Is that the best title for a blues album or what?? Way back during this blog's early days, I mentioned the film "Deep Blues" about Robert Palmer (no, not that one) and his trip to the backwaters of the South to find undiscovered authentic bluesmen still performing. Fat Possum Records has released albums by, among others, R L Burnside and my favorite, Junior Kimbrough. Forget Stevie Ray Vaughan, B B King or (yeesh!) Eric Clapton. These Deep Blues guys are not the least bit polished or technically accomplished; they might as well be drumming on shoe boxes and plucking a mop for all the proficiency displayed. But, but...man, do they tap into something primal and earthy and rock-frickin'-SOLID. Primal like Ali Farka Toure or Hamza El Din -- this is stuff straight from the motherland. And when Junior gets into the groove, it's mesmerizing.
Here's another example: when I first discovered reggae, I liked the slick, polished Third World version. Bob Marley (then only just beginning to become the LEGEND) was still 'yard', scratchy, thinly produced -- and forget ska and early reggae. Jeez, they sounded like field recordings, and I hated them. Eventually, I worked backwards, and now those dusty tracks are my favorites. Third World really wanted to be the O-Jays, and I still appreciate their music, but give me something with a little grit in the grooves, please.
So back to Junior: I fell in love with his performance on the "Deep Blues" DVD, filmed in his wooden shack/juke joint called Junior's Place, his face lined and battered like some blues Cyclops, one eye seemingly working on its own as dancers shuffle and strut like it's the last Saturday night on earth in Mississippi. "All Night Long" is the live one from 1995 with the long send-you-into-a-trance songs, and "Most Things..." is from 1997, with a different producer, venue and band but still a keeper.
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