Once first heard, it’s never forgotten. Chris Whitley’s astonishing 1991 debut album ‘Living With The Law‘ was like nothing we’d heard for a long, long time. At a time of pretty bland music coming form the major labels, Columbia’s brave decision to release this raw, edgy yet beautifully produced album was so welcome. Whitley had gone through some major life challenges to get to this position. His upbringing was not a happy one, to seek solace from this, he became a self-taught musician, and he was fascinated by the blues in all its forms – the only positive that came from parents, who regularly played blues records in the home.
Aged 17, Whitley flew to New York and busked and earned a meagre living. Bizarrely he met a visiting travel agent who gave him a free plane ticket to Brussels and he worked with a local promoter. It was 1981 and he spent the next decade in Belgium. At the end of the eighties and now with a family of his own, Whitley moved back to New York. Soon he got non-music work, gigged in small clubs and began writing songs. With his marriage going south, he was not in a good place. “Desperation can be a good impetus” he once remarked.
A tape of his music eventually wound up in the hands of Daniel Lanois, himself riding the highs of his work on U2’s ‘”Joshua Tree”. This ended with Whitley going to New Orleans to record his debut in Lanois’ studio in the French Quarter with in-house engineer Malcolm Burn. This led to a deal with Columbia and the release of the record.
The recording process was quite specific. The songs were recorded late into the day or evening, the room lit by candlelight, very intimate. Burn explains “we were all set up this close to each other with the tape machine sort of over there, and there was something about Chris that was really focused, that was the thing that I noticed. So the combination of my hunger to do something really great and his focus as an artist was a very powerful combination”.
The album is a combination of acoustic and really atmospheric songs and harder, rockier tracks – but all soaked up with this blues/country vibe that is so effective. Tracks like ‘Living With The Law’, ‘Poison Girl’ and ‘Phone Call From Leavenworth‘ are powerful and evocative. Possibly, though, ‘Big Sky Country’ is the most effective and accomplished track. Whitley had changed the live line up of his band at the time of this recording, taking away keyboards and leaving at this tight four piece. Whitley’s impassioned and explosive live persona comes through here and it’s testament to him that this still sounds as refreshing now as it did then.
Whitley’s story after the release of this debut is a sad and depressing one. He waited four years for a follow-up, “Din Of Ecstasy”, but this raw and rock-dominated album didn’t fare well with fans. Problems with alcohol, self-doubt and poverty took their toll, although he found a great source of inspiration from his partner, Susann Buerger and they had a daughter, Trixie, who went on to work in the music business. Buerger saw the desperate state that Whitley had eventually got into in the later years of his life. “”He had such a hard time making compromises and he paid the ultimate price for it. In German we have a saying that you can be tired of life. And at the end he was like that, tired of living.
There’s a heartbreaking but astonishing documentary filmed about Whitley near the end of his life, “Dust Radio”, which is highly recommended as one of the most candid and brutal displays of a musician’s demons ever put on film.
Whitley passed away in an emaciated state at the age of 45 from lung cancer on November 20th 2005. One can’t help but get upset about this when listening to this amazing debut record. It shows an incredibly accomplished musician on top form and what a shame his demons couldn’t allow him to progress with a more successful career. He made a series of albums after “Din Of Ecstasy”!, all well worth tracking down – but “Living With The Law” remains his masterpiece and this live recording magnificently shows his talents. You’ll never be forgotten, Chris.
