Customer Reviews

A Ass Pocket of Whiskey

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

This album has an edge and character that most artists today cannot even understand. This album shows how much fun one can despite age. It's not about how fast you rock someone, but how bad one can be in the modern day. A clear example of this comes from the song "The Criminal Inside Me." It's the same groove running through the whole song that makes song so damn addictive to listen to. R.L. just tells his story about being a complete Badass ("I've got an ass pocket of whiskey, and a front pocket of gin, if you don't open the door I'll kick the motherfucker in"). Where do you find this anymore? Certainly not with today's alleged punk rockers. R.L. Burnside is the real punk rocker, from Mississippi, and not from London, Orange County, or San Francisco.

Other recommended tracks: "Snake Drive" and "Goin' Down South."

I purchased this CD in the UK at a cost of £12.00 Sterling. However, there are a couple of extra tracks when compared to the US release.....

I think the extra tracks are well worth the extra pennies!

Excellent CD as one expects from RL.

The cover art should clue you in that this is not whitewashed pristine clean blues. RL Burnside is a down low and dirty bluesman. If you love your blues smoky and raw, this is the perfect album.

Vinyl is one of the great ways to listen to the blues. Fat Possum's pressing of my copy had a few dimples that caused some popping. In this day of pristine perfect 180gram pressings, it seems wrong that Fat Possum couldn't control their pressings just a little bit better. The defects in the pressing are the reason I gave this album four stars instead of five.

Musically, this is the kind of blues I love. It takes me back to the time sitting in tiny, smoky, noisy bars listening to a band do just what they do best, play. The energy of these performances is captured well on this album. Lines like 'that better be blood running down your leg and not gin,' and 'ass pocket of whiskey and front pocket of gin' is the tone of this album.

The recordings are spotty. Some are mixed well with volumes well controlled. There are parts of two songs that have been overdriven to the point of distortion like a worn out LP. The hollering that crops up off and on is just this kind of blues, more like a live performance than some pristine studio recording. I happen to like the grittiness of the album.

This album is not for tender or sensitive ears. There is a lot of strong language (comment added only for parental guidance, the language is all very appropriate to the songs). But then, what would you expect from an album with this kind of cover art? Yes this is an album for mature audiences.

This was a great surprise for me. I love the blues and have just started combing the used vinyl sections of record stores. RL Burnside has an honored place in the history of blues, and am proud to have this album in my collection.

basically a jam session with jon spencer whose guitar work really compliments and adds extra dimension to cd

burnside teams with spencer and the blues explosion for a delightfully unrehearsed jam. if you are a fan of either you'll appreciate the musical journey.

R.L. Burnside is a man steeped in history and soul from the south, Blues Explosion is a kick-a*s blues-rock fusion band, and when they get together, you know there's gonna be trouble. This album is a departure from Burnside's usual solo acoustic performances, but it's just as good. Each song starts off with the building of a rythm by Burnside and the Explosion, then they'll put some riffs and licks over some of the best grooves you'll ever hear. This is a new avenue of high energy rooted in Delta history. A masterful achievement by some masterful artists.

This was the tme when I first heared R.L. Being a musician myselve, and playing in a simular style, only made it more interesting for me to visit R.L. when I was in Mississippi last summer. We had fun. R.L. and myselve played at Junior Kimborough's juke joint on a hot sunday night. At the moment R.L. is my greatest musical example, playin'in the old style. That's why I don't like his latest cd "Come on in". Unlike the one he did with Jon, it doesn't pay any respect to the 'cottonpatch' blues. I hope that his next cd is more traditional, or in the direction of "An asspocket full of wshiskey".