Unfortunately, Ain't Enough Comin' In and 1998's Any Place I'm Going are out of print and fucking impossible to find. OK, so not impossible. I found them on eBay but it took some doing. Where Ain't Enough Comin' In felt worth every bit of the hassle and them some, Any Place I'm Going does not have that same special energy.
Rush teamed up with Willie Mitchell, a Memphis-based producer, and the album just does not have enough fire in it. Ain't Enough Comin' In was a great blend of the smooth and the visceral. The fire does not burn quite as hot here perhaps because Rush's guitar sound has been tinkered with a little too much and because the horns tend to get in the way of it a little too often. Or, maybe he was just beginning to feel tired and could not summon his amazing talents with the same power as he could at his peak.
Any Place… is not a bad record. His version of the song made famous on The Cosby Show (The Night Time is "The Right Time") is excellent even if he can no longer sing the declaratory "Baby!" lines with the same fire as the young Rudy Huxtable. The guitar work is still very good and the material is strong. Unfortunately, someone thought an experiment in reggae might be fun. I disagree. "Any Place I'm Going (Beats Any Place I've Been)" is a good song but I don't like this arrangement.
Sadly, Rush's health began to take a turn for the worse and Any Place I'm Going will likely be the last "new" album he will record. Already, a trickle of historical Rush releases are hitting the market. Wise Fools was released last year and his 1986 Montreaux performance is being released on both CD and DVD. Long gaps between release dates in Rush's career leave the hope there might be more treasures in vaults somewhere, waiting for some genius soul to share them with us. Even if that never happens, Rush has left behind enough great material to be celebrated for generations.
III.
So what has the point of all this been?
I wanted to tell you all about my dream. I also wanted to tell you about the Montreaux set I will be reviewing as soon as it arrives. Mostly, I wanted to talk about an artist whose music has moved me so much these past few years and to introduce him to a few of you.
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.