POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Milton Goes Straight to Heart and Allison Provides Gritty Vocals at House of Blues

The Little Milton-Luther Allison bill at the House of Blues on Friday offered a prime example of two different blues schools. Little Milton’s contemporaries are B.B. King and Bobby (Blue) Bland, and his sound features guitar flavored by horns, while Allison came on the scene after the lead guitar became the blues’ instrumental focal point.

Little Milton’s performance was patterned on the old R&B; show model where virtually every note, move and line of patter is rehearsed to the nth degree. Milton’s guitar playing used dynamics impressively, and lines like “It takes a real good woman to change a broken man” went straight to the heart of the blues, but the set felt like just another night on the road.

Allison recorded for Motown in the mid-’70s before moving to Paris, and the guitarist’s first local appearance in nearly 20 years was a high-voltage affair that would have appealed to Buddy Guy fans.

The difference was that Allison actually played music , serving up gritty vocals remarkably similar to those of Delta blues pioneer Son House, and skillful guitar playing marked by some instrumental techniques that were all his own. The same applied to the naturally extroverted performer’s stage moves. Occasional moments of blues-rock excess didn’t prevent Allison from winning over the guitar fans and then the dancers with his 90-minute set.