Rush Hour Blues

1	Baby How Long / Sam Lay 3:31
2	Second Man / Sam Lay 5:55
3	I'll Be the Judge of That / Sam Lay 2:57
4	I Like Women / Sam Lay 3:42
5	Blow Wind Blow / Sam Lay 3:54
6	I Got Two Women / Sam Lay 4:09
7	Somebody Gotta Do It / Sam Lay 3:12
8	Mama and Papa Hopkins / Sam Lay 5:49
9	Rush Hour Blues / Sam Lay 3:25
10	I'm Gonna Shoot Her / Sam Lay 4:25
11	Pure Grain Alcohol / Sam Lay 2:44
12	Midnight Drag / Sam Lay 3:41

Barnes & Noble

It's time to give the drummer some, and the honoree is Sam Lay, the man behind the beat for Howlin' Wolf in the '50s and an original member of the Butterfield Blues Band in the '60s. For the ensuing 30 years, Lay has led his own band, playing Chicago blues around the globe. All that roadwork gives Lay's RUSH HOUR BLUES a no-frills, always in-the-pocket sound. Produced by the Nashville-based blues mover and shaker Fred James (who plays rhythm guitar on most of the disc), the set is seamless from the opening cover of the Wolf's "Baby How Long" through the kickin' "I Like Women" and on to the Muddy Waters shuffle "Blow Wind Blow" and the contemporary title cut. Lead guitarist Larry Burton (Albert King and Albert Collins) has an understated style of playing that comments wryly on Lay's gruff vocals, before going in for the kill on solos. Celia Ann Price's keyboard work is straight out of the Otis Spann school of blues, and Greg "Fingers" Taylor's harmonica power is a match for Lay's drumming. RUSH HOUR BLUES moves like a smooth ride in a fine old Cadillac with none of the headaches of a 5 p.m. drive across town. Roberta Penn

Southwest Blues

A great example of why Chicago blues keep going strong after 50+ years.