LONNIE MACK/LIVE!-ATTACK OF THE KILLER V [1990] (Alligator Records ALCD 4786)

This review is here because even though this album was released seven years ago it’s still one of my favorites. Lonnie Mack is simply an awesome guitarist and a great live performer. This release manages to catch his talents better than any other.

Recorded at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn, Illinois in December of 1989, this disc has everything that a great live album should have, a great talent on stage, an exciting performance from that talent, a responsive crowd, and excellent sound quality. “Riding The Blinds” serves as a good beginning, and a sign of what’s to come. By the second track, “Natural Disaster,” Lonnie already has them singing along on the choruses. The intensity of his performance never ceases throughout the whole disc. He’s backed up by Dumpy Rice on piano, Michael Freeman on bass, and Maxwell Schauf on drums, together, a perfect compliment to Lonnie's’style. Lonnie’s best known song, “Satisfy Susie,” is here as well in a blistering version that serves as the climax of the disc. He even slows things down with a seven and a half minute performance of Wilson Pickett’s “I Found A Love” that showcases both his emotional vocals, and some sweet blues licks. He wraps things up with yet another blistering performance on an eight minute “Cincinnati Jail.” This is what live blues is all about! If this album doesn’t get you swinging there’s no need to worry because you’ve likely already passed on and it no longer matters.

Anyone who enjoys a powerful blues guitar, or music that straddles that line between blues and rock, should have a copy of this one. It’s just one of those essential discs that belongs in everyone’s collection