Album Club - Week 150: 17/06/2014: Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials - Rattleshake (2006)

[Album Club]

Big thanks to Mark (ruleof72) for the 150th Album Club selection. Enjoy!

My first submission (of which I hope will be many) for Album Club is Rattleshake, by Chicago’s very own Lil’ Ed Williams and the Blues Imperials.

Rattleshake is the band’s sixth album and was released in 2006:






Music is one of those things that does a great job of tying my life's experiences together. I selected this album because it brings back great memories of our nearly 8 years in Chicago.

We moved to Chicago in 1999. I had become a fan of Blues over the preceding few years so moving to Chicago, with all it’s rich Blues history, was a great experience for me. We made it a point to attend the Chicago Blues Festival each June as well as get out to some of the many Blues clubs whenever we could.

In 2006 we stopped by one of the local clubs for dinner and some music and saw that Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials were playing that night, promoting Rattleshake. I had heard some of their music on local radio but hadn’t seen them live before. Boy were we in for a treat! The show was fantastic and full of energy. You could really tell that Lil’ Ed and the whole band were really enjoying themselves and took pride in the music they played. My wife and I had a great time at the show. These few quotes pretty much describe the band:

"A bazooka assault of foot-stompin' blues and slow-burnin' knee-bucklers."
- Chicago Sun-Times

"The liveliest blues showman alive, with an explosive, good-rocking guitar sound and the stage moves to match. Raw, gutbucket blues sure to get you up and dancing."
-- Philadelphia Daily News

"With a jumping band pumping behind him, Lil' Ed blasts wild, passionate, blazing-hot slide...powerful, raucous boogie blues that's utterly devoid of rock, jazz or fusion influences ."
-- Guitar Player

"Full of fire, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials hit the floor running and accelerate from there. High-octane, expressive, fiercely articulated, harrowing intensity, raucous slide." - Living Blues

I think Rattleshake is a good example of the Chicago Blues and Lil’ Ed and his band play the music the right way, with energy passion and a love for the history behind the music. I hope you enjoy Rattleshake and I look forward to your reaction.

[The Grand Wazoo]

I've been looking forward to this one!

[The Grand Wazoo]

How can you not like an album with a track called 'Icicles in my meatloaf'?!!
I've got a couple of L'il Ed's albums and this ones's true to form - good modern Chicago blues with a great sense of fun.
7/10 from me.
A good choice Mark and thanks for your first effort on Album Club.
Cheers

[ruleof72]

How can you not like an album with a track called 'Icicles in my meatloaf'?!!
I've got a couple of L'il Ed's albums and this ones's true to form - good modern Chicago blues with a great sense of fun.
7/10 from me.
A good choice Mark and thanks for your first effort on Album Club.
Cheers

Glad you enjoyed the album. I figured this would be a good one to add to the "club". It's a fun, listenable album from a band that is talented but doesn't take itself too seriously. While the album is good their live show was fantastic!

[John]

They look like being a great live band I give it a 6 but would love to see them live

[losenotaminute]

Never heard of Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials before, but enjoyed listening to this album. My favourite track was probably Tramp On Your Street.

As I get older the Blues gets more appealing. 7/10 from me, thanks for the recommendation.

Lawrence

[high.spirits]

Great choice Mark. Really enjoyed listening to it.
Shame it does not appear on vinyl. 8/10

[ruleof72]

Never heard of Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials before, but enjoyed listening to this album. My favourite track was probably Tramp On Your Street.

As I get older the Blues gets more appealing. 7/10 from me, thanks for the recommendation.

Lawrence

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm finding the same as you, the older I get the more I appreciate real Blues. Thanks for listening!

Great choice Mark. Really enjoyed listening to it.
Shame it does not appear on vinyl. 8/10

Thanks for listening and while I don't have a turntable (might be on the list to get at some point) I agree that this would be great on vinyl.

They look like being a great live band I give it a 6 but would love to see them live

They do a great live show, that's for sure. Thanks for giving it a listen!

[Bazil]

Really enjoyed this, doesn't need repeat playing to get into. 7/10

[ruleof72]

Really enjoyed this, doesn't need repeat playing to get into. 7/10

That's great to hear! They are a fun band to listen to, both live and recorded.