Mississippi Review Archives
I'll Play The Blues For You
Review of: Albert King
(Stax Remasters) Albert King never tolerated nonsense. His guitar-playing captured the essence of his personality. He played a right-handed guitar upside down, yet he was left-handed. He stands as one of America's seminal bluesman. Born in Indianola, Mississippi, his read more...
Women & Work
Review of: Lucero
(ATO Records) Lucero sends a musical love letter to Memphis on their latest release Women & Work. This collection counts as the group's 8th album. Lucero streamlines musical lineages of Memphis like Sun Records,
Facing The Music
Review of: Larry Brown
(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill) Larry Brown's Facing The Music contains ten short stories. Published in 1988, Facing The Music counts as the first book the late Mississippi writer published. These stories serve as a prelude to Brown's read more...
Howlin' Wolf/Moanin' In The Moonlight
Review of: Howlin' Wolf
(MCA Records) The Chess Original Masters Two On One Howlin' Wolf collection--Howlin' Wolf/Moanin' In The Moonlight--features the first two albums of one of America's most respected bluesmen.
The Complete Plantation Recordings
Review of: Muddy Waters
(Chess/MCA) Muddy Waters' The Complete Plantation Recordings contain the historic 1941-1942 Library of Congress Field Recordings. The father and son team of John and Alan Lomax brought read more...
The Last of the Pascagoula: A Review
Review of: Rebecca Meredith
Rebecca Meredith's first published novel The Last of the Pascagoula read more...
This May Be My Last Time Singing
Review of: Various Artists
(Tompkins Square) Tompkins Square's latest release is an amazing 3-CD set titled This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel On 45RPM 1957-1982. Tompkins Square released this official statement regarding this rare package: Get read more...
Whatever You Want (featuring Cody Dickinson)
Review of: Olga Wilhelmine Munding
(219 Records) Olga Wilhelmine Munding's latest release, Whatever You Want, was written with the
Seems To Me
Review of: Cary Hudson
Cary Hudson's songs stand the test of time. The Mississippi singer/songwriter/guitarist cultivated a songwriting partnership with Wilco's John Stirrat many years ago in a group called The Hilltops. When Stirrat joined Uncle Tupelo, Hudson started
Mule Variations
Review of: Tom Waits
(Anti-Epitaph) Mule Variations contends as one of Tom Waits' finest albums. Recorded in a converted northern California chicken coop--Prairie Sun read more...
A Painter's Psalm
Review of: Redding S. Sugg, Jr.
(University Press of Mississippi) When he was alive, Mississippi painter Walter Anderson lived as a recluse in his Ocean Springs home. Nature served as the fulcrum of every Anderson painting. Redding S. Sugg, Jr., edited The Horn Island Logs of Walter Inglis read more...
Dare You To Do It Again
Review of: Jessie Mae Hemphill
(219 Records) This 2004 documentary was filmed at Sherman Cooper's farm in Como, Mississippi. Jessie Mae Hemphill died on July 22, 2006, at 71. As a child she learned to play various instruments and spent years performing in the Mississippi hill country. Jessie Mae played read more...
Blues Babe
Review of: Olga Wilhelmine Munding
(219 Records) Blues Babe represents Olga's first solo release. There are no guest musicians on this recording--just the songwriter and her instrument. On Blues read more...
Confederate Buddha
Review of: Jimbo Mathus
(Memphis International) Sometimes it is hard to keep pace with Jimbo Mathus's creative path, but he's always made it worth the effort to try. This prolific Mississippian has been making music for decades now, connecting and promoting southern music traditions every read more...
Oxford Basement Collection
Review of: El Obo
(Esperanza Plantation) Colour Revolt, a promising young band from Mississippi, has already had to face some significant early career challenges. After shooting out of the gates when a major label picked up their first EP, the band moved on from there releasing nothing read more...
Ben Hall!
Review of: Ben Hall
(Tompkins Square) Nashville's Ben Hall, originally from Okolona, Mississippi, is barely twenty years old, and he has already has won flat-picking contests from Kentucky to Arkansas. Like another great young guitarist,
Western Ballad
Review of: Shannon McNally
(Sacred Sumac Records) Western Ballad, Shannon McNally's 6th studio album, was recorded in New Orleans over the last year and a half. McNally's 2009 read more...
Fay
Review of: Larry Brown
(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill) Trouble finds Fay Jones wherever she goes. Fay leaves her north Mississippi home on foot with two dollars, rotting tennis shoes, a half-pack of cigarettes and a serious survival instinct. Fay meets various men throughout the book who all pay read more...
When The Women Come Out To Dance
Review of: Elmore Leonard
(Harper Paperbacks) Born in New Orleans during 1925, Elmore Leonard ranks as one of America’s finest writers. His family soon moved from the Crescent City to Detroit when he was a child, and Leonard never moved away from the Motor City. Author of 45 novels, Leonard read more...
