Bernard Allison

For years, Bernard Allison was mostly identified as “Luther Allison’s son,” which was actually not a bad deal, but was hardly a fair label because while the younger Allison definitely shows the influence of the elder Allison, he’s very much his own man, augmenting the blues, soul, and rock roots his father fused so successfully with some heavy funk as well, both on guitar and on his vocals. In recent years, Allison has effectively shaken that label and has emerged as a favorite of many blues fans.

Last year, after a brief stint with the Tone-Cool label, Allison returned to the Ruf Records label, home of some of his best previous efforts. His latest release, the aptly-titled Energized-Live In Europe, is a two-CD set that captures his stage show (a DVD of this appearance was also released) recorded at the Musa in Germany in October, 2005.

Allison’s own material is more in the soul or funk vein than blues, such as “The Way Love Was Meant To Be” “Too Cool,” and his touching song about his dad’s passing, “Don’t Be Confused,” but his guitar work places these songs firmly in the blues. He also covers several of his father’s tunes, including “Bad Love,” which is always a crowd favorite, “Into My Life,” “Too Many Women,” and “A Change Must Come,” one of his best compositions, with satisfying results.

Among Bernard’s other compositions are a diverse group of instrumentals. The opening cut, “Another Ride To The City” rocks hard. The second disc starts off with a slide guitar trilogy featuring “The Walk” (slide guitar with the Diddley Beat), “Step Down, which is basically the “Amazing Grace” melody, and “Talking Guitar,” which is a slide-infused take of “When The Saints Go Marching In” that also mixes the talking guitar bit that Luther used to feature in his music, and the self-explanatory “Wah Wah Action.”

Allison also shows a deft hand with his selection of covers, which include a high-powered take on Anders Osborne’s “Snake Bit Again,” and the closer, Colin James’ “I just Came Back To Say Goodbye,” a highlight from his Across the Water CD, was a great choice for a closing tune.

Throughout the disc, Allison’s guitar work is top notch. His versatility on guitar only adds to the enjoyment of this disc. His vocals, which have always had a funky 70’s era “Sugar” Bonner edge to them, are strong as well, and his band (Mike Vlahakis-keyboards, Jassen Wilber-bass, and Andrew Thomas-drums) provides solid backing.

If anything, Energized-Live In Europe should solidify Bernard Allison’s place as one of the top blues guitarist playing today and one of the best live performers as well.

Graham Clarke