Chris Whitley

There was an album released in 1991 that was like nothing I'd ever heard.  Chris Whitley's "Living with the Law" album blew my teenage mind.  The imagery that flooded my brain was partly religious and partly sexual as he sang about dark rooms, poison girls, carrion crows, piss ant desert towns, addiction and Jesus.  The sound that Whitley made come out of that national resonator guitar simply mesmerized me.  And his voice....I just knew this was a dude that had lived what he was singing about.  Whitley was a Houston native and lived for a while in New York City and a while in Belgium.  For the sake of my own self I know he always considered Texas home.  Chris Whitley died November 11, 2005 at the age of 45 in Houston Texas from lung cancer.  His impact and influence on my musical interests I can assure you will last forever.  I still listen to that album and it still fills me with images of dark rooms, poison girls, carrion crows, piss ant desert towns, addiction and Jesus.  Matter of fact I think I'm going to give it a listen tonight.  Thanks Chris Whitley!

Chris Whitley Living with the Law