Customer Reviews

Knockdown South

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Hailing from Clarksdale, Mississippi -- the cradle of the blues -- Jimbo Mathus puts a crazed, psychedelic spin on everything he plays, whether it's trippy modal boogie, laid-back funk, juke joint blues, bayou R&B, or rowdy country. The word is out: Want mojo? Talk to Jimbo. Buddy Guy hired him to play second guitar on the beautifully broken Sweet Tea and Grammy-winning Blues Singer, and Elvis Costello and his crew recently trekked to Clarksdale to record in Mathus' studio (the session yielded the Grammy-nominated hit "Monkey to Man"). On Knockdown South, Mathus cuts loose with raw lead and soulful slide tones that pay homage to Hound Dog Taylor, Albert Collins, and John Lee Hooker without being derivative. If you like it rough and ready, you'll dig Mathus and his swampy band.

What we have here is a failure to compromise. No slick studio stuff, no vampirish love of trends, no hopping on bandwagons, no tired rehashed phrasings. I won't recap the storied history that brought Jimbo Mathus from Squirrel Nut Zippers to being Buddy Guy's guitar guy to this place and that yielded this fine concoction. You'll enjoy doing so yourself via his Web site or the ToneQuest Report.

Suffice it to say, on "Knockdown South" Mr. Mathus plays a mean guitar. Rather than playing homage to the great Delta blues men, the rockers who often pillaged the blues, or those who managed to take their playing to another level, he pulls out the Zen master cloak and time travels back to the wellspring. The result is a blender full of "bluesedelic" fringed tunes laced with lots of Delta influence and piped through vintage recording equipment captured more or less live, plus a ballad and country tune or two just for good measure. Though it's possible to pick out bits and pieces that sound like early Fleetwood Mac (when it was a blues band), Credence, Zeppelin, Duane, BB King, etc. "Knockdown South" is an original.

My early favorites are Crazy `Bout You, Hypmotized [yep, spelled with the "m" and with the opening line of "Dogs and zombies got nothing on me"], Mule Plow Line, and Rolling Like a Log, followed by all the other tracks here. The folks playing with Mr. Mathus here, collectively known as the Clarksdale Rhythm, deserve a shout out as well for infusing this session with a festering, edgy energy. An extra tip of the cap goes to the drummers and horns players.

This zestful mix of boogie, soul, honky tonk, blues, and classic rock (in a good way) results in a thick, greasy sound primed to ooze out whether you are ready or not. Best to keep the cellophane wrapper on till you are ready to listen. . . .