Release Date: 25th Febuary 2022

For 56 years, music has been Bernard Allison’s essence. As the youngest son of the much-missed Chicago bandleader Luther Allison, he was a bluesman from birth. One week after graduating high school, Bernard cut his teeth on the road with Koko Taylor’s Blues Machine lineup – and ended up staying for most of the ’80s. By the close of the decade, however, he assumed a twin identity, leading and writing for his father’s band, while forging a solo career that exploded in Europe off the back of early albums like The Next Generation (1990), No Mercy (1994) and Funkifino (1995).

Now, released in February 2022 on Ruf Records, Highs And Lows sees Bernard acknowledge his lineage through two classic songs by his father – Gave It All and Now You Got It – while offering nine originals. Try the irresistible groove of Hustler: a funk gem written by Bernard with Andrew Thomas, whose horn-and-harp groove evokes the strut of the title character. Or the masterful Last Night, which shifts tempo from an upbeat chop to a weeping slow-blues, capturing the changing moods of a man chasing his runaround woman. As for the title track, Bernard says it speaks for anyone left bemused by life’s rollercoaster: “It’s a part of life, the ups and downs that everyone deals with.”

Right now, with a new album of stellar material to take out on his New Year tour, Bernard Allison is back in the ascendency – and the man can’t wait to return to his natural habitat. “The song So Excited is basically about the excitement of being able to be back on the road again,” he says. “I think everyone can relate to that.”

TRACK LIST

001 So Exited 00:03:24

002 Highs & Lows 00:03:32

003 Strain On My Heart 00:04:03

004 My Way Or The Highway 00:03:59

005 Side Step 00:04:21

006 Hustler 00:04:01

007 Now You Got It 00:03:49

008 I Gave It All 00:04:57

009 My Kinda Girl 00:04:00

010 Satisfy Her Needs 00:04:24

011 Last Night 00:04:41

Musicians

Bernard Allison

Vocals, Lead Guitar/Rhythm Guitar, Organ Guitar on track 4, 6, 10

George Moye

Bass Guitar

Dylan Salfer

Rhythm Guitar

Steve Potts

Drums

Jose Ned James

Saxophone on track 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, Tambourine on track 11

Toby Lee Marshall

Hammond B3 on track 3, 8, 9, 11, Wurlitzer Piano on track 3

Colin James

Vocals, Rhythm, Lead Guitar on track 4

Bobby Rush

Vocals, Harmonica on track 6