Search - Otis Rush :: Ain't Enough Comin in

A great comeback

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 04/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a really fine album...I just can't give it all five stars, because it isn't quite the equal of Rush's phenomenal late-50s singles.



But judged on its own terms, this is one fine blues record, one of the finest of the 90s, and a worthy addition to Otis Rush's erratic discography. His vocals are still strong and soulful at 60, his Fender Stratocaster sizzles, and he is backed by a fine band which includes former Faces pianist Ian McLagan and the Texacali Horns (Joe Sublett is the tenor saxist).

Okay, so there is a little too much organ for my taste, and not quite enough of Rush's guitar, but perhaps that's just me...I'm an organ-hater, I only like Hammond B-3, preferably played through a Leslie speaker!



This album is about equal parts blues and straight soul tunes, including two songs by Sam Cooke, and Percy Mayfield's "My Jug And I" and Ray Charles' "A Fool For You" are more soul than blues as well.

That may not be to the liking of some fans, who would prefer to hear Otis Rush playing the blues in the gritty fashion of his 1950s Cobra recordings. And it is true that this album doesn't quite have the smouldering intensity of those early singles (partly because of the arrangements), but Rush does come very, very close to recaptureing the old fire with a great rendition of B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault", the sizzling "That Will Never Do", and the fine title track.



The laid-back but muscular R&B-classic "Homework" is another highlight, and the thumping soul stomper "Somebody Have Mercy" shows what a great soul singer Otis Rush is. And he also matches Albert King every step of the way (and perhaps a little further) on "Don't Burn Down The Bridge", and revisits his own "She's A Good 'Un" in an updated version with some riveting guitar playing and a supremely confident vocal performance.



All in all, this is a very, very solid West side blues record with some excellent, tasteful guitar playing, and while Rush's early Cobra sides remain his definitive statement (and the place to start for anybody just getting acquainted with his music), "Ain't Enough Comin' In" is not one to pass up, either. Nobody plays a slow blues guitar solo like Otis Rush."