Howard Kaiser Mansfield

Item: Into the Night
Author: Rob Szarka

Into the Night

(1995)

Reviewed by Rob Szarka

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Label Grrr RecordsThe LighthouseJuly 1995

blues blues rock gospel blues

Christian blues music stalwarts Darrell Mansfield, Larry Howard, and Glenn Kaiser are back with yet another sweat-drenched blues project. Recorded on a hot July night at Cornerstone by Roger Heiss and the rest of the ever-professional Grrr Records gang, Into The Night captures what must have been an exciting live jam.

They are backed by a group of fine musicians, including the same tight rhythm section that appears on Kaiser's Spontaneous Combustion. Stu Heiss, Resurrection Band's trusty guitarist, also makes the scene. With a group like this on stage, it's amazing that no one ever gets in the way: there's no hot-dogging or overplaying here, just subtle licks and tasty solos. "Where Would I Be?," for example, gets a kick from Mansfield's harp that puts this performance a notch above the studio version. Not only is Mansfield's playing a lot of fun, it seems to inspire Kaiser to new heights.

There's nothing, musically speaking, that sets Into The Night apart from the dozens of other fine blues albums released each year. The recording and production are better than average and the performances are thoroughly professional, but this has been done before. At their worst, the lyrics are even clichéd, but nothing I've heard recently matches the sincerity of worshipful songs like "It's Only You" and "If I Leave This World Tomorrow." As Howard sings:

There's no cheering of the crowd There's no bright lights allowed Just this heart inside of me And in the darkness you're all I see

Just about anyone will enjoy this album. I liked it even more than the earlier The Blues Night and at least as much as the studio albums from Kaiser and Mansfield, so those who are already fans aren't likely to be disappointed. If you've never heard these musicians, this is a great place to start.