Blues Brothers – Made In America

The Blues Brothers – Made In America

Originally released in 1980 on Atlantic Records, Made In America is the third album from The Blues Brothers and their second live recording. Captured at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles between 26 July and 1 August 1980, the album documents the original Blues Brothers lineup at the height of the band's popularity, following the release of the hit The Blues Brothers film earlier that year.

The album brings together Jake Blues (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) with an exceptional backing band drawn from some of the finest musicians in blues, soul and R&B. Among them are Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Matt Murphy, Tom Malone, Alan Rubin, Tom Scott and Paul Shaffer, giving the performances the tight, horn-driven sound that had become central to the Blues Brothers' identity.

The opening medley of Soul Finger / Funky Broadway immediately establishes the album's high-energy live character, followed by Who's Making Love, originally associated with Johnnie Taylor's 1968 Stax hit. Do You Love Me / Mother Popcorn combines the Motown classic with James Brown's funk favourite, while Guilty leads into the tongue-in-cheek Perry Mason Theme and Riot In Cell Block Number Nine, creating a memorable courtroom-and-prison sequence within the live set.

Side B features some of the album's most recognisable instrumental material. Green Onions, written by Booker T. & the M.G.'s members including Steve Cropper and Al Jackson Jr., is particularly significant because Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn were performing their own Stax-era material with the Blues Brothers. I Ain't Got You, From The Bottom and Going Back To Miami complete the set with a mixture of blues, soul and R&B, ending the album with the Wayne Cochran composition that had become part of the Blues Brothers' live repertoire.

Made In America captures the original Blues Brothers at a pivotal moment, combining Chicago blues influences, Memphis soul, Stax R&B, Motown, funk and classic American rhythm & blues with the musicianship of an exceptionally strong touring band. It was also the final studio/live album released by the group's original incarnation before the death of John Belushi in 1982.

For collectors of The Blues Brothers, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Atlantic Records, Stax soul, Memphis R&B and classic live albums, Made In America remains an important document of the band's original period and a strong representation of the energetic live sound that made them so distinctive.

Side A

1. Soul Finger / Funky Broadway – 2:05
2. Who's Making Love – 3:34
3. Do You Love Me / Mother Popcorn (You Got To Have A Mother For Me) – 2:54
4. Guilty – 3:42
5. Perry Mason Theme – 2:10
6. Riot In Cell Block Number Nine – 3:25

Side B

1. Green Onions – 5:45
2. I Ain't Got You – 2:45
3. From The Bottom – 3:25
4. Going Back To Miami – 4:01