Hidden Gem you need in your life: Luther Allison – Bad News is Coming
by Robert Dean
If there’s one genre of music I feel is essential to my core being, it’s
the Blues. Growing up on Chicago’s south side, and having a lot of family from
the Deep South, the blues is a musical stamp that’s been on me since birth. We
grew up hearing Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Elmore James,
and Little Walter in our dad’s garage. Sure, we got to hear stuff like Allman
Brothers, Black Sabbath, Neil Young, Stevie Ray Vaughn,
but the Blues made such an indelible impact. The sound of the guitar, the growl
of the voices, those are home to me. I have “Made in Chicago” with a Chess
piece tattooed on my left elbow.
Because of my Blues obsession, I’m a crate digger. I’m forever on the
hunt for any legit blues vinyl. You show me some old John Lee Hooker or Bukka
White records and you best believe I’m a buyer. I see anything with Son
House’s name on it and consider it gone. So, when a friend dropped Luther
Allison’s Bad News is Comin’ on me, I gotta say I was heartbroken. I
was offended, I was beyond upset with myself that this filthy, grimy, animal of
a record slipped past.
I take pride in being the guy who shows you the Blues. You come to my
house; we’re grabbing some vinyl from the shelf and going for it. I converted
my wife from rock and roll chick, to now her favorite artists are Leadbelly and
Robert Johnson.
Most forms of music, I’m an open book, ready to soak in whatever you’ve
got. I’m always down with hearing new stuff. But, when someone slips past a
record from 1973, I wanted to puke. How could a record that sounds like a guy
opening a can of Budweiser with his teeth sneak past me? I’m still recovering.
Bad News is Comin’ is absolutely the best blues record of the 1970’s. It’s a precursor to
the analog, low-fi white boy blues populating today in the form of Jack
White or The Black Keys. (For the record, I love and respect both.)
The vibe on the record is so pissed off, so mean, it’s full of ache, but
doesn’t miss a beat reinventing old standards and laying some serious heat.
It’s one of those records that no matter how much Luther tried in his career,
he never could replicate.
If you can find a better opener than Little Red Rooster, I’ve yet
to hear one. It establishes immediately that Luther is one bad motherfucker and
you ain’t stepping on his alligator shoes, ever. The energy festers, it boils
over and makes the listener make than “I just stepped in dogshit” face when
something is just that dirty.
Don’t sleep on this one. Luther Allison’s Bad News is Comin’
is a classic and if you’re lucky enough to find it on vinyl, it’s one your
collection needs. Hopefully, you piss someone off as bad as me with it.
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CD or digital album available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/News-Coming-Remastered-Luther-Allison/dp/B00005B7GR
Great to hear! Just picked this album up on vinyl today and very excited to spin it now. Took a chance without knowing about it but have always enjoyed Luther.
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