Charlie Musselwhite's second album, produced by Barry Goldberg, is just what it initially appears to be—a sampling of traditional Chicago blues made by the non-black band which Musselwhite formed a few months ago. The album is somewhat reminiscent of the early Butterfield albums in several respects: it relies on up tempo reinterpretations of solid old numbers by past masters, and it features guttural vocals and vigorous harp solos by its leader.

Unfortunately, Musselwhite suffers by comparison to the early Butterfield recordings; his gravelly vocal tone seems forced, and his harp playing often suffers from screechy tone and inaccurate intonation. But Musselwhite's shortcomings are more than offset by the general excellence of the rest of his band, notably organist-pianist Clay Cotton and guitarists Tim Kaihatsu and Larry Welker.

Although it isn't outstanding, this album contains several fine blues and not a single poor cut. The album opens with a bang on "My Buddy Buddy Friends," which comes complete with a driving back-beat and good lyrics by A. C. Reed. The song features one of Charlie's better efforts on vocal and harp, good guitar work by Kaihatsu, and the contributions of unnamed studio trumpeters. Next is "Everything's Gonna Be Allright," the first of four Little Walter songs; it benefits from good guitar and harp breaks and fine piano work by Cotton.

The remainder of side one is inferior to the first two cuts. But side two bears nothing but goodies, with the slight exception of "Juke," which sounds anaemic in comparison to Little Walter's original recording. The side starts with an energetic rendition of Elmore James' "Cry For Me, Baby" in which everyone plays well. Hot on its heels is Albert King's "Hey Baby," which is built upon a single great guitar riff.

Musselwhite's deficiencies as a vocalist are made evident by comparison to Clay Cotton's soaring falsetto in "She Belongs To Me." This happy song has a funky, "soul," bass line with a back-beat, filled out with saxes and trumpets, harp, and organ. The album ends with a slow instrumental blues which is highlighted by two fine guitar solos by Kaihatsu and Welker.

Musselwhite has assembled a fine blues band whose members are all at least as talented as its leader. When they all get going together, as in "Cry For Me," Baby," they really swing. Unfortunately, this happens too infrequently; but if you liked Paul Butterfield's first album, you'll like this one, too. (RS 24)

KENNETH WULFF