Bayou Lightning

Lonnie Brooks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alligator Records
• ASIN: B0000009XJ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,521 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #52 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Texas Blues
  • #65 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Electric Blues Guitar

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

On his first widely available album, guitarist/vocalist Brooks slams through the 1979 stylistic barriers separating Chicago blues, early rock 'n' roll, Louisiana swamp pop, funk, and Southern soul. For all the fulgurations of his fretted conductor, he maintains a degree of control and reserve that instantly stamps him a noble bluesman-as if anyone who'd encountered him in any Chicago bar during the past twenty years had any doubts. Casey Jones expertly mans the drums. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the all-time blues legends, May 11, 2001

By 

DJ (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bayou Lightning (Audio CD)

I had the immense pleasure of seeing Lonnie Brooks in concert a number of years ago, and it still rings as one of the 2 or 3 most incredible concert experiences of my life. (And I was also lucky enough to get a chance to speak with him after the show, at which time he mentioned that he had been nursing a really sore throat all night ... which totally surprised me, since I didn't hear an inkling of that during the concert. Just the sign of a true professional, giving 150% even when under the weather.)

This was the first album I ever heard of his work, and it's still my favorite. I think I originally bought it because I thought the album cover looked cool, with the lightning coming off of Lonnie's guitar, but I soon found that Bayou Lightning was far more substance than flash.

If you're a fan of the blues, and for some reason aren't familiar with Brooks' work, pick up this album and give it a spin. Then try to get out to see him live, where he's often joined by his son Ronnie Baker Brooks, who's also quite a talented axe man. Before you know it, you'll feel the blues growin' inside your body like a fever ... a fever that Lonnie Brooks has no doubt had inside him since the day he was born. Lightning, indeed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dirty Swampy Treat., February 22, 2001

By 

Tom (Palatine, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bayou Lightning (Audio CD)

The only shame here is you can't see Lonnie live.

Lonnie is a national treasure that the local Chicago bar circuit would be remiss to lose.

Lonnie's set these days doesn't seem to include much from this classic gem, but you still get a sense of what a modern bluesman should sound like, and where Lonnie came from.

Song one, Voodoo Daddy, is so earthy and determined that the listener is hooked from the word go. Lonnie yells a little more than he sings, and he milks his guitar for sounds most players had no clue a guitar could make.

"Wound Up Tight" might be a better album for the Lonnie novice, but this album tells a better story about how lucky Chicago is that Lonnie moved here from Texas.

Lonne Brooks is truly a descendent of the blues greats, bridging the gap between John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters to the next generation.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Steller, March 31, 2004

By 

Douglas A. Saunders (Arlington, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bayou Lightning (Audio CD)

When the weather becomes nice and I am going on a road trip with the windows rolled down, this is my album of choice to turn up and let it all out. Some of the best guiter and and lyrics around. It's a feel good album.