Even more impressive than his previous Alligator set, thanks to top-flight material like "Don't Cloud Up on Me," "Let the Chips Fall Where They May," and "Locked Out of Love," the fine house band at Greenlee's King Snake studios, and Peterson's own rapidly developing attack on two instruments.

Lucky Peterson’s ‘I’m Back Again’ is an 11 track live CD, culled from the mammoth 3 3DVD/2 CD "Live at the 55 Arts Club in Berlin" box set. For those who can’t face such a huge undertaking, this album provides an exciting alternative, as it focuses on Lucky’s multi instrumental virtuosity and his ability to work a crowd. It’s a sparkling album marred only by some heavy handed cuts that include an outrageous mid-number perfunctory end to the album. But if you can overlook such frustrating butchery, "I’m Back Again" has enough exhilarating moments to make it worth buying. Lucky is in imperious form throughout, exploding on keyboards, ripping it up on guitar and soulfully expressing his blues with weathered vocals.

Lucky Peterson got his grounding in the blues from his father's friends, and since his father was blues guitarist and singer James Peterson, who also owned the Governor's Inn, a premier blues nightclub in Buffalo, New York, those friends included folks like Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, and Bill Doggett. Peterson had a career as a child prodigy on the Hammond B-3, even scoring an R&B hit with the Willie Dixon-produced "1-2-3-4," the novelty of it all landing him appearances on The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and others, and his debut album appeared in 1969. But it was the blues that claimed Peterson as an adult, by which time he was not only an accomplished piano and organ player, but also a quite competent vocalist and an impressive guitarist with a soaring and emotionally searing style on the instrument. This set finds him placed in a retro Chicago blues setting, with horns added in where appropriate, and Peterson is quite at home here, bringing an exuberant sincerity to the opener, "Proud to Love My Baby," and delivering the title tune, "Traveling Man," with passion and urgency, while bringing a funky groove to "Get on Down," which spotlights his piano playing.

As the title and cover art suggests, Triple Fret is a player's album. Although Bernard Allison gets star billing (and does all the vocals), this is a trio record, with fellow electric blues guitarists Larry McCray and Carl Weathersby contributing as much guitar firepower as Allison. Even better, second-generation Hammond organ legend Lucky Peterson guests, adding some welcome musical variety to the otherwise fret-heavy selection and getting his own showcase, the smoking seven-minute instrumental workout "Where's Lucky?" That leaves the songwriting as the only weak spot, but unfortunately, it's pretty seriously weak. Most of the songs on Triple Fret are hackneyed Chicago blues riffs with self-referential lyrics about how hard it is to be a bluesman. Tune out the lyrics and the undistinguished chord changes and the sheer enjoyment of the trio's playing comes through. For some, however, that might not be quite enough.

A prodigy in blues and R&B, Lucky Peterson matured from being a boy wonder to a respected veteran musician over the course of a half-century. Making his professional debut at an age when most kids are in kindergarten, Peterson matured into a skillful instrumentalist with a sharp, incisive attack on guitar and a funky keyboard sound that splits the difference between soul and gospel, as well as a rich, flexible voice that's passionate but doesn't overplay its hand. While his earliest recordings are more than capable novelties, 1989's Lucky Strikes was the work of a grownup making the most of his talent, and 1990's Triple Play doubled down on the confidence of the earlier set…

This disc is an integral part of a series Telarc is doing – taking albums that were big sellers by prominent artists and having an innovative group of solid blues players do their interpretations of a variety of the songs from the original album. They have done this with the Beatles' White Album (calling it The Blues White Album) and Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde with good success, which will probably continue with this new interpretation of the Stones' 1972 vintage album. Telarc put together a dynamite "house" band, including Brian Stoltz (ex-Neville Brothers) on guitar and former Double Trouble rhythm section members Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, and then pulled in many more celebrated artists to handle the leads. the Stones, who started out as a blues and R&B band, always maintained those roots; thus, many of the songs keep their original shape. This is a solid retooling of this classic Stones LP. Telarc has taken the original double disc and picked the songs the artists felt remained truest to their respective traditions and packaged it as a ten-song disc, complete with a cover notes that make it look the same.

Lucky Peterson is a smooth operator, cool and always in control with a guitar tone reminiscent of the more restrained sides of Roy Buchanan or Carlos Santana. He's capable of lashing out, though, as the livewire showstopper "Don't Cloud Up On Me" ably proves. But this versatile musician is most distinctive with his Hammond organ and Wurlitzer electric piano sound, instruments that he's been playing professionally since the age of five. Check out the heady swirl of instrumental workout "Junk Yard" on this front although comparisons to Billy Preston will be inevitable.

Call this Peterson's 'back to my roots' blues album, but it finds him in more retro territory than his previous outings. There's a distinctive Albert King-Freddie King-Albert Collins almost-'70s feel to all the music here and the support of roots players like Johnny B. Gayden, Dennis Chambers and Butch Bonner makes this much more of a ensemble effort. Highlights include the storming "You're the One for Me," a great King-like solo on "Tin Pan Alley," an instrumental tribute to Albert Collins on "Pickin'" and oddball covers of the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing" and Prince's "Purple Rain." Peterson is stylistically all over the road on this disc but his versatility on both guitar and keyboards ultimately pays off in the end.

50 - Just Warming Up! Is the new album from American blues legend and multi-instrumentalist Lucky Peterson - one of the most riveting performers of the modern blues era. A searing lead guitarist, a rich and powerful organist, and a first-rate vocalist, Lucky's musicianship effortlessly translates gospel, rock, and jazz into a 21st century blues. Many reminisce about the bygone days of the blues, but it's flame still burns hot here in the hands of Lucky Peterson!