Heavy Rotation - RL Burnside

I discovered the Blues because of a paper I had to write for an American Music course I took at Emerson College many moons ago. I originally wanted to write about John Lee Hooker but couldn’t find enough material about him so BB King became my subject. Reading wasn’t enough and being the music addict that I am, I started listening. I didn’t become a dedicated Blues purist/snob but I knew what I liked and I learned enough to be able to request “Sweet Home Chicago” from a couple guys doing blues numbers at The Brotherhood of Thieves on Nantucket. Their relief that I wasn’t about to request a Buffet tune was palpable. I digress. My Blues collection never rose beyond some John Lee Hooker, some Muddy, some Howlin, a little Son House and some Robert Johnson(I always considered Bo Diddley more rock and roll) but I enjoyed what I had.

One day I walked into a little record store I used to frequent up on Ventura in The Valley (LA days) and came across an album featured on one of the store’s listening station. The album was Burnside on Burnside and after reading the album’s description as written by an enthusiastic employee of the shop, I slipped on the headphones…and my jaw hit my chest. I like uptempo. Yeah, in my quiet moments I may throw on some Bon Iver or Mark Lanegan but mostly…I like a bit of fury. Burnside on Burnside was Blues that I had never heard before. The insane drumming of RL’s grandson Cedric, Kenny Brown’s slide guitar and all through it RL’s bass-like voice, whipsaw guitar and Well, Well, Well’s. Fury. Fury that made you want to dance around like a maniac. And that was my intro to Mississippi Hill Country/Juke Joint Blues and to Fat Possum records.

I’ve since picked up other great stuff from Fat Possum. T Model Ford, Junior Kimbrough, Paul “Wine” Jones…Charles Caldwell…but RL and Burnside on Burnside remains my favorite. Dig, please.