Keys To the Kingdom
Review of: North Mississippi Allstars
(Songs of the South Records) “Take reassurance in the glory of the moment and the forever promise of tomorrow. Surely there is light beyond the darkness. As there is dawn after the night.”
Croweology
Review of: The Black Crowes
(Silver Arrow Records) Croweology represents live acoustic versions of The Black Crowes most revered material from the last 20 read more...
Pimps & Preachers
Review of: Paul Thorn
(Perpetual Obscurity) Paul Thorn just never ceases to amaze me. He always manages to weave his past experiences as the son of a Holiness minister and his rock and roll life into a multi-colored musical tapestry that always leaves me with a big smile on my face. I am read more...
Truth & Salvage Company
Review of: Truth & Salvage Company
Silver Arrow Records The rare collection of songwriters in Truth And Salvage Company originates from Atlanta, New Orleans, Tupelo and Ohio, read more...
The Way of the World
Review of: Mose Allison
(Anti-Records) At 82, Mose Allison stands as one of the hippest musicians in American music. His solid foundation of jazz and blues influenced artists such as
Coldwater
Review of: Shannon McNally and Hot Sauce
(shannonmcnally.com) Recorded in two days at Jim Dickinson’s Zebra Ranch Studios during the spring of 2009, Shannon McNally’s Coldwater defines read more...
Home Sweet Home
Review of: South Memphis String Band
(Memphis International) The South Memphis String Band is Luther Dickinson (
Panic In the Streets
Review of: Widespread Panic
(Zomba Video) On April 18, 1998, Widespread Panic’s Light Fuse Get Away album release performance in downtown Athens, Georgia, set the attendance record for at read more...
Cabin Fever
Review of: The Black Crowes
(Silver Arrow Records) Cabin Fever represents an official documentary of The Black Crowes' 13-day Before The Frost...Until The Freeze recording sessions at
Onward And Upward
Review of: Luther Dickinson/Sons of Mudboy
(Zebra Ranch) Three days after Memphis luminary Jim Dickinson died, his oldest son
A Good Excuse
Review of: Dixie Tabernacle
(Storm Dog Records) Every time I hear Jimmy Hall open his mouth to sing, I feel like I’m in church. Better yet, an old fashioned Southern tent revival. His is a voice born of gospel and blues roots, mingled with a bit of Southern rock and delivered from deep read more...
Do It Like We Used To Do
Review of: North Mississippi Allstars
(Songs of the South) Do It Like We Used To Do—Live From 96-08—highlights the first ten years of The North Mississippi read more...
Before The Frost...
Review of: The Black Crowes
(Silver Arrow Records) Recorded live at Levon Helm’s barn on February 21, 22, 28 and March 1, 2009, Before The read more...
Acquired Taste
Review of: Delbert McClinton
(New West) For his 30th studio album, Delbert McClinton enlists the help of Grammy Winning producer Don Was, and combined with some just plain excellent songwriting, he turns in the most introspective and intelligent record of his fifty year career. Delbert read more...
When The Devil's Loose
Review of: A.A. Bondy
After releasing one of 2008's best records, American Hearts, A.A. Bondy returns with the equally compelling When the Devil's read more...
Boy Meets Girl
Review of: Stax Records
Boy Meets Girl Classic Soul Duets Stax/Concord Music By James Calemine Stax/Concord Records just released these 18 classic soul duets. Most of the artists compiled on this CD ranks as soul legends such as
Love Filling Station
Review of: Jesse Winchester
Jesse Winchester's songs have been recorded by songwriting legends like Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffett, Ralph Stanley, Delbert McClinton, and the Everly Brothers too name a few.
Delta Blues
Review of: Ted Gioia
Delta Blues:The Life and Times of Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music by Ted Gioia W. W. Norton, 2008 Reviewed by bluesman Billy C. Farlow Delta Blues read more...
In Session
Review of: Albert King With Stevie Ray Vaughan
In Session Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan STAX/Concord Records By James Calemine Stax Records released Albert King’s seminal albums (like read more...
Make A Move
Review of: Hill Country Revue
Make A Move Hill Country Revue Razor & Tie By James Calemine The North Mississippi Allstars’ Cody Dickinson formed the Hill Country Revue in 2008. The group includes Cody read more...
Last Time
Review of: Evanscapps
(Rock Ridge Music) The first time I heard this record was a few years ago. The guys had put it out independently, and I recall thinking it was just a really great rockin’ record. Well, after a few years, and after serious remastering and with a great record read more...
Warpaint Live
Review of: The Black Crowes
Warpaint Live The Black Crowes Silver Arrow Records By James Calemine Last March The Black Crowes released their first studio CD in seven years,
I'm That Way
Review of: Beth McKee
Is it something in the water? Something in the land? People can analyze all they want, but Southerners have a different relationship to music than others. Beth McKee is prime example number one. This Jackson, MS girl has toughed it out as a musician with a career read more...
