Andre Williams “Life”

(Alive) Of Andre Williams’ dozen comeback albums he’s made over the last two decades this is genuinely one of the best The swampy, slink ghost blues rock thst Matthew Smith and Jim Diamond eke out (celebrating the Detroit side of Andre, without erasing the Chicago side) perfectly matches his now hoarse, mellow, haunting voice. Highlights include a heavy, gaspy take on the closest thing he ever had to a hit (for someone else) “Shake A Tail Feather,” a tasty toast about a naughty fly, and some Tom Paine-esque sature on an anti-anti Obama song. But the highest highlight may be the snippets of candid audio from the sessions in which Andre takes no shit and makes it clear that he’s running the show, not some puppet masters. It reminded me of the surprisingly in control Michael Jackson directing the dancers and musicians in This Is It. But with a happier ending.