GA-20 with Charlie Musselwhite — BLUES NOW
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Down into the gutbucket we go.
And what a glorious gutbucket this is. That’s because the idea of pairing legendary harmonica virtuoso Charlie Musselwhite with GA-20, the blues trio known for bypassing etiquette in vast favor of rawness, was a stroke of squalid genius. Their straining amplifiers second that emotion.
In keeping with the disturb-the-neighbors motto, BLUES NOW was recorded live in the studio. No need to primp or polish its 35 pungent minutes. That would run counter to the ‘Just have at it!’ attitude. Yet even before their wall of sound hits, the album is already loud—on paper. Its title emphatically screams at you in all uppercase letters, softening you up for what’s to come.
Accordingly, “Short Dress Woman” could just as well have erupted on a Chicago sidewalk back when Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis or Robert Nighthawk were still on the prowl. It is ferocious fun. It is ideal for dancing, drinking, and/or pure abandon. It is a destroyer.
This new fearsome foursome did not materialize out of thin air, however. Guitarist Matthew Stubbs had been a longtime veteran of Musselwhite’s touring band, so a durable connection existed. Surprisingly, for as intuitive as their interaction is, this is, in fact, the first long-play collaboration between Musselwhite and GA-20. (An isolated 45-rpm single dropped back in 2019.) And for those keeping score, BLUES NOW makes GA-20’s sixth album and Charlie’s umpteenth.
The Mississippi-born, Memphis-raised, Chicago-schooled, California-tested Musselwhite has been harping professionally since before his three bandmates were born. John Lee Hooker, Little Walter, Big Walter, Paul Butterfield, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Big Joe Williams, Junior Wells and Sonny Boy Williamson are among the giants he knew, personally. That’s him alongside fellow harmonicat Big Walter Horton, Alabaman Johnie Lewis, rocker Eric Sardinas, hypnotist John Lee Hooker, and a thousand more. Plus, of course, there is his own mountain of records, starting from 1967’s Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s South Side Band through 2025’s Look Out Highway.
Then there are the Boston bruisers.
Naming your blues band after an amplifier doesn’t bode well for tranquility. The vintage Gibson amp with the holy grail of a tube-warmed growl—the GA-20—was specifically singled out to symbolize a
commitment to serving as the archfoe of calm and quiet. Need another quick indicator as to where their headspace lies? GA-20’s sophomore album of 2021 was an awesomely sleazy tribute to the 12-fingered king of barbarous slide guitar, Hound Dog Taylor.
Two-thirds of the lineup has changed since then. But three wonderfully crusty old souls—founding member Matthew Stubbs (guitar, beard), Cody Nilsen (vocals, guitar) and Josh Kiggans (drums, more drums)—still keep the faith these days (with 2025’s Orphans being the last we heard them roar). No bass, you’ll notice. (Except for Marty Ballou’s guest thumps on a few of the 10 tracks.) But double the guitars. Just like how Bobo Jenkins, Joe Carter and his Chicago Broomdusters, Johnny Young, and Smokey Smothers all liked it back in the good ol’ badass days. (Hound Dog’s HouseRockers were infamously from that same school of blues, as well.)
So, now bring those independent forces together in a recording room—or on a stage, as will be the case in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, in September—and listen to the grand experiment play out.
As lead vocals pass between Musselwhite and Nilsen, the setlist moves through a succession of gutter crawls (“The Blues Never Die”) and alley brawls (“Strange Land”). The high-energy “Universal Rock,” from the one-of-a-kind Earl Hooker, kicks up all the more sand. “I’ll Change My Style,” a rare soulful slice of Jimmy Reed luxuriance, serves double duty as both a slow dance as well as an open forum for Charlie’s harmonica to bend, trill and skyrocket out fills and a flyaway solo. “Big Stars Falling” is in even less of a rush. The tempo deliberately drags, as if letting the lyrics have extra time to rub salt into the wound inflicted by heartbreak during the wee smallest hours of the morning. The harmonized singing, more so than the music, ups the drama by inching along as Musselwhite and Nilsen pull off their best impression of Tampa Red and (perhaps) Johnny Jones.
And Chicago’s bluesmen keep getting hit up for material. Such as Eddie Taylor’s heaving “Stroll Out West.” The whole thing sloshes back and forth from its riff getting worked up and down, cranked all the heavier on the downstroke. The motion pushes into a stomp, pumping hard, making you ride the wave with them, leaving you with no choice in the matter. Or when their collective weight gets thrown behind a dirty grind like Elmore James’ bottlenecked “I Can’t Hold Out,” pinning you to the wall. Again, non-negotiable.
In the end, though, we get treated to transcendence: “Cristo Redentor.” The hear-it-once-and-it-lives-with-you-forever piece was composed by jazz pianist Duke Pearson and formally introduced by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd, via 1963’s A New Perspective. But then famously captured by a 22-year-old blues harpist soon thereafter.
It lived under a slightly different name, “Cristo Redemptor,” on Side 1, Track 4 of his debut LP,
Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s South Side Band. (Then again, that was also when Charlie was Charley.) Later, guitarists (Ronnie Earl), pianists (Vince Guaraldi), and folktronica-ists (Lemon and Soul) would be among those continuing to propagate the aural experience. Here, the instrumental remains a cinematic mood piece, graced in its new skin by the ghostly wail of a lap-steel guitar. Ah, the perfect way to settle down nerves after the prior 30 overwhelming minutes.
Raw, primal thrills like BLUES NOW are few and far between nowadays. Cherish this jolt.
Label: New West
Release date: 7/31/26
Artist websites: Charlie Musselwhite.com, GA-20 Band.com
Label website: New West Records.com
Reviewed by Dennis Rozanski
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