For as long as the genre has existed, the idea of blues musicians intermingling with the Devil and all His external influences has stayed tied to it. Metal came in and stole the genre’s thunder a little bit, sure, by making their entire image about Hell and Beelzebub, etc., but the blues did it first — if you don’t believe me, look into Robert Johnson. Case closed, moving on! The Rusty Wright Band is a blues group intent on keeping the devilish tradition alive and their new album Hangin’ At The DeVille Lounge, a loose concept album based around the idea of stumbling across a seedy nightclub with infernal intentions, is an airtight hour-long ride through a slew of blues-driven sounds, influences, and more. It’s a crash course for anyone interested in the blues as much as it is a victory lap for the band and veterans who have done their time studying the genre.
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Hangin’ At The DeVille Lounge has roots tied to Rusty Wright’s upbringing; inspired by a real place from Wright’s upbringing in Flint, Michigan, the DeVille Lounge is a place of mischief, chaos, and (maybe, possibly) a dark evil. The opening track lays the narrative out for listeners pretty well but the rest of the album plays it fast and loose, so it’s up to the listener to fill in the gaps. I think this is a pretty good metric for what makes a concept album great, as the looser the morality tale, the more a listener can project onto it.
“House of Spirits” is a ghostly blues romp, offering a slow-dance introduction to the world that the Rusty Wright Band has crafted, and it’s evident off the bat that this will be one album getting a lot of airtime the closer we get to Halloween. Songs such as “Evil In Disguise,” “Devil Man Blues,” “Devil In The Details,” and “Devil Music” are simply primed for Halloween playlists, whereas others are more enjoyable when listened to as part of the album as a whole. The best example of this is “No Man Is An Island,” a nearly eight-minute saga that shows off the band’s chops perfectly with solos and tempo changes to boot. It’s an incredible halfway point for the record and will undoubtedly make the vinyl listening experience an unforgettable one.
The devil in the details (pun intended) of releasing an album as legendary as this in a modern landscape makes things a little harder to market, but there’s little doubt in my mind that the Rusty Wright Band will find trouble distributing and growing a grassroots, cult audience for this thing. It’s an ambitious album that takes little sneak jabs when you least expect it, and that’s a sign of a great blues record. The Rusty Wright Band has been at this for years, and the experience is well-worn on Hangin’ At The DeVille Lounge as everyone is given their time to shine and show off. It would be a sin to not give this album a peek, so be sure to check it out! Just make sure you hold a seance afterward, just in case any visitors have come along with the melodies!
Heather Savage
