Charlie Musselwhite has issued thirty-some albums during his lengthy career, and none may be more potent than his last two. 2022’s Mississippi Son was a flashpoint of creativity, within which the mix of originals and covers illuminated the Mississippi native’s well-developed skills as a songwriter, singer, bandleader, and harp player.
A more low-key outing on Forty Below Records, Look Out Highway is only slightly less enlightening. With all but one of the eleven songs his own (the exception is “Ready for Times to Get Better” by country composer/producer Alan Reynolds), Musselwhite illustrates how the talents given spotlight in his collaborations with Ben Harper in recent years have been honed over nearly six decades.
Not surprisingly, the company of Charlie’s touring band rightfully highlights his own efforts here. The presence of guests over the course of the slightly less than forty minutes only maximizes the consistency of the core accompanists, among whom appears engineer/producer Chris ‘Kit’ Anderson on keyboards (an occasional member of the road entourage himself).
Recorded primarily at the latter’s Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California, guitarist Matt Stubbs (GA-20), drummer June Core (Robert Lockwood Jr.), and bassist Randy Bermudes (James Cotton) manifest a fluency in their musicianship on tracks like “Sad Eyes” that matches that of Musselwhite’s harp playing.
Charlie’s singing is equally nuanced, if not more so, on the title song. A cautionary tale of sorts, its ominous air corresponds to the foreboding of “Storm Warning,” where Charlie imbues a relevant topicality to the tune, thus demonstrating the innate versatility of the blues (as well as its most skillful practitioners).
Emblematized in a final flourish of vocals and harmonica, that cut gives way to the ensemble sliding gracefully into the slippery shuffle of “Baby Won’t You Please Help Me.” And there’s no mistaking the palpable sense of liberation Musselwhite and company exude on “Ramblin’ is My Game.”
Anderson’s co-production with Gary Vincent and Henri Musselwhite ensures no-frills but emphatic audio and track sequencing that maximizes the punch of the performances here. Meanwhile, Kit’s piano adds a different sonic texture to the arrangement of “Highway 61,” and it suits the sly, seductive tone of Musselwhite’s singing.
Edna Luckett’s vocal on “Ready For Times To Get Better” serves a similar purpose, but to a markedly different end: the contrast between her voice and Charlie’s is a practical illustration of the purposeful ambiguity in the best blues compositions. “Ghosts In Memphis,” however, comes off more than a little contrived: the inclusion of Al Kapone on vocals simply sounds like a forced concession to the times.
But it’s no great stretch to forgive this relatively minor faux pas of faddism, particularly when the ingratiating soul that is Charlie Musselwhite follows it right up with “Open Road.” He and his accompanists sound born to this saucy strut of style, the likes of which constitute the prevalent impression tendered by Look Out Highway.
