With such tight constraints, he had to focus as much on his vocals as his guitar work. "Groaning the Blues," "Double Trouble," and "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)" all feature excellent vocal work and still manage to showcase his stinging guitar sound and style. "My Love Will Never Die" and "Three Times a Fool" rely more on his voice and are also among the highlights of these early singles.
Do yourselves a favor if you ever purchase this CD. Do not ever listen to "Violent Love!" Not only is it the worst song Willie Dixon ever wrote, it is one of the dumbest fucking songs ever written. It is embarrassing and cannot be avoided enough. I wish I could go back in time and not hear that song.
Following the demise of the Cobra label, Willie Dixon returned to Chess records and Rush followed for a brief time. While at Chess, Otis cut two of my favorite songs of his career. "So Many Roads, So Many Trains" and "You Know My Love."
"So Many Roads" is a slow blues classic drenched in that signature Rush guitar sound. The fills throughout the song are like quick jabs and the guitar solo is the knockout punch. The vocal is the victory dance when the show is over. It is one of the textbook examples of Rush at his most intense. A lot of writers have described Rush as having an intense, hair-raising vocal style. There is no question that was part of his sound and is a characteristic of some of his most famous songs. He was, however, capable of a very cool, smooth vocal delivery. "You Know My Love" (available on the Willie Dixon Chess Box) is a prime example of this other style.
Rush was not embraced at Chess and recorded only a couple of singles there. He did not record much for the next several years. His 1962 Duke single "Homework" is one of the few recordings to have made much of a dent during this period. This version of the song is available at iTunes but is not easily found on CD (Rush also re-recorded the song for his 1994 album Ain't Enough Comin' In.
In 1969, Rush recorded his Mourning in the Morning album in nearby (for me) Muscle Shoals with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section featuring Duane Allman providing support. Mourning in the Morning is an uneven yet underrated album. When Rush is working with strong material, the album soars. "My Old Lady" is an atrocious song (nearly as bad as "Violent Love") and no amount of heroics could put life into that shit. It's just fucking bad. Lyrically, "Me" falls into that same territory but somehow Rush manages to inject enough guitar licks and enthusiasm in the vocal to keep it from being a complete waste.
Article comments
1 - DuaneFan
Well, ef, ef, effity ef. I guess that sums it the ef up, doesn't it?
2 - Mat Brewster
Wow. That was so freaking long, I had to take a bathroom break in the middle.
But it does have some really cool stuff in it. Nicely done, Mr DJ
3 - DJRadiohead
Brewster, thank you. Thank you for making it through the thing (I wholly understand the need for a good, cleansing shit somewhere after Cobra records disbanded) and thanks for commenting. I had no idea I was going to go this long when the piece started. This was one of those where I was just along for the ride, too.
And Duane... I couldn't have said it better myself.
4 - DJRadiohead
I did a search on GoogleNews for "Otis Rush" and this story came up tops. Maybe the fictional Samantha Mathis character will show the man himself. I hope he likes it.
Now, if I can just get those people to send me the DVD so I can review it.
5 - Mark Saleski
ah yea! great take on Otis Rush. i don't have any of his recordings, but must say, the can can put together a tune. the first one i ever heard was the Geils version of "Homework" (from Full House).
makes me want to go home and plug in the guitar.
6 - DJRadiohead
Thanks, Mark. Glad you made it through. Was it a one bathroom break or a two-shitter for you? Wait... don't answer that.
Essential and Right Place... are really good places to start if you are at all curious. Honestly, knowing what little I have come to know of your tastes, I have a feeling you would find Right Place... a more fulfilling, enjoyable listen. It's just a hunch.
7 - Mark Saleski
remember, one of my favorite writers is Kerouac...so it did't seem so long to me.
i will definitely check out some Otis Rush.
8 - DJRadiohead
Well, I could have kept yammering for another 1,000 words or so. I'll try harder the next time.
Re-reading these comments and this column has caused me to again reach for Right Place... myself. Time well spent.
9 - DJRadiohead
I got excited when there was a package in the mail... turns out to have not been Otis. It was another CD I will be reviewing. Still. I wanted to watch Otis.
10 - DJRadiohead
UPDATE: The CD/DVD arrived today. My review will be surfacing soon. Some Otis tonight. Not a bad way to spend an evening.
11 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
DJ, that was beautiful. Beautiful. i dunno that i've ever heard a note this fella played, and to be honest, electric blues carry on's were never my bag. To paraphrase Sun House; the blues are about that snarl in your gut when bad shit's goin down.
I like it when they sound like that, too. And for the most part, i've only ever really heard that from acoustic blues malarkey.
But that's got nothing to do with the wonders of this piece, or maybe it has everything to do with it. I never heard a note and doubt i'd even like it if i did, and yet entranced, i was.
and those last couple lines were perfect. There's a lotta perfect lines in there, mind. But those last two - they were perfectly perfect.
12 - DJRadiohead
Duke, I know what you mean about the acoustic blues and the very guttural stuff. Some of Otis' work, despite being all electric blues, has been described as hair raising in that sort of sense. Certainly not all of it. What I think is if you listened to a few of his records you would be disinterested in a good chunk but there would be a song or two that you'd want to take with you. And on that acoustic blues subject- if you haven't taken Brother Saleski and my advice to get Muddy Waters' Folk Singer album you should not let one more day of your life pass without it.
I had to go back and re-read the last couple of lines to see which were the perfectly perfect. Thanks for that, Duke, and thanks for reading this. This one was a lot of fun. I don't write "dream" sequences often.