Louisiana Red &
Little Victor’s Juke Joint
Back To The Black Bayou
Ruf Records
visit the band's website
also available on Amazon
This quirky, eclectic, and legendary bluesman recorded this at the Juke Joint Studio in Notodden, Norway and thus part of the name of this disc. On this effort he is backed by producer, guitar and harmonica player Little Victor and the band Little Victor put together for this project, and then added some special guests: Kim Wilson and Bob Corritore on harmonica and Dave Maxwell on piano. What we have here are a few of Red’s renowned songs such as “Alabama Train” and “I’m Louisiana Red,” and a whole stack of new ones, all of which he wrote, or co-wrote, except for one of the songs. Red is an excellent songwriter and these tunes show that he learned his lessons about phrasing and tempo from some of the best, such as Muddy Waters. He has that same vocal power as Muddy and he lets it all out on a number of the songs;
give a listen to the power and force behind his vocals on “Crime In Motion,” among others. His slide guitar playing has not diminished with the passing of the years; it still has all the rough and raw power it had when he was younger. His playing and singing is infused with an extremely compelling, almost violent, emotional element that does nothing but increase the muscle of these songs. He lives in Germany now and so doesn’t tour the states as much as he once did. However, if he is in your area you should definitely catch this showman of the early Chicago Electric Blues; he is one of the last of his kind and one hell of an artist.