Mr. Wizard [Vinyl]

R. L. Burnside | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (March 11, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fat Possum Records
• ASIN: B000001ZUX
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,599 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #39 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Delta Blues

Track Listings

1. Over the Hill

2. Alice Mae

3. Georgia Women

4. Snake Drive

5. Rollin' and Tumblin'

6. Out on the Road

7. Tribute to Fred

8. You Gotta Move

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an unstoppable force of nature, May 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mr Wizard (Audio CD)

There is no other description for it: this CD has BALLS. Burnside unleashes the screaming, vengeful ghost of Elmore James to claim the Delta's muderous retribution on all the Chicago crap that has passed for "blues" over the last 3 decades. I dream that Buddy Guy, BB King, Eric Clapton, Kenny Wayne Shepard, and all the other popular "blues" guitarists are led to a one room shack surrounded by a blinding cotton field on a dirt road deep, deep in Mississippi. Outside RL and his band tear into the groove of "Alice Mae" with such ferocity it sounds like a freight train loaded with nuclear bombs slamming into a mountain. The blasphemers inside the shack wail and gnash their teeth as they beg for mercy for their terrible sins. RL's cataclysmic howl of "DID YOU SEE MY BABY?/CALL HER ALICE MAE!" summons a pillar of fire from the black sky to consume the shack and lay waste to the world.

That's what this CD sounds like.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raw and incredibly rocking blues., February 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mr Wizard (Audio CD)

When I say rocking I mean that sometimes Burnside and his accomplices sound as though they'd just as soon burn the place to the ground. RL Burnside specializes in extremely raw, loud Mississippi Delta blues. If you are interested in this type of music you should buy one of his records immediately. You will be amazed that such a brilliant and original old style Delta blues musician has come to prominance so recently (all of his records are from the late 80s and 90s).

While other records of his, particularly the brilliant "Too Bad Jim" are more emotionally affecting, this one rocks like crazy, as Burnside's deep John Lee Hooker-style vocals are joined by clattering drums, distorted guitars, wah-wah pedals and theramin, couresy of his grandson, his stepson, and various members of the John Spencer Blues Explosion.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars yy chromosome blues, March 30, 2000

By 

Andrew T. Olson (La Crose, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr Wizard (Audio CD)

You won't be seeing any RL Burnside videos on VH1 anytime soon, that's for damn sure. Don't be surprised if, after hearing the barbaric yawp that is "Mr. Wizard," you find yourself on the prowl for raw meat and anything in a catholic schoolgirl uniform. Make no mistake, though. There is much skill behind Burnside's savagery. RL seems to have a near telepatic musical bond with his band, which consists of Kenny Brown on slide guitar and Cedric Burnside(RL's grandson) on drums. Together, these three rock blues standards and Burnside originals six ways from Sunday. Somehow, they manage to come across as both assaultive and subtle. As a bonus, Burnside perfoms solo on two tracks and is ably backed by Jon Spencer & co. on two others. This record may put you off Bonnie Raitt and Johnny Lang for good.