Customer Reviews

Living With The Law

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was shocked to see that Chris Whitley had passed away last week from a bout with lung cancer. Whitley's career had long been an interesting journey that produced a wide range of rivetting music. LIVING WITH THE LAW was the stellar start to that journey.

I remember picking this record up some fouteen years ago and being blown away. This did not sound like a debut record. Whitley's tales of trials, tribulations and blues had a more authentic ring than your usual white bluesman. I think that the key to Whitley's success was that he did not merely try to copy the blues, but use it as a springboard to investigate his own ideas. Malcom Burns's ( a Daniel Lanois protoge) production sounds more like a windswept U2 outing than a Delta Blues recording. I think that was the genius of this record. It was of th past, the present and it loked into the future.

This was a record without a weak track. Even throwaway tracks like I FORGET YOU EVERYDAY or LOOK WHAT LOVE HAS DONE resonate after just couple of listens. Several songs are nothing less than immediate classics, including the title track, BIG SKY COUNTRY, POISON GIRL and PHONECALL FROM LEAVENWORTH.

After LWTL, Whitley set out on a career that jumped from genre to genre with mixed results. From DIN OF ECSTASY's metallic grunge to DIRT FLOOR's stark acoustic blues to ROCKET HOUSE's electronic treatments, Whitley was a restless artist who folowed his own muse. To someone who wants to explore his wrk I would recommend that they start with this release, then move on to his excellent compilation LONG WAY AROUND. From there if you like what you hear al of his work is worth exploring. It's an unfortunate cliche, but although the artist will be tragically missed, we are lucky to have his work to enjoy into the future.

This impressive album of bluesy rock was one of the best debuts of 1991. The instrumental mix of guitars, pedal steel, tambourine, keyboards, harmonica and viola lends the album a distinctively atmospheric southern sound. Whitley's voice and the quality of the songs make it unforgettable.

The title track and Big Sky Country are gripping ballads whilst the uptempo Kick The Stones is a powerful mix of rock and country, flavoured by harmonica. The beautiful guitars stand out on the slow, emotive Make The Dirt Stick, whilst Daniel Lanois contributes guitar to the soulful Poison Girl with its hypnotic melody, churning viola and flowing vocals.

The sound hardens on Dust Radio as the guitars build up to a rousing crescendo, followed by short-wave voices and what sounds like a snatch of 1930s bluegrass. The acoustic guitar really shines on the passionate and intense Phone Call From Leavenworth, whilst Whitley's voice turns smoky on the gentle I Forget You Every Day, another track where the guitars slowly build momentum towards the end.

The eerie Long Way Around has an impressive arrangement and vocal/instrumental interplay, Look What Love Has Done is a simple but engaging dialogue between Whitley's expressive voice and the guitars, and Bordertown is a brilliant piece of blues-rock. The album is wrapped in a distinctive New Orleans style, within which there is much variety. The songs are sublime, the sound is superb - Living With The Law is a lost masterpiece.

Chris Whitley's LIVING WITH THE LAW is a throwback to old-style Texas blues, heavy with finger-picked slide guitar on a National steel acoustic. Producer Malcolm Burn, a long time associate of musician/producer Daniel Lanois (the album was recorded at Lanois's New Orleans mansion), brings to the album a Lanois-style sound, with a rich, ambient sound backing Whitley's desperate-sounding vocals and multi-layered guitars. Whitley's first album was also his best effort to date as a songwriter, delivering a set of songs that while mostly dark and creepy, shimmer with emotion and crackle with energy and sincerity. This is an album that sounds very fresh and modern. Yet at the same time, it's not hard to imagine Whitley travelling back in time and recording this album in the same studio the Robert Johnson recorded in, without the songs losing anything at all in the process.

Living with the Law is Chris Whitley's best album--an amalgam of blues, country, and garage band rock, with some of the best lyrics I have ever heard. I've owned this album for over ten years, but still listen to it frequently. I bought it for "Living with the Law" and "Big Sky Country", but I think the unusual "Dust Radio" is my favorite song. There is simply no filler on this album. Every song is though out, carefully crafted (yet still raw), and well done. If you're a fan of Steve Earle or Johnny Cash's "American Recording" series, give this one a try. You won't be disappointed.

