The album kicks off with its title track, and right away it features some strong work on harmonica over a steady, thumping beat. And we are on board. When he sings, "where the blues come from," we sense he is talking about the place that created him too, for he is blues, through and through. We hear it not only in his harmonica blowing, but also his vocal work. And both his voice and his harmonica have the power to cast aside our own pain. "Well, I didn't feel bad/Until the sun went down/I didn't have nobody/To put my arms around." This is fantastic, mean, and oh so cool. And speaking of cool, check out the bass work and the vocal work to "Sad Eyes." "If you don't love me, won't you fool me good/We could have fun, honey, you know we should/You look so lonely, your eyes are kind of sad." I especially love that line, "If you don't love me, won't you fool me good." Wow. There is something sad in that request, in that need, yet also something honest. And he sings, "This ain't love, baby, but you know it really ain't bad." This song also gives a little nod to Stephen Stills' "Love The One You're With."
"I hear there's a storm warning/My baby's blowing back into town." Those are great opening lines, no question. There is something playful, yet true in those first lines of "Storm Warning." "You'd better close all the windows, lock up all the doors/There's a storm a-comin' like never before." We can picture this woman as a force of nature, and not even that great harmonica work will tame her. Nothing can control her. So just huddle up indoors and hope the storm passes soon without much damage. "There's lightning when she talks," he tells us. This track features another excellent bass line, as well as some phenomenal stuff on guitar. That's followed by "Baby, Won't You Please Help Me," which has a delicious rhythm. At the beginning, Charlie asks, "This time another year, honey, where will I be?" That question kind of stops me. Looking to the future is sometimes frightening, particularly these days. Things are getting pretty screwed up out there, friends. This song is at least partially autobiographical. "I was born in Mississippi, I was raised in Tennessee/Seems like every place I've been looks like the blues keep tailing me." Yet he tells us even more about himself with that harmonica. On an album full of strong harmonica work, this track stands out in that regard.
Then we get "Hip Shakin' Mama." With a title like that, it clearly is a fun number. And to be clear, it's not the same song as the one that Irma Thomas recorded. However it does have a classic vibe, and contains some really nice drumming as well as guitar work with a cool 1960s sound. And that lead on harmonica slides in, taking our hand like a good dance partner and moving us around the floor or the world. "Some like it slow, some like it fast/Where I'm from, we do it half and half/Some like it slow, some like it fast." On the second "Some like it slow," he laughs, which is a wonderful moment. I'm glad that was left in. That's followed by "Highway 61," which features some very cool guitar work. And again, to be clear, this is not the same song that Bob Dylan wrote (which is called "Highway 61 Revisited" anyway). "Just because I'm a stranger/Honey, please don't put me down." This track also contains some delicious work on keys.
It was 1976 when Crystal Gale recorded "Ready For The Times To Get Better." Here we are nearly fifty years later and times are so much worse. Most of the blame for how things are going can be laid squarely on the fascists (previously known as Republicans), and I don't see them changing anytime soon, but of course there are nuts on the left too, folks who have lost their sense of humor (as those on the right never possessed to begin with), people who are ready to turn every little thing into an argument and to write you off if you disagree with any part of it. It seems too many people have gone bonkers for the times to get better. But, hell, we are ready, even eager, for them to get better, and Charlie Musselwhite delivers a delicious blues rendition of this song. Listening to his version, it seems unbelievable that this song was ever anything other than a blues number. "You try to take from me what I cannot give/No happiness can I find/I got a dream I've been trying to live/It's burning holes in my mind/It's been a too lonely time/With no peace of mind." Edna Luckett joins him on vocals for this one. Then we get "Ramblin' Is My Game." Ah yes, rambling always sounds so good. All you need with you is a harmonica. "My baby took my car, and the blues took me." This one is fun, and I'm digging that guitar lead in the second half.
"Blue Lounge" has a classic blues sound, which immediately makes itself at home in our hearts. Because the blues never really left, did they? Our entire bodies recognize this sound, this vibe. This is the album's only instrumental track, and it features some great stuff on guitar. Then Al Kapone joins Charlie Musselwhite on vocals for "Ghosts In Memphis." This one has a good rhythm, moving along, and moving us along with it. There is a spoken word part by Charlie Musselwhite: "Yeah, it seems like the ghosts are always waiting for me/The music seems to summon the ghosts/The ghosts live in the music/Yeah, them haints is haunting me." There is only one other song I can think of offhand that includes the word haint, and that is "Haunted House," with its line "ain't no haint gonna run me off." Al Kapone's part, which comes just before the end, is also spoken word. The album concludes with "Open Road." As I said earlier, rambling always sounds so good. "Well, my baby, she loves to ramble/She loves this old open road/She'll drift from town to town/Just as long as she's feeling low." There is always something appealing about the open road, and there is always something appealing about going home too. And there is always something appealing about Charlie Musselwhite's harmonica work. Here he delivers more great work on that instrument.
CD Track List
- Look Out Highway
- Sad Eyes
- Storm Warning
- Baby, Won't You Please Help Me
- Hip Shakin' Mama
- Highway 61
- Ready For Times To Get Better
- Ramblin' Is My Game
- Blue Lounge
- Ghosts In Memphis
- Open Road
Look Out Highway was released on May 16, 2025, and is available on both CD and vinyl (the vinyl is a clear green).
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