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GA-20 with Charlie Musselwhite – ‘Blues Now’ album review: Blues now, blues then and blues forever!
Far Out’s review presents *Blues Now*, GA-20’s collaboration with harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite, as a persuasive argument that traditional blues remains alive rather than museum-bound. It praises the group for respecting Chicago-blues roots while delivering performances with enough energy and character to feel immediate and contemporary.
The 10-track album pairs the Boston trio with the veteran Musselwhite, whose harmonica and vocals are central to its gritty sound. The review highlights the record’s playing, arrangements and production, describing an atmosphere of “sweat and grease” that nevertheless sounds fresh, vital and new.
In short
- GA-20 and Charlie Musselwhite make classic blues sound alive.
- The review praises its gritty, energetic production.
- Ten tracks unite blues tradition with modern urgency.
Explained simply
GA-20 is a blues band from Boston that has collaborated with Charlie Musselwhite, a veteran harmonica player, on an album titled Blues Now. The ten-track record pairs the contemporary group with Musselwhite, whose decades-long career is rooted in the Chicago blues tradition.
One of the central questions in blues music is whether traditional styles can remain vital and engaging when performed by contemporary musicians, or whether they belong primarily to the past. This album represents an exploration of that question, with Musselwhite's experience and GA-20's modern sensibility each bringing different perspectives to the material.
Musselwhite's harmonica and vocals anchor the recordings, whilst GA-20 contribute their contemporary arrangements and production. The collaboration represents one approach to blues in the present: respecting the tradition's roots whilst working with modern sounds and techniques.