R. L. Burnside - Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down
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Artist: R. L. BurnsideBrand: BURNSIDE,R.L.
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2000-10-24
Music Label: Fat Possum Records
Product features:
- Original 11-track Fat Possum release from 2000.
- Hard Time Killing Floor
- Got Messed Up
- Miss Maybelle
- Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down
- Too Many Ups
- Nothin' Man
- See What My Buddy Done
- My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble
- Bad Luck City
- Chain Of Fools
- R.L.'s Story
Music reviews of Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down
Music Review: A Really "UP" Blues Album (read the review)
Rating: 5 Stars
Stood absolutely still, riveted to attention when I first heard this CD. Next step was to find the sales clerk so I could buy it!! It is an understatement to say R.L. Burnside sings with emotion, this man KNOWS BLUES, he has LIVEDBLUES, and STILL HAS HOPE ... tinged with an Alabama accent, he sings with a southern drawl, full of the realities of life. The liner booklet says it best (& I quote): "The last genuine performer of raw Mississippi hill country sounds as well as cutting edge crossover artist the blues has had in the past 30 years." Honesty, depth, detail, raw emotions, earthy statements: it's all here & more! Great lyrics, great slide guitar playing,too. "Too Many Ups" one of the tracks, is a play on words: "You gotta look UP to the man ... too many ups, too many ups, too many upside down", "You gotta cover up", "You gotta catch up", "You gotta get paid up", "Too many upside downs". Some other favorites are, the title song, "Wish I was in Heaven Sittin' Down", "Hard Times", and "Chain of Fools".
Let the lyrics of "Nothin' Man" tell his story:
"I never had a chance ... it never was MY fault. You can't arrest me. I pay the rent. I never wanted to be a BAAAAD person. I wish my mama had loved me. You can't arrest me. It never was MY fault ... I never wanted to be a BAD person." The ambient music contrasts nicely with the words & lyrics, with a shadow of the underside of life - not far off from the truth. This is genuine, visceral music: FAT POSSUM RECORDS have provided us a vehicle to enjoy the music of this living legend of Mississippi blues. They have a great sense of humor, too. Inside the CD is a card to fill out with demographics, and a block of space, with the instructions: "trace your housekey here" YOU GOTTA LOVE 'EM!
Three "bonus" tracks are included: "Black Mattie" by Robert Balfour (a rather scarry piece of music & lyrics, too), "Pucker Up Buttercup" by Paul Jones, & my favorite of the three, "Laugh to Keep from Cryin'" written & sung by Burnside's adopted son, Kenny Brown, a great talent in his own right who learned & apprenticed with this MASTER OF MISSISSIPPI BLUES, THE LIVING LEGEND! Erika Borsos (erikab93)
Description of Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down
Like jazz, the blues has its share of late bloomers -- artists who didn't start recording or didn't become well-known until they were well into their 50s or 60s. R.L. Burnside is very much a late bloomer; the Mississippi bluesman was born in 1926, but it wasn't until the 1990s that he started to enjoy the publicity he deserved. Recorded in 2000, Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down finds the veteran singer continuing to be fairly unpredictable at 73. Essentially, this CD falls into the Mississippi blues category -- Burnside maintains the earthy, down-home rawness that people expect from Mississippi country-blues. But Burnside certainly isn't without urban influences, and this CD illustrates his appreciation of John Lee Hooker and early Muddy Waters as well as the Texas blues of Lightnin' Hopkins. Burnside has also been influenced by R&B; one of the few tracks that he didn't write or co-write is a cover of Aretha Franklin's 1960s smash "Chain of Fools." The producers (who include Andy Kaulkin, John Porter, and Brad Cook) try to make that track and others relevant to hip-hop by adding sampling and scratching -- and when they do, it sounds forced and unnatural. Some of the producing is simply too high-tech for an artist as raw as Burnside, but that doesn't make his vocals any less impressive. Despite its imperfections, Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down is a generally appealing document of Burnside at 73. --Alex Henderson, All-Music GuideR.L. Burnside's background is pure Mississippi Delta--he was raised in the hill country and musically trained by quintessential bluesmen like Fred McDowell. But this record, like all his work, is infused with an adventurous spirit, haunted by eerie bits of electronic music and dark, despondent subject matter. The combination sounds irresistibly fresh, and scary as a hellhound on your trail. --Matthew Cooke
Imagine a man sitting on a weathered front porch in a rocking chair, telling stories as the sun goes down. As first, they seem like the old-time tales any grandfather might tell, but as the sun sets, they take on a chilling, uneasy edge. That's the effect of R.L. Burnside's fifth album for Fat Possum; it's unnerving, at times downright spooky. Many will wonder if the digital effects featured on 1998's Come On In are here as well. Yes, they are, but less obviously. While electronics and DJ scratches are part of "Got Messed Up," their inclusion is subtle, like unearthly noises heard after dark a thousand miles from anywhere. Though there are some upbeat moments on this album, such as the uptempo "Miss Maybelle" and the satirical "Nothin' Man," for the most part this is the particular brand of Mississippi blues that Burnside and the lateJunior Kimbrough have done so well: mournful, even somewhat bleak, with every sense of hellhounds on the trail. Indeed, as the track "R.L.'s Story" indicates, Burnside's got his own demons; bonus tracks aside, this makes a perfect closing track, a last tale before the children are shooed off to bed. Forget Martha Stewart; this is Halloween music. --Genevieve Williams
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