Mississippi Fred McDowell - Live at the Gaslight

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Track List: Live at the Gaslight

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Disc 1:

Disc 2:

Goin' To The River (Carry My Rocking Chair)
Shake 'Em On Down
61 Highway
John Henry
My Babe
I'm Crazy 'Bout You Baby
Red Cross Store
Levee Camp Blues
Good Mornin' Little Schoolgirl
Don't Mistreat Nobody (Cause You Got A Few Dimes)
Get Right Church

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Album Details: Live at the Gaslight

Release Date:: 10/24/2000
UPC:: 898431100129

Pro Reviews: Live at the Gaslight

EXPERT RATING:

From AMG Reviews

Recorded on November 5, 1971, Live at the Gaslight stands as the final recording of Delta blues legend Mississippi Fred McDowell. The bottleneck guitarist was in his seventies when this album was cut, but his voice and playing show no signs of age and his passion and conviction seem to have strengthened with the years. At this point in McDowell's career he had shifted to playing electric slide guitar, and during this ~Gaslight performance he was also supported by sparse bass playing from Tom Pomposello. Accompanying McDowell's gruff voice, the guitar often seems to finish the singer's sentences for him; it's like listening to an old married couple. The setting is very intimate, allowing for friendly interaction with the audience and warm reactions to McDowell's occasional introductions and commentary. Throughout the two-disc set there is a real sense of inspiration as if the singer was releasing this music from his soul for the first time. McDowell admits is that he "don't play no rock roll," but the raw power of even his soundcheck nearly contradicts that statement. While there are slight distractions on the first disc (an out-of-tune rendition of "When the Saints Go Marchin' In," a confusing tracklisting error on the back cover), there are certainly points of interest including the plaintive cry of "Baby Please Don't Go" and the righteous crunch of "You Got to Move." While the first CD has a few minor trouble spots, disc two really shines. The soulful moan of "Goin' to the River" blasts into the fiery punch of "Shake 'Em on Down," openly disputing his proclamation that he doesn't play rock roll. The reverential conviction of "Good Mornin' Little Schoolgirl" precedes the last two songs, both inspirational numbers in true blues style: "Don't Mistreat Nobody" instructs his audience to be kind to their fellow man, and "Get Right Church" is almost a duet with his familiar bottleneck slide, chillingly foretelling his upcoming journey "home." Live at the Gaslight is a bright example of the raw power of Delta bottleneck blues by one of the genre's masters, and is not to be missed.

- Zac Johnson, All Music Guide

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Mississippi Fred McDowell Biography

When Mississippi Fred McDowell proclaimed on one of his last albums, "I do not play no rock'n'roll," it was less a boast by an aging musician swept aside by the big beat than a mere statement of fact. As a stylist and purveyor of the original Delta b...Full Mississippi Fred McDowell Biography