This album showcases one of our time's most underappreciated musicians at his absolute best. For a long time it seemed Chris struggled to replicate the greatness he found on this first album. Throughout his career he managed to create some amazing albums, but this is easily the best. Every song is a musical triumph in itself. Without a doubt, this is a must-own. It's only sad that some of us are only beginning to realize what this man truly meant to the music world after he has gone. He will be missed...

Chris Whitley released his debut album, Living With the Law, in 1991. Released at a time when the music scene was about to be dominated by hip/hop and grunge, Living With the Law was steeped in electric blues complemented by Whitley's impressive guitar work and very distinctive singing voice. With a dense production by Daniel Lanois, it would also prove to be his most radio friendly release. However, despite it having several tracks that would have been AOR hits if given the chance as well as much critical acclaim, Living With the Law didn't earn Chris Whitley the recognition he deserved. However, to a small but dedicated fan base, it would provide the blueprint for an impressive catalog of music.

Although nearly every song here is top notch, only the melancholy title track and "Big Sky Country" would garner decent airplay. Containing memorable melodies as well as Whitley's unmistakable voice which could go from a whisper to a high falsetto without warning, they are both among his best songs and performances. Chris' love of the blues was evident throughout his career and is well exhibited on the dark and brooding tracks "Make the Dirt Stick" and "Long Way Around." While these tunes are both very good, neither of them matches the power of "Phone Call from Leavenworth." One of the best blues songs ever recorded, Chris recalls the old bluesmen like Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker while still retaining his own identity, a pattern he would later return to on his War Crime Blues album. Tracks like "Poison Girl" and "Kick the Stones" are among his most direct and memorable tracks that would have been popular in another time where music mattered more than image. "Look What Has Love Done" and "I Forget You Everyday" are both great ballads although the production is a little dominant on the latter. "Bordertown" takes the darkness of "Make the Dirt Stick" and combines it with the fury of "Long Way Around." Finally, "Dust Radio" is another excellent track which builds from a slow blues to hard rock where the power chords sound downright majestic at its closing. All told, Living With the Law would be a great start to an excellent career that like more heralded artists like Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Duane Allman, and Lowell George, would end too soon. Although this is not my favorite Chris Whitley album (that distinction would go to War Crime Blues), I would recommend that newcomers start here and then work their way to other great works such as Din of Ecstasy, Dirt Floor, War Crime Blues, and Soft Dangerous Shores. Highly recommended.

I've owned this album since its release, & I'm *still* convinced that it may very well be the best example of singing/songwriting/guitar playing in a contemporary blues setting. Whitley is, in my opinion, one of the most significant contemporary artists & will be undoubtedly be the subject of musicology studies years from now. If you love music, you can't go wrong with either of Whitley's albums. The work is truly inspiring....

I listen to everything from Tool to Ella Fitzgerald, and this album is one of the most amazing I've ever heard. It has that quality of fine works of art, where you can return to it over and over and there's always something new to discover within. It never gets old, and there a few works in any medium you can say that for. As a guitarist I'm blown away by his playing, his voice haunts like few others', and the Lanois production, while perhaps a bit over-done for some purists (go buy Dirt Floor), evokes the wide, haunting spaces of the American West and the grit of the Rust Belt with the same intensity. You will NOT be disappointed by this record.

I really can't add anything else to the praise that's already been heaped on this fine album and Chris Whitley as an artist. Something about him is very American, original, and timeless. I was fortunate enough to see him perform twice in Philly during these early years and I can say the standing-room-only audience was blown away by this thin, humble man with the haunting voice and shining national steel guitar. Even though he's not here any more you can imagine him walking those lost highways with his guitar and a new set of lyrics taking shape.

This record is simply rock solid and was one of the best debuts of the 1990's. Thirteen years later it still sounds as fresh and good as it did then. Excellent playing and soulful singing by Whitley. Trademark production and solid support by Burn. Wonderful compositions, terrific playing, a collaborative vibe. Somehow, this music combines the atmospheriscs and density of New Orleans, with the openness and freedom of the "Big Sky Country" Whitley sings about. A highly potent combination, and one that stretched (and stretches) the blues in some wonderful new directions.

By the way, Chris has also released OTHER great albums besides this one, so be sure to check those out!