VARIOUS ARTISTS
Lowdown, Dirty Mississippi Delta Blues
(Stand On The Ocean Records)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner

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The Lowdown, Dirty Mississippi Delta Blues is the real thing, recorded in juke joints like the Walnut Street Bait Shop or the Sandbar Lounge in Greenville or the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale. Chances are you haven't heard acts like the late Willie Foster and the Blues Upsetters or the Ladies Choice Band. Willie's played with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Jimmy Rogers, and the Ladies Choice Band packs 'em in at joints along the Delta. Each cut on Lowdown Dirty Mississippi Delta Blues captures the blues as they are heard today. I picked up this disc in Clarksdale last month as I wanted to listen to local bands that make the juke joint circuit their home. Local acts like Brenda Mitchell and the Go-Kats, Mickey Rogers, and Big T and the Family Band can be heard rocking the Delta with their own brand of blues rooted in Delta blues traditions. Lowdown Dirty Mississippi Delta blues is a snapshot of what's happening in the Delta today, and performers captured by Stand On The Ocean records refer to Super Chikan and T-Model Ford, two of the more successful recent bluesmen to come out of the Delta. It's raw, live blues straight from the Delta with a refreshing unvarnished sound.

Track List:

Are You Ready For the Blues--Willie Foster & Blues Upsetters * Black Night--Big T & the Family Band * I Don't Know Why You're So Mean to Me--Guitar Charlie * You Can't Lose With the Stuff I Use--Ladies Choice Band * Little Red Rooster-Mickey Rogers * Lowdown, Dirty, Mississippi Delta Blues--Brenda Mitchell & the Go-Kats * A Sinner's Prayer-Blues Prodigy * I Want to Go Home-Guitar Charlie * Catfish Blues--Big T & the Family Band * It's a Man's World-Blues Prodigy * Funky Broadway-Mickey Rogers * Have You Ever Wanted Someone--Ladies Choice Band * Know We Love You-Willie Foster & Blues Upsetters

[Pick this up at standontheocean.com.]

© 2002 - Eric Steiner