Track Listing

1. Shake 'Em On Down
2. Skinny Woman
3. Miss Maybelle
4. Rollin' & Tumblin'
5. Long Haired Doney
6. Walkin' Blues
7. He Ain't Your Daddy
8. Bad Luck And Trouble
9. Jumper On The Line
10. Goin' Down South
11. Alice Mae
12. Snake Drive

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5232 in Music
• Released on: 2001-10-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Mississippi hill country patriarch R.L. Burnside's two previous albums dabbled in remixes and trip-hop experimentation geared to the college-rock market. This is a restorative: pure slide 'n' drone blues caught live in January 2001 at Portland, Oregon's Crystal Ballroom. The 73-year-old is joined by his usual jukehouse band, his drummer and grandson Cedric Burnside and guitarist Kenny Brown, who blow sparks behind Burnside's rich honey-and-molasses voice and chunky six-string affirmations. Every time Burnside hits a note, it's a reminder of both how vital an interpreter of the hypnotic style developed by Fred McDowell he remains and how true electric country blues still sounds in its unvarnished state.

There's an emotional resonance that runs through this music like blood, especially when Burnside plays solo. His all-alone performances of "Walking Blues" and "Bad Luck and Trouble" reveal every nuance of his caw-to-keen singing and the sweet way his slide slices right to the emotional core of a lyric. Burnside's off-color jokes and song-ending punctuations (mostly buoyant "Well, well, wells") also give an inkling of the wild-ass grandpa charisma that makes him so appealing on stage. Burnside has, however, delivered better concerts. At times these tempos seem rushed, which sacrifices some of the subtleties of his vocalizing. But Brown unleashes a rabid slide solo on "Snakedrive" that shoots the tune skyward, and he and Cedric display relentless energy and thrust. All of which proves that, with John Lee Hooker now reclining upstairs, R.L. Burnside is the ruler of this music. --Ted Drozdowski

Customer Reviews

Accept No Substitutes
Enjoyable as they all were, none of R.L. Burnside's previous Fat Possum releases were truly representative of the man's music. Thus, the raucous amalgam of Mississippi hill country drone blues(think Fred McDowell and Junior Kimbrough)and chicken scratch funk(think Syl Johnson and Johnny "Guitar" Watson)heard on "Burnside on Burnside" will probabally surprise fans who have yet to experience a real live R.L. Burnside performance. Burnside's two most recent(and biggest selling)releases were attempts to broaden his appeal by making all too overt the hip-hop and 70's R&B influences R.L had already assimilated on his own. The ham fisted production of "Come On In" and "Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down" obscured Burnside's art by reducing him to a sample source on the former and saddling him with a crew of alterna rock and mainstram blues session pros unfamiliar with the subtleties of Burnside Style on the latter. "Burnside on Burnside" counters those artistic misfires by presenting a live Burnside show in all its ragged glory. Backed by the slithering slide riffs of guitarist Kenny Brown and the slippery Dr. Dre meets Sam Carr beats of drummer Cedric Burnside(R.L.'s grandson), R.L. tears through his catalog with a piss and vinegar ferocity that will stun those who have yet to hear his real sound. While he'll probabally never get the respect or unit sales he deserves(already, his weak imitators get more press and sell more records than he does), Burnside's raw, yet wildly eclectic blues make him one of the most interesting and exiting musical talents alive. "Burnside on Burnside" stands as the definitive R.L. Burnside record and is a disc no self respectng fan of good music should be without.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK SHOT DEAD. BURNSIDE AT LARGE.
This album wages war on pop radio. It's dirty, raucous, and offensive to the delicate ears the unworthy. Never has music so accurately represented a ride in the bed of a '78 Ford pickup down a washed out gravel road.

This album is a wonderful example of Burnside's true sound. It is free of the overproduction common in some of his latest releases. R.L. on guitar and vocals. Kenny Brown on slide guitar. Cedrick on drums. As it should be.

Burnside is the unmoving buddah of zen boogie whoopass. He leads his audience in a hard dirge death dance. His melodies are seductive like a woman whose beauty is difficult to understand. His rythms induce cardiac arrest and then beat you back to life. His voice is sour and sweet like whiskey and tomato juice.

Burnside accompanys his singing with good storytelling on this album. My only wish is that this CD had been made a double CD and more of his speaking been left on the recording. But that's just me---I'd buy a recording of Burnside playing scrabble if it were for sale.

The Real Deal!
What a great way to close out a rather dismal year of blues releases and who better to strike the high note than RL Bunside. This CD was recorded live in January 2001 on the West Coast and was not released until late October.

The CD itself does not contain any new material except for the joke told on "He Ain't Your Daddy" however, the performance and sound quality are simply outstanding. Like other reviewer's, I placed this CD in my changer and turned up the volume. It wasn't long after that I selected the single disc play feature and pushed the repeat button. The only thing disappointing about the CD is that it ends far too soon for me even though it is 52+ minutes long. If you have not experienced RL Burnside, I can think of no better place to start.