Swingmaster Vintage Tapes - R.L. Burnside And Johnny Woods - Live 1984-86 DVD

When it comes to Mississippi-rooted blues delivered with pure passion and grit no living performer equaled Robert Lee Burnside. Born near Oxford Mississippi in 1926 he moved around and finally settled in Holly Springs making a living on the farm as a sharecropper. At the age of seventeen he took up singing and playing guitar. One of his teachers is former next-door neighbour Mississippi Fred McDowell one of the most influential bottleneck players ever. With its roots in the rough hills of North-Eastern Mississippi: a blend of hypnotic almost mantra-like chords with... the rhythm of the local Fife And Drum bands which has its source in Africa and goes back to the 19th century. Of this music - rarely heard nowadays - R.L. Burnside was one of the last and foremost protagonists. It's not until 1968 that he made his recording debut at the instigation of writer and folklore specialist George Mitchell. In 1996 R.L . recorded A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey with Jon Spencer and became suddenly known worldwide. In 2005 R.L. died. Johnny Woods also a Mississippi man was born in 1917 in a small town called Looxahoma. His delightful harmonica playing is as much rooted in the single note of North- Mississippi Fife And Drum band tradition as it is in the multi-faceted music of blues legends like Sonny Boy John Lee Williamson. Sad to say he didn't immediately receive the credit that his artistic achievements deserved. Like so many bluesmen he had to wait for a breakthrough until his early fifties when he was discovered by the same man who had given Burnside a break in the sixties: George Mitchell. The registrations on this DVD wer recorded some twenty years ago in the back of the Swingmaster record shop. It captures the unique collaboration of two legends in their own right who keep the heritage of their North-Mississippi roots alive. The informal atmosphere during the session adds an extra dimension to the music which is nothing short of superb. It's all about doing comfortably what they always regarded as being a natural part of their lives. That particular afternoon the air was filled with magic. The smile on Mr. Burnside's face says it all. Tracklist: 1. Poor Black Mattie 2. Rolling & Tumbling 3. Peach Tree Blues 4. Skinny Woman 5. Going Down South 7. I Believe My Time Ain't Long 8. Bad Luck And Trouble 9. Jumper On The Line 10. Ramblin' On My Mind 11. Gone So Long 12. Long Distance Call 13. 44 Blues 14. See What My Buddy Done 15. Poor Boy 16. Sneakers Jam 17. Somebody's Knocking On My Door 18. Poor Boy 19. Baby Scratch My Back 20. Poor Black Mattie 21. Long Haired Doney 22. So Many Cold Mornings 23. When My First Wife Left Me 24. Susanna 25. Jumper On The Line 26. Going Up The Country 27. Ain't That Just Like A Woman 28. Long Haired Doney 29. Moaning At Midnight [show more]

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