Living Chicago Blues, Volume 3

Various Artists

Alligator, 1980

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/26/2024

The challenge with trying to feature a wide assortment of musical artists, regardless of the genre, is that not everyone can be the best of the best. No matter how hard one tries to highlight those who are the most worthy of the spotlight, occasionally a mis-step is taken in selection—not that the highlighted artist is terrible, but that they’re not quite of the same caliber as the others on the roster.

This is where we find ourselves with Living Chicago Blues, Volume 3—a CD that makes up portions of volumes 3, 4 and 5 of the original album series. There are performances that will make you wonder why the artists never achieved the same level of success as some of the genre’s bigger names, while others are enjoyable, if not as memorable.

Let’s get to the biggest highlight of this particular set first—namely, Scotty And The Rib Tips. What, you’ve never heard of them? Well, honestly, I hadn’t either until I listened to this collection—and what a pity this is, because the band is phenomenal. Though they only have four songs to make their name known, Buddy Scott and his band made the most of that brief time. Tracks like “Careless With Our Love” and “Big Leg Woman” accurately capture the style of music that Alligator has championed throughout their history. (The tragedy is that, to the best I’ve been able to find in Discogs, they never were given the opportunity to record a complete album. That, kids, is a damned shame.)my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Just one tier below, we’d find The Sons Of Blues—featuring two artists who would do more recording for Alligator over the years, Billy Branch and Lurrie Bell. (Lurrie Bell also appears with Lovie Lee on this set... but we’re not ready to talk about them just yet.) Branch and crew make the most with the three songs they’re given, putting their own purer spin on “Have You Ever Loved A Woman” that would make you forget about Derek And The Dominoes, while “Prisoner Of The Blues” likewise shines.

This is where the collection dips a bit. I don’t mean to sound like the other three acts featured here are bad. In fact, the disc’s opening artist A.C. Reed And The Spark Plugs would go on to later cut a full-length disc on Alligator, and Reed had previously established himself with Albert Collins. No, if anything, the energy in the music just isn’t quite as strong.

Take Lee’s four-song outing (featuring both Lurrie Bell and Carey Bell, the latter of whom not only appeared on Alligator’s second-ever release, but would record a few albums of his own). There’s no way I can say that tracks like “Naptown” or “Sweet Little Girl” are bad. What I can, however, say is that they don’t have as strong of an impact on the listener as other selections in this collection.

The same argument can be made for Lacy Gibson, who had the passion, but maybe not quite the same caliber of talent as other artists throughout the entire collection. I could see myself listening to “Crying For My Baby” and “Wish Me Well” again, to be sure... but to say I’d go out of my way to search them out? I’m sorry, I’m not quite as certain there.

Despite a little bit of a roller-coaster in terms of overall power on this one, Living Chicago Blues, Volume 3 still has more than its share of buried treasure, waiting to be unearthed. You just might have dig a little bit deeper than the previous two volumes.

Rating: B-

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


Comments

 








© 2024 Christopher Thelen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Alligator, and is used for informational purposes only.