Living Chicago Blues, Volume 2

Various Artists

Alligator, 1978

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/12/2024

It’s no secret that Chicago has been a literal petri dish for the growth of blues music. Artists from around the country have flocked to the bars and clubs that pepper the city over the past several decades to hone their skills and, hopefully, gain a little fame and make a little money. The first volume of the Living Chicago Blues series captured four such artists. Living Chicago Blues Vol. II—which includes two artists from the second LP in the set and two from the third—continued the trend of trying to turn listeners onto artists they might not have otherwise heard of.

This particular collection is intriguing for a number of reasons. It’s equally divided between guitar-based blues and piano-driven, and two of the featured artists would eventually have some of their work released on the Alligator label. A third artist was already a legend in his own time.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Kicking things off is The Lonnie Brooks Blues Band. Thanks to his appearance in this set, Brooks became a staple of the Alligator label, and he rightfully stakes his claim with tracks like “Two Headed Man” and “Move Over, Little Dog.” One can’t say that this is the best work Brooks ever did, but it’s still very solid over the course of these four songs.

Magic Slim & The Teardrops would eventually release one album on Alligator, but one could understand a little hesitancy based upon the band's four offerings. When they were on, as on “Spider In My Stew” or the suggestive “Dirty Mother For You,” they were a solid band. But others like “Stranded On The Highway” didn’t quite carry the same emotional punch, which drags down the overall performance.

Why Johnny “Big Moose” Walker wasn’t offered a contract, we’ll never know. Another artist who cut his teeth with such legends as Earl Hooker and Elmore James, he laid down solid piano licks and smooth vocals for his four offerings, with “Worry, Worry” and “Cry, Cry Darling” standing out. With all due respect to Brooks, it could be Walker who is the hidden gem among this particular volume’s collection of artists.

And then, there is Pinetop Perkins. Another artist who rightfully had earned the title of “legend,” Perkins joined Muddy Waters’s band following the departure of Otis Spann—and for the length of his appearance on this set, he runs a master class on just how important the blues was (and still is). Perkins and his band could easily get an audience on its feet with upbeat numbers like “Take It Easy, Baby” or “How Much More Long,” and also lock them into a solid groove with “Blues After Hours.” Quite honestly, this disc could have been nothing but Perkins’ work, and it would have been great.

Overall, Living Chicago Blues Vol. II is a solid follow-up to the first entry to the collection, and leaves the listener wanting much more—which is what the set was designed to do.

Rating: B+

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