R.L. Burnside - Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down (CD)

Dark modern blues

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Oct 19, 2000 | 1 out of 1 found this Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down review helpful

R.L. Burnside represents the ultimate paradox in all of Blues. On one hand, he is the greatest living exponent of Mississippi Blues in its rawest form, but on the other hand, he is the most irreverent, boundary-stretching artist in the genre. His ne...w album Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down showcases both sides of this coin while introducing even more dimensions to his powerful personality.Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down contains some of R.L.’s best singing ever. At 73 years old his voice has maturity and depth, while his phrasing is detailed and emotional. Much of this album is haunting and ethereal. The title track is an impassioned reading of a gospel gem accompanied only by Kenny Brown’s driving guitar. “Hard Time Killing Floor”, and “Got Messed Up” mix ambient beats with spooky slide guitars, DJ scratches and R.L.’s mournful moan. “Hard Time Killing Floor” also contains a spoken word section where R.L. talks about tragic times in Chicago in the late ‘40s. He expands on that rap in more grisly detail on the albums closing track, “R.L.’s Story”.Other highlights include the raw, foot-stomping, Mississippi anthem, “Miss Maybelle,” where R.L. shouts over a hard-driving blues 2-step with a twist: the manic scratching of Beck’s turntable wizard, DJ Swamp. The scratching creates the same effect that the washboard created in blues bands of the ‘30s, giving a strange logic to this blasphemy. Read more Less