Sam Lay Blues Band - Rush Hour Blues (1998)

1 	Baby How Long 	3:27
2 	Second Man 	5:48
3 	I'll Be The Judge Of That 	2:52
4 	I Like Women 	3:55
5 	Blow Wind Blow 	3:50
6 	I Got Two Woman 	4:04
7 	Somebody Gotta Do It 	3:09
8 	Mama And Papa Hopkins 	5:45
9 	Rush Hour Blues 	3:20
10 	I'm Gonna Shoot Her 	4:19
11 	Pure Grain Alcohol 	2:40
12 	Midnight Drag 	3:41

Bass – Bob Kommersmith
Drums, Vocals – Sam Lay
Harmonica – Greg "Fingers" Taylor
Lead Guitar – Larry Burton, Fred James (tracks: 10)
Organ, Piano – Celia Ann Price
Rhythm Guitar – Fred James

Sam Lay deserves to have a red carpet unrolled before him when he walks away from his drum kit; he's one of the outstanding drummers of the modern blues era. Rush Hour Blues, recorded in Nashville in 1996 under the direction of ace guitarist Fred James, is Lay's latest effort. He sings here in a forthright manner over the rhythmic background provided by his masterful drums, Celia Ann Price's organ and piano, James's second guitar, and a string bass plucked by James's sidekick Bob Kommersmith. While his singing isn't as strong and steady as in the past, it retains all of its emotional authenticity. The album's songs mostly concern women, nothing new there. Remakes of venerable Chicago blues numbers are more interesting than the new compositions. On Muddy Waters's "Blow Wind Blow," Lay and company expertly balance relaxation and exhilaration. They also inject new life into two more covers, Howlin' Wolf's "Baby How Long" and Big Boy Crudup's "Second Man." In sum, Rush Hour Blues is worth hearing. ---Frank-John Hadley, Editorial Reviews

I had never heard of Sam Lay until driving home late one night and there he was at the far left end of the dial. It was an instrumental number called "midnight Drag". That song prompted me to take a chance on this album and I was surprised at how good this album is. The style is Chicago blues, with an emphasis on the shuffle. Sam is one of the few singing blues drummers around, and he has been playing since the 50's. He really works the shuffle well, and is backed by very tight band. The lead guitar work of Larry Burton is outstanding, and the keyboards played by Celia Ann Price are equally good. There is a good variety of tunes, from the classic chicago style opening number to the raucous "Rush Hour Blues", and ending with the jazzier instrumental "midnight drag". If you enjoy the blues this is one quality album worth getting. ---amazon.com

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