Dixieland Delight
Review of: Clay Travis
As we head into the off season, now that the recruiting season is over (mostly), there might be no better time to pick up and read Clay Travis's
Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi
Review of: Nanci Kincaid
Nanci Kincaid’s most recent novel hit the bookstores just two weeks before President Barack Obama delivered his inaugural address, read more...
More Dirty Laundry: The Soul of Black Country
Review of: Various Artists
More Dirty Laundry: The Soul of Black Country Various Artists Trikont By James Calemine The genius of this collection resides in defying musical prejudices. This CD proves black artists appreciated and recorded songs by white country musicians. read more...
B.B. King And His Orchestra Live
Review of: B.B. King
B.B. King And His Orchestra Live B.B. King Acrobat Music By James Calemine Originally recorded in 1983 at the international MIDEM industry gathering in Cannes, King's standard songs are rendered with an orchestra led by Calvin Owens. This read more...
Boots, Buckles and Spurs
Review of: Various Artists
(Legacy) “I grew up dreamin’ of being a cowboy/ And loving the cowboy ways Pursuin’ a life of my high ridin’ heroes/I burned up my childhood days...” -Willie Nelson. “My Heroes Have read more...
Piece Of My Heart: The Best of 1969 - 1978
Review of: Bonnie Bramlett
(Raven/Australia) I maintain my opinion that Bonnie Bramlett is still the "Queen of Southern Rock and Soul." If you don’t believe me, just check out this new compilation disc from Raven Records in Australia. It’s enough to make a brother shout.
Rockin' The Blues: Live in Germany 1964
Review of: Howlin' Wolf
Rockin' The Blues: Live in Germany 1964 Howlin Wolf Acrobat Music By James Calemine Rockin’ The Blues captures Howlin’ Wolf in his prime. This CD features The Wolf backed by his stellar Chicago band that included guitarist read more...
Ike & Tina Turner Sing The Blues
Review of: Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner Sing The Blues Ike & Tina Turner Acrobat Music By James Calemine Ike & Tina Turner Sing The Blues serves as a definitive collection of their musical roots. In 1969, Ike Turner leased two albums worth read more...
The Imus Ranch Record
Review of: Various Artists
(New West) Bekka Bramlett has a mystical effect on me. She always has, even as backing singer for Faith Hill, or dueting with Sam Moore, Billy Burdette or Joe Cocker. But like her mother before her, soul sensation Bonnie Bramlett, and her daddy Delaney for that matter, she read more...
Midnight In Mississippi
Review of: Blue Mountain
Mississippi's Blue Mountain has regrouped after splintering few years back, done in by divorce, disappointing sales, and overall malaise. It's easy to see why a band with such great promise could have let a series of heartbreaks get to them. But like
Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation & Journey
Review of: Delbert McClinton
(JC Communications) Delbert McClinton hosted his first ever Blues Cruise in 1995. Thirteen years later, the event is one of the most successful events of its type ever. McClinton has played host to everyone from Bonnie and Bekka Bramlett to Jimmy Hall, from Paul Thorn read more...
From The Reach
Review of: Sonny Landreth
Sonny Landreth From The Reach Landfall Records Sonny Landreth returns with his first record in 5 years. With his deep catalog of work both as a solo artist and a collaborator/contributor to others (
Riverbend Music Festival: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Review of: The Black Crowes
The Riverbend Music Festival Chattanooga, Tennessee The Black Crowes 6/6/08 By James Calemine Chris and Rich Robinson played their first official gig in read more...
Amy LaVere: Live at The Variety Playhouse
Review of: Amy LaVere
Amy LaVere Live Variety Playhouse Atlanta, Georgia 5/30/08 By James Calemine “We gon’ read more...
Plunder, Beg and Curse
Review of: Colour Revolt
(Fat Possum Records) Colour Revolt come from that ramshackle tradition that rose from the Memphis music scene, post MTV. Taking blues and punk as a basis, Memphis became a home for some disaffected musicians who wanted to make music that didn't exactly jibe with the read more...
The Very Best of Outlaw Country
Review of: Various Artists
(Legacy) The thing that sets this compilation apart from the plethora of others that are always being flooded into the market is the fact that it brings together Southern rockers and “outlaw” country artists on one excellent CD. It could be used as a read more...
Third And A Mile
Review of: William C. Rhoden
Third And A Mile by William C. Rhoden ESPN Books Third and read more...
Brothers of the Southland
Review of: Brothers of the Southland
Brothers of The Southland is one of the best of the plethora of “all star” bands playing today, and their debut CD is a sheer joy from beginning to end. This is the kind of music that gets me downright excited. Maybe that’s why I named it as the best Southern Rock read more...
