Good Morning Judge

Furry Lewis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 3, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fat Possum Records
• ASIN: B0000A1HBF
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,522 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raw & steely acoustic blues, March 31, 2004

By 

IrishGit (West Cork) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Morning Judge (Audio CD)

Furry was born in Mississippi in 1900 but moved to Memphis early on. These tracks were (very well) recorded in 1962 & 1967 by George Mitchell. They feature Furry on voice & acoustic slide guitar. Despite being alone he manages to make one hell of a sound. The most apparent feature of this sound is the unity of the voice & guitar - the guitar doesn't accompany the voice but rumble under & weave around it - creating gorgeous orchestral textures - a lot of open strings & undamped slide work. The voice is majestic - strong & heavy with experience - from a time before words like beauty & refined existed. You experience a simple slice of Furry's life - nothing special or contrived - but immensely rich & honest & uncompromising. It's the sort of music you feel you could listen to forever.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Furry?, January 14, 2008

By 

squid (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Morning Judge (Audio CD)

There's a CD out there that claims that Furry was in his prime in the 1920s. After listening to these recordings from the 60s, I have to disagree. Age did nothing but add strength and poignancy to Furry's voice, and his guitar work is as hypnotic as ever. On top of that, the sound quality is superb. I prefer these songs to his "Shake Em on Down" recordings because they have an intimate, right next to you sound, whereas the Shake Em tracks have this echo on them, like they were recorded in a bathroom or something. Another reviewer commented that this added an otherworldly feeling to the production, but I think it does nothing but detract from the performances. The blues aren't supposed to be otherworldly, they're supposed to be very earthy and immediate. Check out this CD first instead.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Morning Judge, July 7, 2008

By 

D. B Pepper "neonx83" (Plainview, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Good Morning Judge (Audio CD)

"Good Morning Judge" is not only one of the best tracks Furry Lewis ever recorded, but one of the best recordings of the Country Blues revival. "Farewell, I'm Growing Old" is a touching, beautiful work, and Furry only fails on "Old Hobo", his version of Jimmie Rodgers' "Waiting For A Train", simply because, at Furry's age, he was not able to yodel very well. This is an extremely enjoyable cd, especially considering how it was produced by the Fat Possum Record company, which rarely produces anything even remotely related to Blues. Fans of this disc should also check out the Fred McDowell and Joe Callicott releases from the George Mitchell collection. Furry's take on Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" is also noteworthy.