KET presents
Bernard
Allison Group
W.C. Handy Festival
Henderson, Kentucky
Recorded in June
1999
Region: Codefree
Sound Format: Dolby Digital 5.1
Stereo
Picture Format: 4:3
Menu Languages: English, Deutsch, Français,
Espańol, Italiano
Running Time: Approx. 60 Min.
Release date
3/2003
Release Notes
Since returning to the United States from Europe in the late 1990s, Bernard
Allison has been touring almost non-stop. The aim: to build a following as big
as the one he has overseas. "I knew it would take time," he said recently. "You
gotta work for it." To that end, he's been taking his high-energy road show to
small clubs and large festivals and even opening for high-profile acts such as
George Thorogood and Jonny Lang. But whether it's a 45-minute support slot or a
full-blown Bernard Allison concert (these routinely last two-and-a-half hours),
the singer/guitarist uses the same approach. "I don't care if you're the Stones
or Michael Jackson. If you hire Bernard Allison, I'm going to be Bernard
Allison. I'm not going to hold back."
On "Kentucky Fried Blues" - recorded
live at the 1999 W.C. Handy Festival in Henderson, Kentucky - Allison
demonstrates his take-no-prisoners attitude as well as his pride in his
heritage. Until his untimely death in 1997, Bernard's father Luther was revered
as a live performer par excellence. The younger Allison is conscious of his name
and is proud to have taken over the family business. He dives headlong into the
instrumental opener "Buzz Me" and the high-octane funk of "Going Down" before
finally coming up for air on "Bad Love" - one of a trio of Luther Allison songs
at the heart of this hour-long set. The funky complaint "Life Is A Bitch" and
"Midnight Creeper" (on which Bernard and band sound rather like Hot Chocolate)
allow the horns to stretch out with lengthy solos. Allison himself is all over
Buddy Guy's "Leave My Girl Alone," an 18-minute (!) slow blues he dedicates to
mentors Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. We also get to hear from the
festival crowd: urging the guitarist forward on an extended breakdown and loving
his "wah-wah dialogue" gag. What to do for an encore? Unpack the slide and burn
up the fretboard. "Good Time Woman" shows off this side of Bernard Allison - who
at 37 is a baby in blues years and is only now hitting his stride.
"Kentucky
Fried Blues" is Allison's first live album in nearly a decade. If you've already
had the chance to see him in concert, it'll take you back. If you haven't, it'll
take you there.
Vincent Abbate
Tracklist
- Buzz Me (Instr. Intro.)
- Going Down
- Bad Love
- Life Is A Bitch
- Midnight Creeper
- Leave My Girl Alone
- Good Time Woman