Roadhouse Rules
| Roadhouse Rules | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Blues, R&B | |||
| Label | Alligator | |||
| Producer | Jim Gaines | |||
| Lonnie Brooks chronology | ||||
| ||||
Roadhouse Rules is an album by the American musician Lonnie Brooks, released in 1996.[1][2] It was his seventh album for Alligator Records.[3] The album peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.[4] Brooks supported it with a North American tour.[5]
Production
[edit]Recorded mostly in Memphis with studio musicians, the album was produced by Jim Gaines.[6] Brooks wrote seven of its songs; he made a point of paying attention to what his blues contemporaries were doing on their albums.[1][7] It marked the first time that Brooks included an acoustic blues song on an album.[6] Brooks used a Gibson ES-355 on most of the tracks.[8] Sugar Blue played harmonica on "Roll of the Tumbling Dice".[9] The Memphis Horns played on "Too Little, Too Late".[10] "Hoodoo She Do" was written by Brooks's son Ronnie Baker Brooks, who also played guitar on Roadhouse Rules.[11]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
| MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide |  [13] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [14] |
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | [15] |
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted the "tough rhythms, deep-from-the-gut singing and guitar riffs to burn, the smell of Chicago permeating the tracks."[16] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said that, "blessed with a set of 62-year-old pipes full of finely aged soul and grit, Brooks moves easily from torchy ballads to the sharp edge of hard-rocking blues."[15] The Chicago Tribune wrote that "Brooks pours out a torrent of straight blues, funk, rock and soul rippling with unassailable chops and conviction."[17]
The Wisconsin State Journal called the album "a stirring statement that spans rocking guitar gumbo ('Hoodoo She Do'), soulfully gutty balladry ('Too Little, Too Late') and everything in between."[18] The Press of Atlantic City considered it one of the best blues albums of 1996, concluding that "Brooks moves from modern to retro modes with ease and smarts."[19] The Boston Globe determined that "too many songs fall into woman-done-me-wrong lingo."[20]
AllMusic wrote that "the music on Roadhouse Rules is generally unrelenting in its ferocity, blues-oriented but also quite open to the influences of Stax-type soul and rock."
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hoodoo She Do" | |
| 2. | "Backbone Man" | |
| 3. | "Too Little, Too Late" | |
| 4. | "Stranger in My House" | |
| 5. | "I Need a Friend" | |
| 6. | "Evil Twin" | |
| 7. | "Roll of the Tumbling Dice" | |
| 8. | "One Track Train" | |
| 9. | "Before You Go" | |
| 10. | "Get Through to You" | |
| 11. | "It's Your World" | |
| 12. | "Treat Me Like Your Dog" | |
| 13. | "Stake My Claim" | |
| 14. | "Rockin' Red Rooster" |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Sorensen, Karen (29 Aug 1996). "True Blues". Journal Star. Peoria. p. C1.
- ^ "Blues". The Des Moines Register. 15 Feb 1996. p. 13D.
- ^ Seigal, Buddy (22 Oct 1996). "Lonnie Brooks' 40-Year Blues Groove". Los Angeles Times. p. F2.
- ^ "Lonnie Brooks". Billboard. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Bruening, John C. (9 Sep 1996). "Guitarist Lonnie Brooks Keeps Blues in Family". The Plain Dealer. p. 8D.
- ^ a b Dahl, Bill (16 Aug 1996). "Long-Awaited Lonnie Brooks Album Contains a Few Surprises". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 6.
- ^ Perry, Erin (10 Oct 1996). "Legacy of blues". Out & About. The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction. p. 3.
- ^ Steinberg, David (25 Oct 1996). "Guitar opened up world". Albuquerque Journal. p. E19.
- ^ a b "Roadhouse Rules Review by Scott Yanow". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Andrews, Marke (31 Aug 1996). "Lonnie Brooks dresses like a black cowboy...". The Vancouver Sun. p. E14.
- ^ Prince, David (25 Oct 1996). "Lonnie Brooks Serves Up the Electric Blues 'Hoodoo She Do' at Alegria". Pasatiempo. The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 22.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
- ^ MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 46.
- ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. 2006. p. 68.
- ^ a b "Lonnie Brooks Roadhouse Rules". Arts & Entertainment. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 25 Oct 1996. p. 22.
- ^ Kuelker, Michael (12 Sep 1996). "Roadhouse Rules Lonnie Brooks". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 10.
- ^ "Blues". Friday. Chicago Tribune. 29 Nov 1996. p. 31.
- ^ Thompson, Stephen (26 Dec 1996). "Red Hot Blues Fills Brooks' 'Roadhouse'". Rhythm. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 8.
- ^ Allen, Greg (4 Aug 1996). "Brooks scores a hit with 'Roadhouse Rules'". The Press of Atlantic City. p. C7.
- ^ Robicheau, Paul (12 Sep 1996). "Lonnie Brooks Roadhouse Rules". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 34.