This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Canadian bluesman Chris Whiteley has been nominated for five Junos, played on umpteen albums and even appeared on Saturday Night Live backing Leon Redbone — yet he still flies way below the pop culture radar.
His new disc Blues Party could finally be the one to raise his profile. True to its title, the live-in-the-studio disc has the loose, laid-back feel of an after-hours jam, as the multi-instrumentalist leads a big band from Bourbon Street to Maxwell Street and back again, laying down jazzy jump, dirty blues and 12-bar originals that could pass for standards. Hip enough for the retro swingers, authentic enough for the true-blue purists — and commercial enough to turn Whiteley from a Juno nominee to a winner.
