| Portrait of the Blues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1993 | |||
| Genre | Blues, R&B | |||
| Label | Manhattan [1] | |||
| Producer | Michael Cuscuna, Billy Vera | |||
| Lou Rawls chronology | ||||
| ||||
Portrait of the Blues is an album by the American singer Lou Rawls, released in 1993. [2] [3]
The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums chart. [4]
The album was produced by Michael Cuscuna and Billy Vera. [5] Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, and Lionel Hampton were among the many musicians who contributed to the album. [6] Rawls sings two Willie Dixon numbers: "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "My Babe". [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [9] |
| MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide | [10] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer |  [11] |
Stereo Review deemed the album "a treat," writing that it "benefits from the mellow horn arrangements of Hank Crawford and Benny Golson." [6] The New Pittsburgh Courier thought that "the disc's lightest moment is provided by a charming duet with Phoebe Snow on 'A Lover's Question'." [12] The Houston Chronicle wrote that Rawls "has seldom sounded better, and his urbane phrasing is cut with just the right amount of downhome grit." [13]
The Philadelphia Inquirer declared that "it sounds amazingly retro, a kind of rhythm-and-blues time capsule that's closer to his classic early recordings than anything else in a long time." [11] The Times opined that Rawls's voice "has lost none of its velvet sheen." [14] The Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph called Portrait of the Blues "a contemporary blues masterpiece." [15]
AllMusic wrote that Rawls's "delivery and articulation give the songs an uptown flair." [8]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Just Want to Make Love to You" | |
| 2. | "A Lover's Question" | |
| 3. | "Person to Person" | |
| 4. | "Since I Met You Baby" | |
| 5. | "I'm Still in Love with You" | |
| 6. | "Snap Your Fingers" | |
| 7. | "Baby What You Want Me to Do" | |
| 8. | "Suffering with the Blues" | |
| 9. | "Hide Nor Hair" | |
| 10. | "Chains of Love" | |
| 11. | "My Babe" | |
| 12. | "I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues" | |
| 13. | "Save Your Love for Me" | |
| 14. | "Saturday Night Fish Fry" | |
| 15. | "Sweet Slumber" |
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