Albert KING, Otis RUSH - Door to Door 1990

Albert KING, Otis RUSH - Door to Door 1990
Label:  Chess / Universal
Audio CD: (February 24, 2003)
Recorded between 1953 & 1961

Blues

King and Rush pushed themselves further toward interpretative wisdom and individuality with the 1960-61 recordings found in this blue-ribbon collection. The tone in King's low-down voice shifts between sternness and leniency while his rhythmically staggering guitar distills drama. Highlights include 'So Close', 'Bad Luck Blues' and 'Searchin' For A Women'.
From CD Universe.
**
Esquires King and Rush pushed themselves further toward interpretative wisdom and individuality with the 196~61 recordings found in this blue-ribbon collection. The tone in King's low-down voice shifts between sternness and leniency while his rhythmically staggering guitar distills drama. (Three 1953 Parrot singles, his earliest work, have been included, and they're notable for his up-high singing.) Rush, with "So Many Roads," "All Your Love," and four more gems, is also in fine form, his singing agonizingly pitched, his choking of the guitar neck beseeching and peremptory.
By Frank John Hadley.
**
If you didn't know any better, you would think that an album credited to "Albert King & Otis Rush" is some sort of collaboration between the two left-handed blues guitarists.
It's not, though. "Door To Door" is merely a collection of the few singles that King and Rush recorded during their short tenure with the Chess brothers in Chicago.
It's still a good album, however, and I suppose this way of re-issuing King's eight and Rush's six singles is better than putting out two seperate CDs.
Albert King, the older of the two men, does a great T-Bone Walker on "Bad Luck" (excellent piano playing on that one, courtesy of "Little" Johnny Jones), and "Won't Be Hangin' Around" is one of his greatest slow blues.
King also shines on the soulful, saxophone-driven "Searchin' For A Woman", and he does a very credible "Howlin' For My Darling" (originally written for Howlin' Wolf).
You should note that three of the six Otis Rush numbers are remakes of songs that he cut just a couple of years earlier with Cobra Records (not that they're not great), but this 1960 session also produced the original version of one of his best songs, the smouldering "So Many Roads, So Many Trains", which features what must be one of the greatest slow blues guitar solo of all time, as well as soulful blues piano playing by Lafayette Leake.
("Oddie" Payne is credited as Rush's drummer. It's "Odie". Like the dog!)
This is not an essential purchase perhaps (all the best songs can be found on other albums), but it is a very enjoyable collection of the few songs that these two excellent guitar players cut for the biggest blues label in town, and the quality of the material is high all the way through.
By  Docendo Discimus.
**
Albert King, Otis Rush- (Vocals, Guitar);
Hal White- (Tenor Saxophone);
Freddie Robinette- (Baritone Saxophone);
Wilbur Thompson- (Trumpet);
Sam Wallace, Johnny Jones, Lafayette Leake- (Piano);
Lee Otis, Matt Murphy, Willie Dixon- (Bass);
Thiotis Morgan, Odie Payne- (Drums).
**
01. Searchin' For A Woman  3.03
02. Bad Luck  3.02
03. So Close  2.45
04. Howlin' For My Darling  3.05
05. I Can't Stop  2.14
06. Won't Be Hangin' Around  2.55
07. I'm Satisfied  2.25
08. All Your Love  2.55
09. You Know My Love  2.41
10. Merry Way  2.52
11. Wild Women  2.38
12. Murder  2.56
13. So Many Roads  3.11
14. California  2.46
**
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