Search - Otis Rush :: Live & Awesome

A little-known concert album with some interesting moments

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 12/29/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Those looking for their first live Otis Rush CD, or for live versions of his classic Cobra singles, should look for "So Many Roads" or "Live in Europe". But if you already have those, and if you're a serious fan, "Live & Awesome" is quite a nice addition to your Otis Rush-collection.



The album clocks in at about 62 minutes, and Rush moves between the decidedly unenthusiastic (a half-hearted "I Got A Woman") and the truly inspired (a sizzling 9-minute "Gambler's Blues" with some wonderful slow blues guitar). Of Rush's more famous songs, only "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)" and "Right Place, Wrong Time" are here, both in good but not quite great renditions. But Rush and the competent if somewhat unremarkable band perform a couple of solid covers as well, most notably Little Milton's "Lonely Man", B.B. King's "Please Love Me", and a swaggering rendition of Albert King's "Let's Have A Natural Ball".



A lengthy take on T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" doesn't work as well, in spite of a really fine effort by pianist Ken Vangel, and a couple of other numbers also lack spark, partly because of Otis Rush's somewhat dispassionate (or simply unfocused) vocals.

In other words, this is not a must-have album. But, again, there are moments when it clicks for real, and Rush's lead guitar begins to sizzle, and when Otis Rush's guitar does that, there are no finer genuine blues guitarists alive.

One for the fan, yes, but not one to be disregarded straight away."