Even though he’s been around music his whole life, there was a lot of music Robert Randolph didn’t know. But to be fair, when T. Bone Burnett’s in the room, everyone’s at a disadvantage. As an archivist, producer and musician, Burnett is regularly the guy pushing the buttons on impressive, cool projects.
Randolph grew up playing church music. But despite being embraced by and playing with some of the best blues players today, he didn’t know as much about that. So Burnett set about educating, through field recordings and old records. The result is Randolph’s latest album,
Randolph and his band will bring it and his raucous live show to the Petrillo main stage at Taste of Chicago on Sunday. The record’s sound is every bit as cool as how it came together.
For example, one day Burnett put Blind Willie Dixon’s “If I Had My Way I’d Tear This Building Down” on a loop in the studio. “We jammed for 40 minutes,” playing over Johnson’s song, Randolph said. “We tried to write three different kinds of songs.”
Randolph gives his take on a Peter Case gospel number, “I Still Belong To Jesus.” There are nods to Prince (“Walk Don’t Walk”), John Lennon (“I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama”) and Bob Dylan (“Shot of Love”).
That’s the stuff that made the record. Burnett brought tunes by Jimmy Cliff and Wilson Pickett and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
It’s that texture and history that give the album its depth. “We put all that stuff on, and we jammed to it,” Randolph said. “We’d all get a groove going, and then, ‘Wait a second, we’ve got something.’ Every day was just a treat.”
Robert Randolph and the Family Band
When
: Noon Sunday
Where
: Petrillo Music Shell, Jackson and Columbus Drives
Price
: Free; 312-744-3315
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