Wise Fools, the show from Chicago '76, was only released last year. The tapes of this show sat around in a vault somewhere until someone had the good sense to dust them off and get them released. Someone at Delmark should get a raise for this glorious decision. Wise Fools was one of my Top 10 Albums of 2005 and is easily one of the more distinguished live releases in Rush's catalog. The sound is a little less pristine and shiny than So Many Roads but in its own way that makes the show feel all the more authentic. These days, live albums are so remixed and remastered and cleaned up there is no blood and there are no guts to them. Wise Fools has not been overly tinkered with and you really have the feeling this is what he sounded like on that night. The eight minute version of "You're Breaking My Heart" (a song he would record for his Cold Day in Hell album a few months later) is a showstopper.
Ain't Enough Comin' In, released in 1994, is an unexpected gem. There was no reason to think he had it in him. Rush rarely stepped into a studio by the end of the 70s and released even less in the 80s. It seemed he had run out of steam and was destined to fade into blues history. He had one last great studio album in him.
Rush was 60 at the time he released this album. He might not have been able to summon the blood-n-guts persona of his earlier days but he makes up for that with smoothness and warmth. These are not "hellhound on my trail" blues but rather the kind of barroom blues you would expect to hear at a jukejoint on a Saturday night. These are the kind of blues that make you feel good. These are the kind of blues that make you move, and if unlike me you are capable, dance.
John Porter, who produced the album, has to be given all the credit in the world. For a combination of reasons, Otis had not sounded this good in 20 years. The band and the sound of the album are all first rate. Rush had recorded a number of these songs previously. He even redid his 1962 single, "Homework" and gave it more sizzle and style than ever. Recycled material could have doomed the album but Porter made a brilliant decision in the sound design of Ain't Enough Comin' In. Some producers might have been tempted to try and make a vintage recording when working with a legend like this. Porter resisted the temptation and made a modern-sounding blues record. This seems to have invigorated Rush and he sounds more vital than ever.
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.