RANDY CASEY
I GOT LUCKY
BEDBUG BLUES–I GOT LUCKY–SIX FEET OF RAIN–SOO LINE–LITTLE WEED–STRANGE–ONE STEP AHEAD–THAT TRAIN–THE CHAPERONE–THE NEW OLD LANDLORD BLUES–BROKEN ARM BLUES–RACING STRIPES
Randy Casey’s eighth overall album was inspired by the guitar he plays that could’ve easily ended up in the hands of Cheap Trick’s Rick Neilsen. Yep–“I Got Lucky” finds Randy using that 1969 Gibson Custom Les Paul to compose the twelve originals on this bluesy, rocked-out set, that was intended for Rick.
Everything kicks off with Randy’s slide leading the charge, with a song that could easily have been an old Delta bluesman’s tune, riffin’ on those “Bedbug Blues,” where the “bedbugs are as big as a jackass!” The title cut rides the Hooker boogie groove, as our hero says “I Got Lucky when you found me,” with harp from Pinetree Paynich. “Soo Line” is an old-time “train song,” with rollin’ slide guitar, as Randy’s lover has taken off, yet again. And, you know she’s gone for good when “all she left me was alone,” sadly detailed in the wah-wah fest that is “The Chaperone!”
We had two favorites, too. Ol’ Randy may be a little down on his luck, but, hey, at least he’s got some killer tone on this cut, and he’s “got my love, and just a Little Weed.” He closes the set with a tune that is part Robert Johnson and all the way down-home, country blues. It’s all about a dog named Springsteen, “cause she was born to run,” and has three “Racing Stripes” on her to prove it! The guitar on this one is incredible–a potent mix of acoustic and electric that puts Randy’s chops on full display!
Cheap Trick’s loss is the blues community’s gain, as Randy Casey coaxes a tremendously-fat tone outta that old Gibson once meant for Rick Neilsen. His originals are full of the fire and passion of the Delta masters, done up nicely for today’s contemporary listeners. Hey–when I put this one in my player, sho’ nuff “I Got Lucky!” Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow.
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