Customer Reviews

Any Place I'm Going

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Otis Rush belongs to the roster of all the great Chicago bluesmen such as Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Freddie King and Buddy Guy. He is also one of the forebearers of electric blues guitar where Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mike Bloomfield and other first generation white boy blues guitar players got their starting licks from. Even Peter Green/Santana's "Black Magic Woman" is a take off from Rush's "All Your Love". But how come he never reached the status he deserves like his more successful contemporaries ?

Bad luck, bad timing and probably bad management caused him to elude success. This release is yet on a new label (House of Blues) but perhaps his luck has changed this time. He managed to garner a Grammy for this album, I think more for the well deserved efforts in not giving up his lone crusade in delivering his kind of Blues than for the song contents.

His Blues ? Yes, it is the same painful, slow vibrato'd guitar and voice outings he had been dishing out for the past 30 odd years. If you are new to Otis' work, this album is a definite buy and if you are familier with his past recordings, this CD should complete your collection as the album which finally broke the jinx.

As of writing this review this title is out of print. Astounding since it's one of the best blues albums EVER! That's right. Ever! I'm biased when it comes to Otis Rush because he's my favorite blues man, but this album is so good it should be in everyone's collection. I'd suggest getting his famous "Right Place, Wrong Time" before searching this one out as the other is legendary, but assuming you like anything you heard by Otis, you'll LOVE this. Even blues legends make some pretty mediocre and sometimes bad albums these days and a lot of the younger guys haven't hit their stride. But this is what those guys should be aiming at. It won't disappoint!

Many times we associate the Chicago Blues sound with greats such as Buddy Guy, Little Walter and others. Rush is also a major player- oft overlooked- in the modern Blues era. His guitar licks are crisp and voice full of feel throughout the CD. It starts off great with "You Fired Yourself UP" and makes for excellent energy. A definate buy!

Equal parts blues and soul, Otis Rush's sadly underexposed 1998 album proves (if proof was needed) that Rush hasn't spent his muse.

"Any Place I'm Going" is not as gritty as the magnificent 50s singles on which Otis Rush's legacy rests, and there is nothing here to take the place of "I Can't Quit You Baby" or "All Your Love".
But there is still plenty to like...Rush covers Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Lew Herman, and Sandy Jones, as well as adding a couple of really fine originals, particularly the excellent, soulful title track.

Otis Rush is backed (but never swamped) by a solid horn section, and his intense vocals have become a bit darker with age, but his big, expressive singing voice and sizzling guitar work are still his greatest assets. Rush's lengthy solos on "Looking Back" and "Any Place I'm Going (Beats Any Place I've Been)" are deceptively clean and understated, but turn it up a bit and you'll hear why Otis Rush is considered one of the finest blues guitarists ever to lay hands on a volume knob.

Apart from penning a couple of new songs, Rush also updates his classic "Keep On Loving Me Baby", complete with a meaty horn riff and a couple of smouldering solos, and other highlights include his supremely confident, well-arranged renditions of "I Got The Blues", "You Fired Yourself", the swinging, funky "Have You Ever Had The Blues", Clay Bingham's classic "Part Time Love" and the Little Milton-hit "Walking The Back Streets And Crying".

At 64, Otis Rush obviously hasn't lost any of his razor-sharp chops, and one can only wonder if he might not have been the man hailed worldwide as the reigning King of the Blues if only fate and various record companies had been kinder to him.
As it is, let us at least call him the King of the West Side, a true blues treasure, the great Otis Rush.

Any Place you`r Going. Otis Rush, as a Danish recording artist you are great inspiration to me. You'r vocals,guitar and personalety is clear and injoyable. This CD is great. Great horns. Great musisians. Great production. I recoment this CD to truly music lovers! Sincerely Dan Klarskov

Another very good record. Nice to see one of the all-time greats getting some studio time and backing. "Walking the Backstreets and Crying" gets my vote for Blues number of the year. A killer cut. Lots of other good stuff from one of the real masters. Think some guitar rag (Rolling Stone) thought it was lacking in guitar bits (wanting in wanking?). If you don't own any Otis, buy it and then go directly to the Cobra stuff - the man is a joy. Shucks, he's a national treasure.

I love the blues. I thought I knew the blues. While driving in my car & listening to a Blues station. I heard, the song : You Fired Yourself & I was hungry for more. IPOD all day long in the office. I'm soooooooo happy. I love his voice & this song.

Otis Rush continually gives you the best of the Blues. An American original performing original American music.

This album is an absolute must for Otis fans and all blues fans generally.

Forget the hackneyed comments about not being as good as his Cobra recordings or all the usual stuff about getting older. Hey it's a fact of life... we all get older!

11 tracks of masterful playing and singing from a seasoned professional with a fabulous recorded sound. Each play will have you discovering a new aspect of each tune. Just buy it!!!

I was worried that Otis Rush's great work was all behind him (and me), but this 1998 outing (which I just tripped over in a used record store) is truly great - one final testament to his stature as a giant among 20th Century bluesmen. For my money, nobody ever matched Rush for his soulful, MELODIC blues guitar and his sweet vibrato. The fact that his guitar was a perfect counterpoint for his voice (equally powerful, melodic and expressive of the full range of the blues) puts him in a very small category with the greatest bluesmen of all time, and there he will remain. Recorded and produced by the late Willie Mitchell, with his stellar Memphis band, this historic recording is a reissue MUST. House of Blues records started off with great intentions, and did some fine work while they lasted (I have a a great John Mooney album on that label too), and I certainly hope this great album does not just fade away into a collector's dream. Please, somebody, get this back in print!