Blues Brothers: Briefcase Full of Blues

Blues Brothers: Briefcase Full of Blues

1978

Atlantic Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Opening: I Can't Turn You Loose  2. Hey Bartender  3. Messin' With the Kid  4. (I Got Everything I Need) Almost  5. Rubber Biscuit  6. Shot Gun Blues  7. Groove Me  8. I Don't Know  9. Soul Man  10. 'B' Movie Box Car Blues  11. Flip, Flop & Fly  12. Closing: I Can't Turn You Loose


 Nowadays the mere thought of turning a Saturday Night Live skit into a movie is enough to make me consider  turning my back on society completely and living out the rest of my days  as a monk in the foothills of Tibet...

(Yea, this doesn't look so bad...Solitudinous, yet centrally located...Spacious and charming...Easy access to the beach...I'll take it!)

But believe it or not, back in 1980, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi did turn a four minute sketch into a two hour film and the result was awesome...I can still remember watching this movie back in the 80's...It was my introduction to the concept, and was very likely the first time I ever heard soul or blues music...

"I hate Illinois Nazis!"

But "Briefcase of Blues" was released two years before the film...The SNL sketch was so popular that the two comedians took their bluesman shtick on the road and recorded this live album, and think about this...It's a record recorded by actors and by some divine miracle it doesn't suck even one tiny bit...Look at the sad history of actors putting out suck-ass albums (and I'm not even re-posting the dozen others that I've already discussed on this site, so far)...



Brian Austin Green: One Stop Carnival



 The Touch of Leonard Nimoy...

Corey Feldman: Former Child Actor

Steven Seagal: Songs from the Crystal Cave

Brent Spiner: Ol' Yellow Eyes is Back

Lisa Whelchel: Ol' Blair Eyes is Back

 But no such worries with "Briefcase Full of Blues"...It's fun and funny and even though they're comedians they seem to have a deep reverence and knowledge of their subject...Of course it doesn't hurt that they had a highly skilled backing band; featuring members of he Saturday Night Live band, soul giant's Booker T & the MG's, and Blood, Sweat & Tears....

 If I had to pick a favorite member, I'm going to go with Donald "Duck" Dunn...He always looked so cool smoking his pipe while grooving on the bass...

..Oh yea, I like Paul Shaffer too...

You can invariably find this album for a buck in the comedy section at any respectable record dealer....And in the end it transcends the comedy tag and winds up being an enjoyable R&B record...  I bet I'm not alone when I say that most of the soul/blues records I own are a direct result of watching/listening to these guys ...

So let's check out "Soul Man" by the Blues Brothers...Enjoy...