Customer Reviews

Where Have You Been: Live in Montreux 1976-1994

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Due to the fact that Chicago blues great, Luther Allison, had to flee Chicago to earn a living playing da blues, (See earlier Shaq Review!) the famed Montreux Jazz festival became his stage. Included on this CD are nothing but "live" performances from this venue covering the years 1976-1994. Every cut is great, so you can't miss with this selection, but let me point out a few extra ordinary highlights! I have heard many performances of "Little Red Rooster", and this performance by Luther is the absolute best. It is 11 minutes and 30 seconds long, and every second, is a gift. No one has ever performed "The Sky Is Crying" live, better than Stevie Ray Vaughn, and in Shaq's opinion, Albert King is second. But, this performance by Luther, highlighted with a slide guitar, is a different approach, and interestingly, enjoyable. And how "bitter sweet", must it have been, for Luther, under self-exile, in Europe, to earn a decent living, singing, "Sweet Home Chicago!" This CD is a must, for any true electric blues enthusiast!

Luther Allison was one of those artists that seemed to play better live than in the studio. This CD is compiled with performances over almost 20 years. Even though some of the material is very familiar, Luther has a fresh take on the songs and he delivers all of them with a lot of energy. There's really not a weak cut on the disc and for those of us who never saw Luther in concert, this is a great memento. Many of the cuts feature some fine jams and the disc is a very generous length also.

The day I saw Luther Allison play live changed me forever. For months after that I practiced the guitar for hours every day, hoping one day to approach his skill level. This is the kind of performer Luther Allison is. This album comes in a close second to his stunning "Live in Chicago". Fans of blues standards may even prefer this one, because it contains his takes on "Sweet Home Chicago", "Little Red Rooster", and "The Sky is Crying", just to name a few. I'll miss Luther to the day I die. He was one of the greatest bluesmen ever. Check out his son, Bernard Allison. His style is different, more Stevie Ray/Jimi influenced, but every bit as exciting and dynamic as his father's.

Fans of the blues have always been blessed to have the Montreux Jazz Festival since it has produced a huge number of classic performances with just about every great blues artist. When comparing Luther to his fellow Chicago bluesmen, his sound is more similar to Buddy Guy than Muddy Waters due to his raw, energetic, & frenzied guitar solos. Just about everybody has recorded Willie Dixon's 'Gambler's Blues,' but Luther's version recorded at Montreux back in '76 absolutely smokes. His extended version of 'Little Red Rooster' heats things up with the same intensity. 'Bad News is Coming' recorded in '84 & 'Bad Love' recorded in '94 are two other fiery tracks. I also highly recommend Luther's 'Live in Chicago' CD (recorded in '97). Between the two live CD's, they encompass the majority of Luther's best work.

while i absolutely love this CD--I already owned it and and purchased it as a gift--the delivery leaves much to be desired--i paid for expedited delivery, which in "real time" for anything i have ever ordered is most always 2 days--the delivery ended up being 11 days!!! i feel i was led to believe, during the purchase process, that it would be a 2 day delivery....only after my confirmation the dates began changing.
my advice, have plenty of time to wait with this company or, as i just learned---make the trip to the store!!

"Live In Montreux 1976-1994" features recordings from four different appearances at the Montreux festival, and Luther Allison shreds his guitar on "Sweet Home Chicago" and "The Sky Is Crying", and plays an almost Allman Brothers-like 11-minute rendition of Howlin' Wolf's hit "The Red Rooster".

And I'm really trying to be objective here, see?
There are a number of fine performances here, certainly. A relatively tight "Gambler's Blues" and the B.B. King-like "Bad Love", for instance, but Luther Allison was no match for men like Muddy Waters or Elmore James in the vocal department, and most of these six-eight-ten-twelve minute songs simply overstay their welcome.
This is good music, but if you enjoy the "real" versions of songs like "The Sky Is Crying", "The Red Rooster", and "The Same Thing", these indulgent versions really don't have a lot to offer. But on the other hand...if you wish that Muddy Waters would have spiced his shows up a little with a handful of hair metal-like guitar solos and a few more five-minute instrumental breaks, well, this is probably right up your alley.

Musically it's not all that interesting, though. It's good, but nothing special. The band lacks swing...they never really manage to dig that deep blues groove, and no matter how much Luther Allison screams and mauls his guitar, he doesn't come close to matching the intensity of Elmore James or Howlin' Wolf, and men like Stevie Ray Vaughan and (occationally) Johnny Winter have done much better when updating 50s and 60s blues tunes to a more contemporary sound.

As I said, there are a number of good performances here, but "Live At Montreux" is ultimately a mediocre record, not just compared to the traditional blues heavyweights like Muddy and the Wolf, but also compared to Luther's own best efforts. "Live in Paris" and "Live in Chicago" are better than this, as are early studio albums like "Luther's Blues" and "Bad News is Coming".

Luther Allison moved to Paris in 1979, after Disco and Punk had dried up the Blues business in America. He has many titles which were released in Europe, where he is very well known, and not many on this side of the Atlantic. That's unfortunate since he is one the premiere Blues guitarists and singers of our age. Much of his music has a message aimed at staying clean, sober and making something of your life, but his guitar licks and classic singing voice make his music a treat on aesthetic merits alone. I hope to see more of his stuff in the North American market.

I've been a blues fan for about 10 years now. I've listened to many of the great blues artists. That list includes BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Lee Hooker, etc. Luther Allison belongs up on the pedastal with the great blues artisis of all time. This live CD will give any blues fan a taste of what Luther Allsion was all about: Red-hot blues guitar and soulful vocals.

Luther proves his true blues prowness in this comp. from years of touring through Europe. Listen to what we as a country missed during those years. The ultimate performer.

tome this is the greatest live blues recording the late great luther allison,this cd contains versions of sweet home chicago,same thing,gamblers blues to name a few,luthers guitar playing is at the top of his game,if you love luther this a the live video from paradise is great.