Customer Reviews

Made in America

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although sales of the Blues Brothers albums peaked with the motion picture soundtrack, there is no reason to dismiss this album. The core of the hard-workin' all-star Blues Brothers Soul, Rhythm & Blues and Blues Revue are alive and kicking on this album.
The only slow spot on this disc is Belishi's rendition of Guilty, but it is done with such passion that it is forgiveable. The highlights of the album are Belushi's version of Do You Love Me by the Contours that rivals the original (with a little James Brown thrown in for good measure), and Paul Schaeffer's masterwork of Booker T's Green Onions, and it feels like Duck Dunn and Steve Cropper never missed a beat in all those years.
The album is over all too quickly, and it is with this reluctance that it doesn't deserve a full 5 stars.

There is no doubt, the Blues Brothers was a great live performance. With an all-star band backing them, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi could take off on a romp through classic songs recorded by legendary artists that were dusted off from the back pages of pop culture.

Recorded at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California, and released in December 1980, the 10 cuts - which clock in slightly over 30 minutes - is a high-energy tribute to the music which is the backbone of rock-n-roll.

The commercial success was fleeting, as Made in America peaked at number 49 on the Billboard album chart, while the only single, Who's Makin' Love, stalled in the 39th slot in Billboard's Top 40. But it remains an excellent representation of Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues educating the audience, as much as having fun.

If you like good music and if you like The Blues Brothers then this a must-have. It has some awesome songs like "Who's Making Love" and "Do You Love Me." This is from a concert so the crowd's cheering for them the whole time.

If you enjoyed "Briefcase Full of Blues," then this one is a must have. It's as simple as that!

This has none of the energy of their other two CDs. It even sounds like it is the wrong speed - to slow. The whole CD is draggy. I was very disappointed!

saturday night live created this band back in the mid 70's and it still holds up to today's listners. John Belushi is gone but not forgotten. Dan and John took a sketch and turned it into a great friendship as well as a great career for both. this album should be dedicated to john.

"...got some cocaine from my friends."

"Made in America" was recorded two years after the triumphant, joyous "Briefcase Full of Blues". John Belushi, one of the most beloved comic performers of his generation, was two years closer to death. So was everyone else in the world, of course. But for John, death was just two years away.

John/Jake sounds older, sadder, more tired on this album. He reportedly suffered vocal problems during the tour on which it was recorded, and parts of the album had to be rerecorded in the studio. Is this why it was the lowest-selling of the three main Blues Brothers albums released in his lifetime? Or had the act's peak popularity simply passed?

I think another factor may have been the choice of songs for this album. Although enjoyable, many of them are not as immediately engaging as the songs on "Briefcase" and the movie soundtrack. "Do You Love Me" in particular may have been a tactically unwise choice. Most of the other songs the Blues Brothers recorded were probably previously unfamiliar to listeners who were being introduced to the blues by John/Jake's advocacy. But the majority of listeners in 1980 would have heard "Do You Love Me" performed by other artists with more conventionally powerful and attractive voices than John's.

For Belushi fans the main event on this album is Jake's rendition of "Guilty", which gave John the opportunity to make an oblique musical comment on his own life. This track contains what for me is an utterly horrifying moment. When John softly sings the word "cocaine" with a tragically appropriate mixture of awe and fear, the imbecilic crowd **cheers**. Far better for them to have gasped, or maintained a sorrowful, painful silence.

this and "briefcase full of blues" are must haves. invite your friends over for a b-b-q and turn up the music. this was the first blues bros. album i owned, and i wore it out. finally got it on disk. i hope i don't melt it.

This CD was a great find. I love the Blues Brothers and I was worried this CD might be of low-quality because I had not heard of it. Fortunately I was wrong. I love this CD. It might be their best. If you are a fan of the Blues Brothers, this CD is for you.

After listening to every Blues Brothers cd, I am now in love with them. Every song on this cd is so great, I can't just name one! The Blues Brothers is the band that got me started in Blues in the first place. If you love Blues, you'll love the Blues Brothers.