A Ass Pocket of Whiskey

R. L. Burnside | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 25, 1996)
• Original Release Date: June 18, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Matador Records
• ASIN: B0000036WR
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,577 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #48 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Delta Blues

Track Listings

1. Goin' Down South

2. Boogie Chillen

3. Poor Boy

4. 2 Brothers

5. Snake Drive

6. Shake 'Em On Down

7. The Criminal Inside Me

8. Walkin' Blues

9. Tojo Told Hitler

10. Have You Ever Been Lonely?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's to R. L. Burnside!, February 14, 2000

By 

a west coast good ol' boy (Victoria, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Ass Pocket of Whiskey (Audio CD)

I have only recently started to listen to r.l., but he is quickly becoming one of my favourite bluesmen. Although I don't particularly like the JSBE by themselves, somehow this album really works, with the raw energy they add to burnside's traditional blues style. This album grows on me more and more every time I listen to it. Friends of mine who don't like blues very much seem to love this album. Keep up the good work.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a half-empty pocket, January 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Ass Pocket of Whiskey (Audio CD)

I must unfortunately add to the low buzz of listeners who believe that JS detracts from this record. On their own, the JSBE is a mildly charming amalgamation worthy of a listen. And their riffing behind RL isn't without some merit - the guitar tones are what they should be. But John's shouting and hollaring get in your way like a drunk in the next row at the Super Bowl. Anything RL does qualifies as an essential purchase but when you add the fact that RL isn't making any money off this record (it never trickles down from Matador), this qualifies as the least essential of all.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love it or leave it..., November 4, 2005

By 

Real Name - Real Name "Real_Name" (Island of the Unreal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Ass Pocket of Whiskey (Audio CD)

Another reviewer here claims that RL didn't make any money from this release. Not true. This was his all time best commercial success, and paid him enough to put a new roof on his house, a roof under which lived his wife, 12 children, and several grandchildren, and a roof that had been a long-time-a-leakin.

Unfortunately, he's no longer with us. The truth about the music on this CD is mixed. There is some good, raw rockin' here. There is also some annoying noise, and the record approaches parody. But sometimes the best way to parody life is to simply hold up a mirror.

What both blues and rock really were at their heart from the very start is a lot of sweat, noise, booze, sex, profanity, and all around hell-raising. It was always the commercial record companies that cleaned it up for public consumption, gave it a haircut & shave, made it into boy scout music, made some of the nastiest, rowdiest musicians in history look like the Beach Boys. The insanity captured on this record may actually be more akin to what really happened in house parties when Robert Johnson was banging away and screaming in the middle of the night about satan & booze & sex! No commercial record ever captured that reality, not even close, and you'll never see nor here it in any 'House of Blues'. But it is a reality, and one that most modern white suburban blues hounds don't know a whole lot about, and probably never will.

Just buy the damn thing (or steal it) and shut up!