Luther Allison

Luther Allison understood one of the least-appreciated attributes of the blues: chaos. His
guitar playing during the eight-minute "Cherry Red Wine," from the double-disc Live in
Chicago, is a runaway train heading for a cliff. Just before going over the edge, Allison pulls
up triumphantly. "The blues, thank you," he announces, as though he'd just defined the
form. Actually, in these performances from the last years of his life, 1995-'97, he... More >