Kiss of Sweet Blues

by Lurrie Bell

Overview

A promising guitarist whose personal troubles have perhaps kept him from realizing his full potential, Lurrie Bell rebounded from an early-'90s nadir with the intense and sometimes bizarre Mercurial Son, almost like a Chicago blues version of Skip Spence's Oar. The following 700 Blues was considerably more polished, but 1998's Kiss of Sweet Blues finds a workable middle ground between the two extremes. The songs, mostly by producer/rhythm guitarist Dave Specter and bassist Harlan Terson with Bell contributing only a pair of riff-based instrumentals, aren't as challenging as those on Mercurial Son, but they're entirely credible; "Blues and Black Coffee" and "Hiding in the Spotlight" have the hard-earned intensity to put themselves over even if they lack the earlier album's knife-edge immediacy and sometimes peculiar phrasing. Bell's solos are impeccable throughout, and his backing group, also including funky organist Rob Waters, is tight and admirably resistant to showboating. ~ Stewart Mason

Product Details

Release Date:	09/22/1998
Label:	Delmark
UPC:	0038153072421
Rank:	130678

Tracks

1. Bring Yourself Back to Me
2. You're Gonna Be Sorry
3. Kiss of Sweet Blues
4. Wicked Hearted Woman
5. Blues and Black Coffee
6. Hiding in the Spotlight
7. Lurrie's Guitar Boogie
8. Bad Dog
9. Somebody Help Me
10. Drivin' Through the Darkness
11. Lonesome Guitar Man
12. Build Myself a Mansion
13. Lurrie's Funky Groove Thang
14. Don't Ask Me Why
15. After Hours

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lurrie Bell   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Ken Saydek   Guest Artist
Dave Specter   Guest Artist,Guitar
Rob Waters   Organ
Harlan Terson   Bass
Ken Saydak   Piano,Organ

Technical Credits

Harlan Terson   Composer
Lurrie Bell   Composer
Pee Wee Crayton   Composer
S. Hutchinson   Composer
Robert G. Koester   Producer,Supervisor
Dave Specter   Composer,Producer
D.K. Baker   Composer
Mike Schlick   Composer
Susan Greenberg   Photography
Al Brandtner   Design
Paul Serrano   Engineer