Artist: Etta James
Title Of Album: Burnin' Down The House,Live At The House Of Blues
Year Of Release: 2002
Label: RCA Victor
Genre: Blues, Soul, R&B, Jazz
Quality/Bitrate: MP3 / 160 kbit/s / 44.1 Khz / Stereo
Total Time: 72:00 min
Total Size: 66,7 mb
WebSite: http://www.etta-james.com/


Just when it seems that the purr has left Etta James's estimable voice, about halfway through this live concert recorded in 2001 at L.A.'s House of Blues she begins her eternally romantic ballad "At Last," and the years tumble away. James's singing becomes flexible as a tenor saxophone, building to a lovely, serpentine diminuendo, which she caps with an arching phrase that dissipates in a misty exhalation of breath. It's such a beautiful, brilliantly executed performance that it's suddenly clear that for most of this show, the 64-year-old diva played dirty on purpose. So her signatures, "Tell Mama" and "I'd Rather Go Blind" (really, just about everything), are raw and earthy, moan-and-groan R&B milked for every smile and tear. Raunchy, too, since James deploys plenty of her bawdy stage patter and picks numbers like the striptease fantasy "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and the even more obvious "I Just Want to Make Love to You."



Her impetuous nature leads her into unpredictable improvisations, like the weird bird calls she warbles during the intro to the ghetto-rocker "All the Way Down," with it's wah-wah guitar and "Theme from Shaft" vibe. And her Roots Band are perfect accompanists. James's sons Donto and Sametto are the rhythm section, and the five horns and two guitarists play with the loose precision of the classic Stax or Muscle Shoals studio crews. Since James has made few live albums, she might have included more of her own gems in this set. But James has the command to transform numbers like Kiki Dee's "Sugar on the Floor" into soulful diamonds.

TRACKLIST
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1. Come to Mama
2. I Just Want to Make Love to You / Born to Be Wild
3. I'd Rather Go Blind
4. All the Way Down
5. At Last
6. You Can Leave Your Hat On
7. Something's Got a Hold On Me
8. Your Good Thing is About to End
9. Rock Me Baby
10. Love & Happiness / Take Me to the River / My Funny Valentine
11. Sugar on the Floor

Personnel: Etta James (vocals); Josh Sklair, Bobby Murray (guitar); Jimmy "Z" Zavala (harmonica, tenor saxophone); David L. Woodford (baritone saxophone); Ronnie Buttacavoli (trumpet, fluglehorn, trombone); Tom Poole (trumpet); David K. Mathews (piano, Wurlitzer piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Roland RD 600, clavinet, strings); Mike Finnigan (Hammond B-3 organ); Sametto James (bass); Donto James (drums, MVP); Luis Conte (percussion). Recorded live at The House Of Blues, Hollwood, California on December 9, 2001. BURNIN' DOWN THE HOUSE was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album.