Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough

AMG Review of Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough

Dan Forte
All Music Guide

Cutting an audiofile session direct-to-disc (meaning that each entire side of the LP is recording live in the studio, with the band literally pausing between tunes, then forging ahead), someone came up with the bright idea of teaming Charlie with a band that he (mostly) had never played with, including a three-piece horn section. Under normal circumstances (retakes, overdubs, mixing -- Charlie's vocals should be louder) this could have been a killer; as it is, it's yet another interesting side of this complex bluesman. Horns and piano (Skip Rose returns) give "Help Me" a whole new wrinkle, and Mose Allison's "Nightclub" is channeled through "Got My Mojo Working." Interesting, yes; definitive, no.