Max Hightower‘s The Blues Chooses You has arrived. It is released on MoMojo Records, recorded live-to-analog-tape at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville and produced by Hightower himself. The only thing else you need to know is that it is a smashing success.
On the album, the harmonica player and vocalist is joined by guitarist Joe Moss, pianist Rob Davis, bassist StedmanFleetwood Williams Sr., and drummer Brandon Phelps. The twelve-track recording is largely original material written by Hightower and collaborators, alongside two covers — Guitar Slim’s “Things I Used to Do” and Johnny Shines’ “I Don’t Know.” What’s wonderful about Hightower is that you get rock-solid blues songcraft and a vocal that stands as its own distinct instrument, without sacrificing either for the other — he does double duty… and does it very, very well.
The album opens with “Dedicated Fool,” a concise burst of blues energy, nothing out of control, that unfolds into an inviting jam. Next, “Train Smoke” pulls back into a classic blues harmonica vibe, all atmosphere, and wonderfully kinetic — the kind of song built for a big live crowd. The title track, “The Blues Chooses You,” gets right to the point and lands as the album’s thesis: a reminder that when the blues are good, they’re personal. “Relationship Man” rides a nice syncopation that gives Rob Davis’s piano-playing room to shine. “I Don’t Know” is raw, driving hard and then easing off the gas, with piano interludes that set up each new surge. “Things I Used to Do” feels like one of those performances the musicians love as much as the audience — and you can hear it. “Do What You’re Gonna Do” shows Hightower’s gift for universal, relatable songwriting; if the blues can be this agreeable, it’s reached a truth somewhere deep inside. “The Hardest Thing” exhibits Hightower’s vocal authority, in conversation with the guitar. “Stone Cool” opens on a bass line that dims the lights and narrows the focus — the kind of blues song you might aspire to be, if you had to be one. I speak for myself, but you’ll understand once you hear the track. “Moonshine and Magnolias” is all ensemble chemistry, musicians riding one constant wave, pushing and pulling at different moments. “Sherlock Holmes” leans into musical storytelling as its payoff. And the record closes with an extended version of “The Blues Chooses You,” about a minute and forty-five seconds longer, going even deeper into rich, honest musicianship.
Taken as a whole, The Blues Chooses You is a satisfying album about ownership — the blues choosing the musician, not the other way around — and Hightower’s band proves equal to that calling at every turn, blending grit and warmth, structure and looseness, into something that feels both lived-in and alive.
