Charlie Musselwhite: Look Out Highway
It’s been nearly six decades since a young singer, songwriter and harmonica player from Mississippi released his debut album, quickly establishing himself as the latest keeper of the Chicago blues flame. Unlike most of his contemporaries who are still going, Charlie Musselwhite, now 81, never lost or even changed direction. Look Out Highway, his newest release, is as strong as anything he’s recorded, 11 mostly original compositions on which he’s accompanied by his working road band—guitarist Matt Stubbs, bassist Randy Bermudes and drummer June Core—and augmented by co-producer Chris “Kid” Andersen, who adds keyboard and guitar parts as needed. In an era when so much blues music has been reduced to unimaginative clichés and its sole purpose is to keep the drinks flowing at the local tavern, Musselwhite—a true student of the original blues masters—still exudes the authenticity that was already in place when he was first starting out. These songs emanate from a place of honesty and realism, and Musselwhite delivers them sans gimmickry or formula. It’s all there in the title track, which leads off the record: “Oh blues, don’t you call my name/ Just stop by here take away my pain,” Musselwhite sings over a gritty, recurring guitar riff he says he picked up from an old gospel tune. Other tracks, among them “Highway 61” (not the Dylan classic) and the chugging, sung-spoken “Ghosts in Memphis”—the latter featuring a surprise vocal insert from rapper Al Kapone—reinforce the notion that Charlie Musselwhite is one of the last of the stalwarts of the great white blues revival era of the ‘60s, and one who’s never forgotten why he’s here.
