Customer Reviews

Briefcase Full of Blues

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Who'd have BELIEVED a pair of white comedians would have wound up doing an album of R&B and Soul music THIS DAMN GOOD??? It started out as a joke on SNL, but with the aid of the best session players in the business (who at the time made up the SNL band!) BRIEFCASE FULL OF BLUES became a reality that outlasted the comedy that spawned it. EVERY song a classic, recorded live with style, class, POWER and panache-- MAN do I love the sound of a big band horn section doing "rock & roll"! I still remember at first not being sure about John Belushi's singing on this. Is he joking? Is he real? After a few plays it just didn't matter-- the recordings were just SOOOOO good! Of course "Soul Man" is the most well-known, but EVERY song here is a stand-out, with "B Movie Box Car Blues" one of my faves-- it builds and builds until it finally reaches that wild, explosive climax. WOW!!

I only wish the CD would have included "Excuse Moi Mon Chere", the "B" side of the "Soul Man" 45. What kind of oversight is that?

Like others have said, BRIEFCASE... introduced me to songs & artists I might never have heard otherwise, for which I remain grateful. Of the 6 (count 'em, 6!) albums to date by The Blues Brothers Band, this is my favorite. A VERY close follow-up is 1992's RED,WHITE AND BLUES, where the band proved they could make SENSATIONAL recordings even without Belushi. (Take it from me-- if you like this, RW&B will blow your mind!!!)

The Blues Brothers were no joke, nor a gimmick. They WERE on a mission from god, and that is to keep the next generations connected to the Blues, or at least to know it exists. Elwood's (Dan Akroyd) prophecy about "the music we hear today" is just a re-programmed electronic music and the existence of Blues only in "the classical department of your local library" is not far from reality today (the prophecy is brought to you free of charge in track 1). So the two "brothers" took their blues (big) band (featuring Matt guitar Murphy, Blue Lue Marini, Alan Rubin and others), and recorded some easy-to-listen tracks, mostly covers to Blues, Soul & RNB classics like "Soul man", "Messin' with the kid", "I don't know" etc.
This CD features a great live performance with an excellent selection of songs. Each and every track gets its special treatment to make it "blues brothers style". Just listen to Willie Mabon's "I don't know" to know what I'm talking about.
I wouldn't want to use the whole 1000 words I have, so I'll just finish saying this is a 5 stars fun both for Blues fans (like myself) and for those who don't listen to the Blues on a regular basis. Enough. Just Buy this one!

Not often do you get the right group of people together at the right time and right place, but when you do, magic happens!!!

This recording captures that magic and is a joy to listen to over and over again! It's timeless as well! Just as fresh and fun to listen to today as it was 25 years ago!

Everyone involved with this took the music serious, but had fun at the same time, and the interaction with the audience is a testament to that!

A great R&B/Blues recording to add to any collection!

Shotgun Blues is still my favorite, but the whole recording groves me!

I think that the person who wrote the review entitled "Worhtless" is probably one of those fools who think that you have to be black to play blues music. The fact of the matter is that Blues comes from the soul, not from your skin color or background. I applaud Dan Akroyd and John Belushi (RIP) for bringing Blues music back in to the mainstream. It's about time this style of music got some recognition, and no matter what the color of the skin of the person accomplishes it, it is a very fine achievement.

What recommends this album more than anything else is the history behind it: What started as a skit on NBC's Saturday Night Live quickly snowballed to become a true phenomenon (AMG). So what if John Belushi didn't sing as well as Otis Redding. With this album, the Blues Brothers sparked interest in blues and R&B among a new generation. Taken as an affectionate, tongue-in-cheek tribute to R&B music, the album has retained its entertainment value. The sincere performances are enhanced by some tasty playing from a top-notch band

Though I didn't realize it when I first owned the record as a pre-teen/early teen, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi were backed by some of the best musicians in the business. That, and the fact that Belushi could at least respectably carry a tune (and having a great voice is not the number 1 requirement of the blues), make this a fantastic album. The "Blues Brothers" do some fine interpretations of songs originally done by Sam and Dave, Floyd Dixon, Delbert McClinton, King Floyd, and others. Some of these versions --I think -- are as good if not better than the originals, notably "B Movie Boxcar Blues", which is improved with some great guitar playing by Matt "Guitar" Murphy, and "Hey Bartender", mainly because I prefer blues to jazz and Floyd Dixon's version sounds more like jazz to me. Of course, I'm not sure if the music on this album is so much blues as it is soul; after all, they do sing what became a hit version of "Soul Man". And they also turn King Floyd's funk classic "Groove Me" into a reggae tune complete with Jamaican accents. This album is a classic; don't miss it. (By the way, I'm not a diehard Blues Brothers fan; I could never watch the whole Blues Brother movie because it seemed so lame.)

Okay, maybe you don't like the fact that these two guys started as a parody and then turned it into a moneymaker (I do like that). Maybe you think the original versions are better. (I don't). If nothing else, this is your chance to hear one of the greatest collections of professional musicians at the top of their game! I find myself wishing I had had the opportunity to see these guys in concert, because you won't find a tighter, better groove anywhere than the one these guys laid down.

Parody beginnings or not, Belushi and Akroyd took this music seriously and it shows in their knowledge of this music and in their soulful performances. This is one of the best collections of R&B you will ever find, performed by some of the guys that laid down the original tracks. You won't be disappointed.

2 Charasmatic guys, backed by some of the best music talents around at the time. Theres a real powerful band behind those two guys! Theres real electricity in those classic soul tunes.

This originally came out while I was in college and we loved it. The movie came out and we loved that too. This album caused various friends and I to seek out and listen to real blues music. Now many years later, I have a fairly large collection of blues. But even after all this time, I still love this album! In my humble opinion, the Blues Brothers are the best thing to have ever come out of Saturday Night Live!

This album is superb for a party. The only bad thing about it is that it eventually ends, at which point you have a tough act to follow. Of course there's always the option of playing it again! Which seemed to be requested fairly often at our parties. The energy this album dumps into a party has to be seen to be believed.