Records

Albert King: Truckload of Lovin' (UtopiaRCA)

RCA); Luther Allison: Night Life (Motown);

Otis Rush: Cold Day in Hell (Delmark)

The re-entrance of the blues-played by the original artists-into the popular music mainstream has been a long time coming. In the fifties records by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Elmore James, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, Lightnin' Slim, John Lee Hooker and many other blues greats were played on the same radio programs with Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Ray Charles and other originators of rock and roll. At the same time records by singing groups-the Flamingos, the El Dorados, the Moonglows, the Cadillacs scores of others-were an equal segment of the mix, and the occasional jazz hit by Gene Ammons, King Pleasure, James Moody, Bird and some others would top off the programming blend.

Then rock and and principally white rock and roll started to take over the airwaves, and the blues were heard mainly through the interpretations of young British guitarists and singers. These musicians paid explicit homage to their black ancestors, most of whom were (and are) still living, and the occasional blues master-Hooker, B.B. King, Freddie King was allowed to record for a major label under the sponsorship of a rock star, but the sound of the blues in the original was, in general, very rarely heard in the radio bastions of pop rock and soul.

ABC Records' recent successes with B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Band-largely the result of treating their records as pop releases and marketing them in the same way rock records are would seem to have inspired a few of their competitors to look at the blues once again as a viable commercial form. At any rate we have seen an increasing number commercially and musically interesting records by several well-established blues masters hit the market in the past few months, and that's a development we would like to encourage.

RCA Recurds, riding the peak of an amazing wave of success with black music in general, seems to be putting its full promotional mechanism behind Albert King's first release on the RCA-distributed Utopia label, Truckload of Lovin' (featuring the single "Cadillac Assembly Line," a testimonial to the attraction the automobile plants hold for rural black workers in the South), and it's paying off with some solid airplay around the country. Produced by top soul stirrers Tony "Champagne" Silvester and Bert "Super Charts" de Coteaux, mixed by discomeister Tony Bongiovi, and backed by L.A. session masters Wah Wah Watson, Joe Sample, Chuck Rainey, James Gadson, and their pals, the mighty Albert King is still allowed to make his own natural music, and his voice and guitar are heard here here in full strength of their powers.

Most of the material seems to be carried over from Albert's days at the now-defunct Stax Records, which is just fine with King, and even the hokiest stuff (Bobby Eli's "Hold Hands With One Another") is redeemed by the King's powerfully fluid guitar choruses. Back-up voices and strings are heard throughout, and Albert is at his best on and "Truckload of Lovin," "Cadillac Assembly Line," "Cold Women With Warm Hearts," and "Nobody Wants a Loser." Blues purist will shudder in dismay, but this writer wishes brother King all the success in the world with his new label and this fresh, up-to-the-minute approach to the blues.

Luther Allison, the young blues powerhouse who has long threatened to break out off the record industry ghetto and into the pop spotlight, has finally been given a full-scale pop production job at Motown, but the results are not quite so positive as one had hoped. While Luther's previous Motown efforts suffered from a lack off direction and an excess of hackneyed material. Night Life goes too far in the opposite direction, impossibly saddling Allison with straight-out pop numbers ("Turn Back the Hands of Time," "Full Speed Anead," Dr. John's "Hollywood Be Thy Name," Allen 'Toussaint's "The Bum Is Mine," and Willie Nelson's "Night Life") and a Ray Charles vocal feature ("I Can Make It Through The Day"), none of which are at all suited to his classical approach.

When the material fits the maker the music is right on time: "Bloomington Closing," with a gorgeous (though uncredited) alto saxophone solo by Fat Richard Drake, is Luther Allison at his most exciting; Little Milton's "That's What Love Will Make You Do" comes close; and the familiar "Cross Cut Saw" despite an uninspiring vocal - features some exceptionally tasty guitar work. David "Fathead" Newman provides a few bright rays of light on the bogus material with his gem-like tenor solos, Dr. John bubbles under on piano, the background vocals, horn section, and the production in general (by Mark Meyerson and Michael Cuscuna, two of the most musical young men in the business) are deftly and impeccably handled it's just that  Luther is not at home with the pop material, and those who live his masterful guitar work in the power-blues tradition-like this writer-will be sorely disappointed.

Blues lovers couldn't be happier with the new Otis Rush LP on Delmark, however; titled Cold Day In Hell, it's the first full production on the great guitarist/vocalist/composer since Mike Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites aborted his Cotillion album some years back. Delmark's Steve Tomashevsky took Otis and his band into the studio and let them cut their stuff the way they play it live, with two saxophones, Big Moose Walker on keyboards, Mighty Joe Young on rhythm guitar, and a cross-section of Otis' personal material. The results are in no way spectacular, but the many fans of this seminal urban blues guitar giant-and again, this writer is happily included are treated to Otis in depth at last, which is nothing short of a real treat.

The first side has some weak moments, particularly on "Society Woman,"a good song unconvincingly delivered, and during Rush's bizarre solo on "Midnight Special," but the nonpareil guitar work on "You're Breaking My Heart," Otis's telling vocals, and Abb Locke's heavy tenor saxophone provide enough thrills to keep one satisfied. Side Two is solid throughout, from the classic "Mean Old World" to the long jam on "All Your Love" and the typically intense title tune. "Motorin' Along" takes it out in grand style, and all that remains is to turn the record back over and start again.