Search - Billy Branch, Carlos Johnson :: Don't Mess With the Bluesmen

Let's buy this up, spread the word and encourage more!

David G. Lucas | Tsukuba Japan, Chicago IL, Milwaukee WI, Monroe WI | 06/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are very few blues guitar heroes coming out of Chicago anymore, or so I was thinking till I saw Carlos Johnson play with Otis Rush and Derek Trucks in Tokyo May 2004. Johnson has the flair, showmanship and skills of greats like fellow left-hander Otis Rush himself, though I felt more in the presence of a player the likes of Luther Allison, Chuck Berry, Buddy Guy or B.B. King in his love for the audience, his instrument and the music. Carlos Johnson, like Billy Branch, his co-hort on this album, is obviously a man who deserves more recording contracts and big tours. Buy a few more copies of this CD for your friends and get the word out so the record companies pay attention! Chicago bars are great places to see live music, but national treasures like these musicians have got to be shared with all the people. Why do all the good guys have to spend most of their time gigging in Europe and Japan, and making CDs in Europe and Japan, when they play most of their best stuff all thier lives in Chicago? Bring the love home! Hello, Blind Pig, Telarc, are you listening? For more collaborative work you can listen to Carlos Johnson on Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues releases, starting with "Where's My Money?""