Charlie Musselwhite — “Look Out Highway” — 40 Below Records
“Look Out Highway,” the title track that opens Charlie Musselwhite’s latest album, throbs to life behind his moaning harp, setting the tone for the rest of the blues highway that he’s exploring: “Look out highway, here me and my baby come / right on back to where the blues come from.”
Musselwhite’s muscular harp and rich vocals offer no hint at his 81 years, but his 13 Grammy nominations and 33 Blues Music Awards testify to his six decades of life in the blues, with dozens of albums of his own and partnering with others.
It’s also the first time Musselwhite has recorded with his veteran touring band: guitarist Matt Stubbs, drummer June Core and bassist Randy Bermudes (James Cotton), along with Kid Andersen on piano and guitar. The sessions were recorded at Andersen’s Greaseland Studio in San Jose, Calif., and Clarksdale Sound Stage in Clarksdale, Miss. Those ingredients likely explain why the music sounds so relaxed and comfortable — and deeply authentic.
The music moves easily from the anthemic “Highway” to the elegantly mournful “Sad Eyes,” then shifts to the hard-driving forecast of “Storm Warning” ahead of his woman’s arrival: “I hear thunder when she walks / She’s a high-pressure woman / There’s lightning when she talks … ” A greasy harp solo helps too serve as a bluesy barometer.
“Baby Won’t You Please Help Me” shuffles in, cataloging his travels with the blues: “Looks like everyplace I’ve been, looks like the blues been tailing me.” A hard-rocking and slyly salacious “Hip Shakin’ Mama” reaches deep into rock ‘n’ roll history to restate Big Joe Turner’s refrain from “Shake, Rattle & Roll” — “When you wear that dress and the sun shines through / I can’t believe that all that mess, it belongs to you.”
“Highway 61” is a torchy blues, with snaky harp throughout, documenting still more travels: “I’m just drifting through your town, just because I’m a stranger, honey please don’t put me down.” The only cover song in the session is “Ready for Times to Get Better,” written by Allen Reynolds and first recorded by Crystal Gayle in 1976. Dusky-voiced Mississippi blues singer Edna Luckett, featured in the film “Sinners,” shares the vocals with Musselwhite as they share its mournful sentiment: “I have a dream I have been trying to live; it’s been burning holes in my mind.”
More travels come up in the laconic “Ramblin’ Is My Game,” with Musselwhite on the road again, moving on behind Andersen’s guitar: “I am a natural born rambler; my bags are always packed.” Musselwhite introduces “Blue Lounge” with greasy slide work and Andersen on piano in a languorous slow blues instrumental that speaks eloquently of late nights on the lonesome blues highway.
“Ghosts in Memphis” finds Musselwhite haunted by musical memories in Memphis: “When I’m walking through Memphis, all I see are ghosts … the ghosts live in the music.” Memphis rapper Al Kapone guests and ghost-raps at the end to bring it all home in an other-worldly musical conjunction.
The closer is the celebratory promise of “Open Road” — “Well we hope someday we’ll find that road to take us on home. We’ll all be happy, no more need to roam.” Musselwhite’s throaty harp fills lend depth and promise, drawing his travels here to a close.
“Look Out Highway” is a simply gorgeous album from the blues-filled travels of Charlie Musselwhite. It’s filled with a soulful blend of the sounds of the Delta, Memphis and Chicago, which he’s absorbed to his core, and is generous enough to share them here, like a generous pour of well-aged whiskey. And we’re all the better for his musical tastes, and his journey.
“Look Out Highway” from the album:
Tracklist:
01. Look Out Highway
02. Sad Eyes
03. Storm Warning
04. Baby Won’t You Please Help Me
05. Hip Shakin’ Mama
06. Highway 61
07. Ready For Times To Get Better
08. Ramblin’ Is My Game
09. Blue Lounge
10. Ghosts in Memphis
11. Open Road
Blues Roadhouse 