Various Artists,
Lightning in a Bottle: A Salute to the Blues

Label: Sony Music
Year: 2004

(3½ out of 5)

Lightning in a Bottle: A Salute to the Blues is the soundtrack to Antoine Fuqua's documentary of the same name, recorded live at Radio City Music Hall in February 2003.

While the performances on the two-CD set are great, listening to them without the film's visual accompaniment produces a somewhat disjointed experience.

For example, we hear a raucous crowd response as well as some verbal exchanges between performers Mavis Staples and Ruth Brown during "Men Are Just Like Street Cars," but it's not until the end that the listener discovers the source of the uproar: Bill Cosby apparently jumped onstage during the song.

This is not to say that there is no value in the soundtrack.

The roster of artists is world-class. From Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Buddy Guy to B.B. King and Keb' Mo', from Mos Def and India.Arie to John Fogerty and Greg Allman, the performers assembled for this one-of-a-kind showcase represent a variety of musical styles.

The material they cover provides a solid introduction to the blues for newbies: "Sittin' on Top of the World," "Jim Crow Blues," "Strange Fruit," "The Sky Is Crying."

In essence, what we get is a distillation of the evolution of the blues from centuries-old spirituals to lovelorn pleas, from twentieth century protest songs to twenty-first century hip-hop.

And that musical journey is a pleasant one. Absent the onscreen visual accompaniment, however, Lightning in a Bottle serves as more of an appetizer than a full-course serving of the blues.

Buy: Amazon

November 15, 2004