The Blues Brothers - The Lost Recordings

The Blues Brothers — The Lost Recordings

Limited edition royal blue colored vinyl

13 unreleased live performances from the vaults of John Belushi!

Here's one that might excite you no matter how many miles to Chicago you are: an unreleased set of recordings by The Blues Brothers is set for release later this year as part of a new illustrated story featuring the beloved characters.

The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake, hitting bookshelves October 7, will pick up the story of Jake and Elwood Blues in 1997, when Jake goes missing after a jailbreak. It's up to a detective and a youth from the same Chicago orphanage the brothers were raised in (with a little help from Elwood, of course) to pick up the trail and embark on a new adventure inspired by the 1980 film. The story is penned by Stella Aykroyd (daughter of co-creator Dan), Evan Pisano (whose late mother Judy was co-creator John Belushi's widow) and indie musician James Werner. The book is illustrated by Felipe Sobreiro — whose work has been seen in several books dedicated to "Weird Al" Yankovic — and lettered by Troy Peteri. Dan Aykroyd also contributes a foreword to the book.

Publisher Z2 Comics will offer a handsome deluxe edition of the book with a host of extras including art prints, a slipcase and even a harmonica — but the centerpiece for music collectors is a 12" royal blue vinyl titled The Lost Recordings. Available only in this package, the set features 13 recordings of Belushi, Aykroyd and their band of ace session musicians running through classics like "Flip, Flop & Fly," "Hey Bartender," "Green Onions" and, of course, Sam & Dave's "Soul Man," which gave the group an unlikely Top 40 hit more than four decades ago. Uncovered by Judy Belushi Pisano during the making of a 2020 documentary about the firebrand Saturday Night Live veteran, the album is truly putting the band back together.

It's the perfect tribute to one of Belushi and Aykroyd's most enduring projects together: beginning as a warm-up act for tapings of Saturday Night Live, the actors — in character as brothers "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues — immersed themselves into a real love for Chicago blues and soul. Their enthusiasm eventually gave way to an all-star band featuring SNL house band members Paul Shaffer (keyboards) and Steve Jordan (drums), guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn of Booker T. & The MG's, Matt "Guitar" Murphy of Howlin' Wolf's band, and a wailing horn section including saxophonist Tom Scott of L.A. Express and SNL vets Tom "Bones" Malone (trombone), "Blue" Lou Marini (saxophone) and Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin (trumpet). Jake and Elwood, dressed identically in black suits, trilby hats and Ray-Ban sunglasses, made their proper debut when comedian Steve Martin came to host in 1978 (Aykroyd and Belushi had tested the waters in 1976 with a spinoff of a recurring bit that featured the pair singing Slim Harpo's "I'm a King Bee" in bee costumes).

Their charismatic delivery and commitment to the bit — strutting onstage to the strains of Otis Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose" — led to not only a rapturous reception at NBC's Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, but an opening slot for Martin and a record deal with Atlantic, who issued the live album Briefcase Full of Blues in 1978. To everyone's surprise, it topped the Billboard 200 and inspired the first satellite film from an SNL idea. Universal's The Blues Brothers (1980) was a blockbuster loaded with musical performances by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown and Cab Calloway, plus an unbelievable amount of staged car crashes. Though Belushi died in 1982, Aykroyd has kept the mantle of the Brothers alive, recruiting John's brother Jim for live concerts and starring in a 1998 sequel alongside John Goodman. (He also co-founded the House of Blues chain of clubs/restaurants, often performing there in character.)

 

 

1. Intro/Welcome ("Can't Turn You Loose")

2. Flip, Flop & Fly

3. Hey Bartender

4. Messin' with the Kid

5. (I Got Everything I Need) Almost

6. Rubber Biscuit

7. Shot Gun Blues

8. I Don't Know

9. Groove Me

10. Excusez Moi Mon Cherie

11. Soul Man

12. B Movie Box Car Blues

13. Green Onions

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