Given that commercially available live footage of vintage Albert Collins isn’t exactly thick on the ground, connoisseurs of his crystalline sound and idiosyncratic style will be heartened by the arrival of this 1985 German TV recording.
Shot in the Baden-Baden TV studios of long running music programme Ohne Filter, the selfstyled ‘master of the Telecaster’ wows the locals with his infectious mix of uptempo funky shuffles and slow burning blues excursions. It’s on the trademark If Trouble Was Money, The Highway Is Like A Woman and Magic Slim’s The Things I Used To Do that Collins really shines. Then, mid-set and as if from nowhere, Southside Johnny steps up, harp in hand, to make an appearance on Brick. For once Collins is content to play second fiddle. There’s no chance of that on his perennial show closer, though: Collins goes on walkabout among a bemused crowd, even pausing to sit himself down on a vacant seat while still riffing away.
On the down side, the footage is blighted by too many shots of the ill-at-ease audience, seated at tables in jazz club style. This is a minor quibble when, after all, there are 60 precious minutes of Albert Collins in blistering form.
