Customer Reviews

Heartbroken Man

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

 

 

I read a book and he was mentioned in it,so i amazoned him and lo and behold there he is at a reasonable price,so I purchased it. i listened to it a couple of times when i got it but have not listened since.It seems to be a cd that i will come back to again and again and always enjoy listening to it.

When I bought this cd I was thinking about something between Frank Frost, Lightnin Slim and Big Jack Johnson. It is but much under each of them

Amazon has inserted songwriter names into the track list as if they are co-performers. While it would have been a good trick to have legends like Howlin' Wolf show up from the dead to perform on this disc, it didn't happen.

The musicians are: Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes on vocals, guitar, and harmonica; bass on different tracks provided by James Earl Franklin or Willie Miller; James "T-Model" Ford on guitar - track 4 only; and Terry Taylor on drums.

I found Roosevelt "Booba Barnes'" Heartbroken Man to be a must have CD for all old school blues fans. His sound is a mix of Howlin' Wolf, Albert King and James Brown for good measure.

Growing up in rural Mississippi, otherwise known as the home of the Delta Blues, he was familiar with all the other blues artist around at that time but decided to do something a little different! The tracks are funky and fresh with just the right mix of guitar and harmonica.

Anyone who didn't get to see him perform missed out on a treat! Playing the guitar with his teeth was the highlight of the show for me!

Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes is something of an anomaly amongst Chicago Blues players. Barnes grew up in Rural Mississippi, learning to play guitar and harmonica along the way. He then moved to Chicago in 1964 and became a part of the Chicago Blues scene.

That's where Barnes departs from the usual path. Unlike most Chicago Blues players, Barnes decided not to avail himself of the city's amazing pool of talent. In 1971 he returned to Greenville, Mississippi and opened his own Blues bar and was soon recording. This CD is a result of those trips into the recording studio.

Barnes plays basic Chicago-style Blues in the mold of his mentors and that is the CD's basic failing. there is nothing new here. Yes, the playing is quite fine, just no real sparks. The band heard on this recording would be fine for a friday night at a Blues bar, but not really worth getting excited about as a recording band. Barnes' guitar, harmonica and singing are OK, just not the stuff that I'd get terribly worked up over.

If you're a died-in-wool Chicago Blues fan I suppose you should get a copy. If not, I'd suggest you stick with the acknowledged masters of the genre.