lucky as we are that this city serves as a magnet for out-of-town music of all genres, it’s a shame Chicago’s Luther Allison never performed in New Orleans. Allison was a blues guitarist and singer of the highest order, and this live set from 1997 recorded in La Belle Province testifes to that fact. Allison certainly does his share of testifying here, beginning with the frantic opening shuffle “Cancel My Check,” where he really takes the bull by the horn. A well-paced set, he follows with a down-in-the-alley slow burner, “I Can’t Live in the House of the Blues.” Allison doesn’t hog all the solos as there’s a very attractive organ present here very reminiscent of the small combo sound on B.B. King’s mid-’60s classic Blues is Boss album. A crowd favorite in Montreal, Allison cleverly attracts audience participation in a couple of songs, in particular on “There Comes a Time.” There’s a great cover of Magic Sam’s “You Belong to Me,” and Elmore James gets sampled on “It Hurts Me Too.” A fine DVD from this show accompanies this CD, so you can double your pleasure here.