Release Date : May, 16, 2025
With nearly sixty years of
recording experience behind him, Charlie Musselwhite continues to push
forward and produce critically acclaimed blues to stand the test of time. His latest album Look Out Highway is
an instant favorite. Recorded at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studio
in San Jose, California with Matt Stubbs (GA-20) on guitar,
June Core (Robert Lockwood Jr.) on drums, Randy Bermudes (James
Cotton) on bass, and Kid Andersen sitting in on guitar, piano, and
keys, this eleven-track album is plumb fantastic.
With an unescapable groove, the record kicks off with title-track “Look Out Highway”. It’s downright hypnotizing, and I love every bit of it. “Hip Shakin’ Mama” is an immediate hit for me. Sometimes one just can’t escape the blues, as Musselwhite sings with one foot in Tennessee and one in Mississippi on “Baby Won’t You Please Help Me”. Flavored with Memphis-style soul featuring Andersen on organ, this one surely cooks. Being a drifter on the road, sets the stage for the slow blues of “Highway 61”. Having traveled that highway back and forth from Arkansas to Iowa countless times over the past thirty-three years, I can surely identify with Charlie when he states ‘Sixty-One Highway is the longest road I know’. Topping out at number one on the US Country charts in 1978 for Crystal Gayle, “Ready For Times To Get Better” lands as the only cover on the album. Featuring Edna Luckett joining in on a duet with Musselwhite, this absolutely fabulous version of the song cuts right to the bone. It surely seems to be even more relevant today than when it was released. The attention-grabbing surprise on the record is the “Ghosts in Memphis”. This intoxicating track about Memphis-borne spirits and haints features Musselwhite’s haunting harp licks blended in an innovative way with rap vocals from Memphis-based artist Al Kapone. It is an extraordinary track.
Look Out Highway is destined to be a hit record. This cocktail of Delta Blues, Chicago Blues, Memphis Soul and Country makes for a memorable listen each and every time I hear it.
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Photo © Michael Weintrob .jpg)
Photo © Michael Weintrob
For more information about Charlie
Musselwhite, visit his website https://www.charliemusselwhite.com/
For other PhillyCheeze
reviews of Charlie Musselwhite, visit this link https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=charlie+musselwhite
