Another one's gone, this time R.L. Burnside, a blues musician who recorded a bunch of fine CDs on the Fat Possum record label. He died at the age of 79 on the morning of September 1.
Back in my blues-listening days, Burnside was probably my favorite blues guy, mainly because his throaty growl sounded a lot more like the blues than anything I had heard up to that point. His CD "Mr. Wizard" played nonstop for a few months during my college years. My dog ate my (signed) copy of that CD and I've almost forgiven him.
"Burnside on Burnside" is another good R.L. disc, as it captures the man's live show, which is really what endeared him to a lot of people. R.L. would sit on a chair and play some ragged but right electric guitar, while Kenny Brown added some fiery guitar of his own and grandson Cedric Burnside attacked the drums with a vicious and righteous fury. Each song would slam to a ramshackle conclusion, punctuated by R.L.'s cry of "Well, Well, Well!" And in between songs, R.L. would tell off-color jokes as the mood struck him. Sometimes they'd be understandable, frequently they'd be incomprehensible, but his sheer joy at being on a stage and telling them always won out in the end. Given a shot at the big (or at least medium) time late in life by Fat Possum, he always seemed to seize the opportunity. And I'm glad that I was able to watch and hear him do that.
No comments:
Post a Comment