House Rockin' And Blues Shoutin'!: Celebrating 15 Years Of The Rhythm Room CD

In certain genres, the live album is a perilous affair, fraught with the danger that the live performance will fail to match the more polished magic of the studio. With certain genres like the blues, however, the immediacy of the live performance is frequently the desired result, even in the studio. House Rockin' and Blues Shoutin' captures the live performances of a handful of bands, singers, and musicians delving deep into electric blues at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix. The standards of the genre are on full display in this collection, from soulful singing to electric guitar and harp work to tried and true lyrics about hard-living and no-good women. Featured performers include the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the Mannish Boys, Long John Hunter, Floyd Dixon, Big Pete Pearson, Henry Gray, Sonny Rhodes, Paul Oscher, Chief Schabutti Gilliame, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Louisiana Red, and Billy Boy Arnold. While full bands and vocals constitute most of the arrangements, solo performances, including "Long John's Country Blues" by Hunter and "C.C. Rider" by Lockwood, offer welcome variety. There's also the occasional instrumental, including a spry version of "Henry's Houserocker" by Gray. One might wish for the presence of one or two female performers, but with all of the testosterone floating around in these songs, they probably steered clear of the Rhythm Room. For the blues aficionado, House Rockin' and Blues Shoutin' will serve as a powerful dose of the real thing. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Recording information: The Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ (06/27/1997-06/02/2006).

Photographers: Bob Corritore; David Blake; David Horowitz; Dick Rice; Drew Verbis; Joshua Temkin.

Personnel: Long John Hunter, Louisiana Red, Robert Lockwood, Jr. (vocals, guitar); Sonny Rhodes (vocals, lap steel guitar); Kim Wilson, Billy Boy Arnold (vocals, harmonica); Floyd Dixon (vocals, piano); Big Pete Pearson, Finis Tasby (vocals); Paul Oscher (guitar, harmonica); Chris James , Troy Gonyea, Kirk Fletcher, Buddy Reed, Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser, Johnny Rapp (guitar); Johnny Dyer, Bob Corritore (harmonica); Doug James (saxophone); Steve Marsh (tenor saxophone); Troy Jennings (baritone saxophone); Darrell Leonard, Joe Banks (trumpet); Leon Blue (piano, organ); Gene Taylor , Henry Gray, Matt Bishop (piano); Paul S. Thomas (acoustic bass); Steve Cushing, Richard Innes, Brian Fahey (drums).

Audio Mixer: Clark Rigsby.

Dirty Linen (p.74) - "You may feel transported to a Mississippi juke joint or Chicago dive while listening to these 14 live performances..."