Pierre Lacocque’s Mississippi Heat

Don’t Look Back

Delmark Records

Chicago Blues Hall of Famer Pierre Lacocque’s Mississippi Heat remains a premier revolving door workshop for some of Chicago’s finest contemporary blues musicians. The ones that like to lay down soul-fired, 1950s and 60s-rooted Chicago blues music. How and why? Well, Lacocque’s uniquely Israel-born but Christian heart obviously beats with plenty of Chicago blues blood. His worldly, scholarly upbringing has made him a consistently superb songwriter turning everyday situations into eloquent blues. He blows tuneful and hellacious harmonica, and leads musicians in ways that bring out the best in the best.

Don’t Look Back is Mississippi Heat’s 14^th album since a self-titled 1992 debut, and the first to feature Sheryl Youngblood front and center. Youngblood grew up singing in Chicago’s Mt. Zion Baptist Church, and has that kind of a crystal clear, booming voice to prove it. She sings lead on nine of the 14 songs on Don’t Look Back. Right out of the gate on the hard charging, encouraging (to our youth, thankfully) “You Ain’t the Only One,” she proves herself one captivating hurricane of a blues vocalist. But she can also be the eye. On the gospel-inspired blues of “Stepped Out of Line,” she owns up and pleads in calm, grand style. But the eye has passed for the rambunctious album highlight, “Can’t Take it,” as Youngblood kisses off a fool with unbridled ferocity in her voice.

Besides Lacocque blowing superb harmonica, the 20 singers and players assembled in small combos are astonishingly tight on one divergent groove after another. Prominent among the Chicago giants present are guitarists Billy Flynn and Giles Corey, pianist Johnny Iguana, and drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith. Among them too is guest vocalist Danielle Nicole. “Third Wheel” and “Shiverin’ Blues” both feature Nicole singing lead, and in each setting, she turns in an utterly commanding performance. “Third Wheel” bounces along with confidence, Flynn and Iguana leading the way with happy aplomb. Nicole reaches heights in the song that cause shivers. But on “Shiverin’ Blues,” she takes a very serious turn, personifying the role of Lacocque’s elderly father battling COVID to his death. Nicole takes possession of the song (or perhaps it took possession of her). She is as sympathetic and vivid as the song is chilling. Lacocque’s harp solo and John Kattke’s organ work add much to the somber, real as can be blues.

To these Heat-experienced ears from that debut album forward, Don’t Look Back is the most accomplished and exciting one yet. Chicago blues may seem simple on the surface. But pulling it off convincingly takes natural know how. Keeping a listener riveted for an hour straight, over, and over, takes excellent entertainers. I quickly placed Mississippi Heat’s Don’t Look Back in my blues of the year file.

Tom Clarke for MAS

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