Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater - Soul Funky (2014)

Although he’s performed and recorded all around the world during an amazing musical odyssey that dates back to the 1950s, Chicago blues guitar great Eddy Clearwater always takes special care to electrify his loyal local fans whenever he’s back home with his singular brand of rocking goodtime blues.
His performance this past January at SPACE, located just over the city’s northern border in Evanston, Ill., was obviously no exception. The Chief blasted through a riveting concert that’s now available on Eddy’s own Cleartone label under the extremely apt title of Soul Funky. It’s his first live album since 1990’s A Real Good Time for Jim O’Neal’s Rooster Blues label, and it’s a splendid one.
“I am excited to bring the best of the blues to my fans,” says Eddy, who isn’t exaggerating in the slightest. Soul Funky offers up a veritable bonanza of Clearwater’s recent triumphs rendered live, the southpaw axeman reprising several piledriving highlights from his acclaimed 2008 Alligator album West Side Strut as well as a cross-section of memorable gems culled from previous releases on Bullseye Blues. He’s backed by his own band, anchored by guitarist/harpist Shoji Naito and pianist Johnny Iguana. Guitarist Tom Crivellone, bassist David Knopf, and drummer Stephen Bass round out the super-tight aggregation.
Joining Eddy that exciting evening at SPACE was a pair of local stalwarts that have played significant roles in Eddy’s career. Guitarist Ronnie Baker Brooks — the son of Clearwater’s fellow Chicago blues legend Lonnie Brooks — produced West Side Strut and penned some of its standout selections, including a pounding “They Call Me The Chief” and the clever rocker “Too Old To Get Married,” both joyously reprised here.
Harmonica master Billy Branch, a longtime pal and musical accomplice, makes his outsized presence felt on “A Good Leavin’ Alone,” a Clearwater/Brooks composition that again debuted on West Side Strut. The climactic title track is a fresh Clearwater original, a two-chord vamp cushioned by Iguana’s Hammond B-3 that’s powered by a barrage of crisp guitar and a relentless rhythmic undertow.
The Macon, Miss.-born Clearwater migrated to Chicago in 1950 and made his first platters late that decade for his uncle’s Atomic-H label, imaginatively fusing West Side blues and Chuck Berry-style rock and roll. His hybrid approach allowing him to play clubs all over the city and suburbs, Clearwater finally made his big breakthrough in 1980 with his classic Rooster Blues album, The Chief (the original source of the playful stop-time rocker “Find You A Job,” gloriously revisited on this set). Nearly three-and-a-half decades later, Eddy’s stinging blues are as potent and satisfying as ever.
Any member of the audience lucky enough to attend this concert would gladly testify that Eddy and his band brought the inside of SPACE to the boiling point despite frigid January temperatures. Thanks to the release of Soul Funky, you can bask in the warmth of Eddy’s rocking blues too.