| Cadillac Blues | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Johnnie Bassett |
| Cover: | Cadillac Blues.album.jpg |
| Released: | 1998 |
| Studio: | Royal |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Label: | Cannonball |
| Producer: | Ron Levy |
| Prev Title: | Bassett Hound |
| Prev Year: | 1997 |
| Next Title: | Party My Blues Away |
| Next Year: | 1999 |
Cadillac Blues is an album by the American musician Johnnie Bassett, released in 1998.[1] [2] He is credited with his band, the Blues Insurgents.[3] Bassett supported the album with a North American tour.[4] Cadillac Blues was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award for best traditional blues album.[5]
Recorded in Memphis, the album was produced primarily by Ron Levy, with assistance on some tracks by Willie Mitchell.[6] [7] It was inspired by Bassett's time as a Cadillac salesman.[8] Most of the songs were written by Bassett and organist Chris Codish.[9]
The Record wrote that "Bassett wields a superb electric hollow body with that uptown urban style."[10] The Chicago Reader noted that Bassett's "concise hollow-body sound is traditional, but he's no throwback—he's actually a hallowed veteran of the Motor City's 50s blues explosion."[11] JazzTimes deemed the album a "sophisticated, urbane version of the blues."[6] The Associated Press praised the "groove-laden jams."[12]
The Detroit Free Press called the Blues Insurgents "one of the most facile, versatile and outright musical blues bands in the United States."[13] Billboard concluded that "Bassett's lovely style is something any aspiring guitarist would want to emulate."[14] The Star Tribune said that Cadillac Blues "offers oodles of tasty uptown T-Bone Walker-influenced guitar and vocals."[15]
AllMusic wrote that "Bassett, musically, is a direct descendant of B.B. King circa 1965, with his pure, clean tone and long, flowing guitar lines uncluttered by electronic devices."[16]