Chicago Blues Reunion
Buried Alive in the Blues

(Out the Box)

First Appeared in The Music Box, January 2006, Volume 13, #1

Written by John Metzger

All-star concerts and reunion shows tend to feature tepid performances that do a better job at satisfying fans’ collective need for polite, nostalgic reminiscence than they do at capturing the magic of a music scene’s original essence. That’s what makes Chicago Blues Reunion's Buried Alive in the Blues such a special endeavor. Recorded at FitzGerald’s Nightclub in Berwyn, Illinois in October 2004, the set draws together several luminaries from the 1960s Chicago blues scene, including Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel, Sam Lay, and Corky Siegel, and the results are downright electrifying. Singer Tracy Nelson rips into Miss You Like the Devil with a vengeance, while Gravenites rejuvenates his autobiographical chestnut Born in Chicago. Elsewhere, the ensemble transforms the instrumental GM Boogie into a raging tempest; it unleashes a snarling demon on Snake; and with a heavy heart, it embraces the dark mourning of Death of Muddy Waters. Augmented with an hour-long DVD that features a mixture of music and interviews, all of which is designed to provide perspective, Buried Alive in the Blues easily could have turned into a self-congratulatory affair, but instead, it stands as a rousing celebration of the American artists who, along with their British counterparts, brought the blues to the masses.

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Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2006 The Music Box