Made in America

 (13 customer reviews)

Although sales of the Blues Brothers albums peaked with the motion picture soundtrack, there is no reason to dismiss this album. The core of the hard-workin' all-star Blues Brothers Soul, Rhythm & Blues and Blues Revue are alive and kicking on this album.
The only slow spot on this disc is Belishi's rendition of Guilty, but it is done with such passion that it is forgiveable. The highlights of the album are Belushi's version of Do You Love Me by the Contours that rivals the original (with a little James Brown thrown in for good measure), and Paul Schaeffer's masterwork of Booker T's Green Onions, and it feels like Duck Dunn and Steve Cropper never missed a beat in all those years.
The album is over all too quickly, and it is with this reluctance that it doesn't deserve a full 5 stars.

There is no doubt, the Blues Brothers was a great live performance. With an all-star band backing them, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi could take off on a romp through classic songs recorded by legendary artists that were dusted off from the back pages of pop culture.

Recorded at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California, and released in December 1980, the 10 cuts - which clock in slightly over 30 minutes - is a high-energy tribute to the music which is the backbone of rock-n-roll.

The commercial success was fleeting, as Made in America peaked at number 49 on the Billboard album chart, while the only single, Who's Makin' Love, stalled in the 39th slot in Billboard's Top 40. But it remains an excellent representation of Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues educating the audience, as much as having fun.

If you like good music and if you like The Blues Brothers then this a must-have. It has some awesome songs like "Who's Making Love" and "Do You Love Me." This is from a concert so the crowd's cheering for them the whole time.