Up Close & Personal

Watermelon Slim

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 25, 2006)
• Original Release Date: July 6, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Southern Artist
• ASIN: B0002IQCZ2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #88,646 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and raw blues music without the monotony. , November 12, 2004

By	Danny Sullivan - See all my reviews

This disc is one of those rare blues records that provide everything one would want from blues music without the same old (and often boring) repetitions. Watermelon Slim plays from his heart and with his own singular style. If you're looking for contemporary SRV blues you might like this - especially if you like good roots music. If you like ingenuity in transfering emotions to music in an organic and unmanufactured method this album is a must. 18 tracks and not one that sounds like another simply makes economic sense. As all good blues recording have, you'll find themes of personal demons, struggles with mortality, work and women among others. But like those gems in your collection this is full of the unexpected while staying true to the concept of the 'blues.'

More often than not, I buy records for the music with little thought for the artist. It seems all these songs are autobiographical (even the covers sound as if...) and thus make the personal connection and I find myself happy to support Slim by buying the record in hopes he can continue making more. How often have you had that feeling after purchasing a record?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, First-Rate Blues! I Get this Guy!, October 26, 2005

By	DatBluesGuy "DatBluesGuy" (Bismarck, ND) - See all my reviews

I had a Golden opportunity to see Slim at the BayFront Blues Fest in Duluth, MN this summer, MISSED IT, and have been kicking myself ever since. Since I couldn't see him up close and personal, I made the decision to buy his disc ("Up Close and Personal"...hmmm) based on the strength of some samplings from his website. (I'm spinning the disc as I write this.) He's a first-rate resonator player (vintage National), which in itself INSTANTLY attracted me. He's a first-rate songwriter, interjecting humor between lamentations, and a Cynical Old Bastard who's simply loaded with the mojo. I GET this guy: he IS the blues, and I'm looking forward to hearing a lot more!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Up close & Personal, March 24, 2007

By	Jose Maria Domenech Fedi - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For many years I've been a big fan of blues and jazz and it's been a long time since I heard an acoustic blues record so good. I was so impressed that I had to hear it again and again, especially the opening track TRUCK HOLLER #1 and the second one BLUE FREIGHTLINER and so on no missing the sensational last track TRASHY TRASHMEN. Admittedly, I am in love with electric blues, but I recommend it to
all blues lovers.