Then, of course, there are the great moments. Rush absolutely owns B.B. King's "Gambler's Blues" on this set and the song became a staple of his concerts over the next several years. He also does a searing instrumental version of Aretha Franklin's "Baby, I Love You" which Aretha first cut when she made a trip to Muscle Shoals to record for Atlantic Records.
The main reasons I don't think Essential is Otis at his peak can mostly be found on Right Place, Wrong Time. I am still a novice as a student of the blues and there are scores of albums and artists I have yet to hear. In spite of that I have no problem saying Right Place, Wrong Time is my favorite electric blues album. His vocals on this album are perhaps the best of his career. It is as if all the songs and all the shows up to this point had been a dress rehearsal for this one moment and he makes the most of it. He was ready. His record label was not.
In what has to be one of the worst damn decisions in any label's history, the album was rejected when Rush turned it in to his bosses. The tapes sat in a vault for five years before an independent label finally put out the record. It is jackassery that defies all comprehension. How someone could have listened to this record and not pissed themselves is beyond me. I would have had the shits in anticipation of the opportunity to bring this record to the people.
Now, I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. Well, you're right if you think that last statement was carrying things a bit far. You're wrong if you think you can dismiss my assessment as some sort of fanboy bias. That would be a mistake. Right Place, Wrong Time is the album that caused me to drink the Otis Rush Kool-Aid. I was a casual fan of Rush and the blues when I ordered this album. This is the record that made me believe.
Right Place, Wrong Time has a Southern blues sound in arrangement and tone - his Chicago sound is not as obvious. It is a perfectly-balanced album. Guitar, vocal, horns, and piano are mixed in the right doses. Some guitar players would feel crowded by the presence of a horn section or second guitar player. Rush is generous with his fellow musicians and willingly takes a step back, sometimes more often than you wish he would because he is such a fabulous player. There are fast and slow songs. There is a nice mix of shorter and longer tracks and there are instrumentals as well as vocal numbers. All of these different pieces are sequenced superbly and it creates an ideal pace and listening experience.
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.