Margie Joseph
Review of: Margie Joseph
Margie Joseph Margie Joseph Collector’s Choice Music By James Calemine This 1973 Atlantic Records self-titled debut brought high expectations of Margie Joseph, a Mississippi native whose voice reminded folks of her Atlantic read more...
A Long Way from Tupelo
Review of: Paul Thorn
(Perpetual Obscurity) Paul Thorn hails from Tupelo, Mississippi, in the heart of the Delta country. A former pro-middleweight boxer, Thorn is a talented painter and a roots rocker who has toured with some of the top names in country and rock. His new read more...
Being Dead Is No Excuse
Review of: Gayden Metcalf and Charlotte Hays
Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting The Perfect Funeral Hyperion Press, 2005 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal Straight out of the Mississippi Delta,
A New Kind of Blues
Review of: Delaney Bramlett
(Magnolia Gold) Delaney Bramlett is nothing less than a musical treasure. Now into his fifth decade as a musician, writer, producer and all around music mogul, Delaney sounds just as good as ever. A New Kind of Blues is his latest masterpiece, a collection of eleven read more...
Lovers
Review of: Bobby Whitlock & CoCo Carmel
(www.bobbywhitlock.com) Joined by a stellar group of musicians, music icon, Bobby Whitlock and wife, CoCo Carmel, have released a new CD, appropriately titled “Lovers” for Valentine’s Day. The ten tracks, recorded and produced mostly in Austin, TX chronicle read more...
Big Bad Love
Review of: Larry Brown
Big Bad Love Larry Brown Vintage Books By James Calemine Mississippi writer Larry Brown wrote ten published books. Big Bad Love, his second collection of short stories, ranks as a formidable collection of fiction. Other essential Brown read more...
Lantana
Review of: Caroline Herring
Caroline Herring Lantana Signature Sounds SIG-2010 Caroline Herring knows exactly who she is, though her view of her world shifts like dunes in a windstorm. Wife, mother, musician, philosopher and poet live inside her, and probably a handful of other read more...
Hernando
Review of: North Mississippi Allstars
Hernando North Mississippi Allstars Songs of the South By James Calemine Hernando is the town in Mississippi where legendary producer Jim Dickinson read more...
Darius Goes West
Review of: Logan Smalley
“Something’s gonna happen like…Just spark the whole world,” exclaims Darius, the star of the award-winning independent documentary feature film Darius Goes West (DGW), 2007. read more...
Blues Sweet Blues
Review of: Music Maker Relief Foundation
Blues Sweet Blues Various Music Maker Artists Music Maker Series #91 & #92 By James Calemine Most of these songs (recorded from 1994-2006) on Blues Sweet Blues can be heard for the first time. Only Music Maker's stellar read more...
Meat Market
Review of: Bruce Feldman
Meat Market by Bruce Feldman ESPN Books Bruce Feldman wrote Meat Market to read more...
The Woodstock Album
Review of: Muddy Waters
The Woodstock Album Muddy Waters Chess/MCA Records By James Calemine Recorded in two days at Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, New York, during February 1975, this album marked Muddy Waters' last session for Chess Records after 27 years of read more...
Song of America
Review of: Various Artists
Song of America Various Artists 31 Tigers Records By James Calemine This 50-song, 3 CD collection tells the story of America through songs from the year 1492 through modern times. Song of America contains a diverse line-up of artists read more...
Killers From Space
Review of: James Luther Dickinson
Killers From Space James Luther Dickinson Memphis International Records By James Calemine Recorded at Zebra Ranch in Independence, Mississippi, during February and March of 2007, Killers From Space marks another interesting release by read more...
Black Snake Moan
Review of: Craig Brewer
Black Snake Moan Craig Brewer-Director Paramount Vantage By James read more...
Come Early Morning
Review of: Joey Lauren Adams
Come Early Morning Joey Lauren Adams-Director The Weinstein Company
Red Dirt Marijuana & Other Tastes
Review of: Terry Southern
Red Dirt Marijuana & Other Tastes Terry Southern Citadel Underground By read more...
The Complete Recordings
Review of: Robert Johnson
The Complete Recordings Robert Johnson Columbia Records By James read more...
Breakin' it Up, Breakin' it Down
Review of: Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter & James Cotton
(Epic Legacy) If I had to describe Breakin’ it Up, Breakin’ it Down in two words, I’d simply call it “buried treasure.” This full length live set, available here for the first time, was recorded during three shows back in 1977 following read more...
Portraits and Songs From the Roots of America
Review of: Various Artists
Enclosed within the new Music Maker book titled Portraits and Songs From the Roots of America rests a CD featuring 22 different Music Maker artists. This collection reveals some of the country’s most neglected Southern musicians who remain pioneers and vital sources read more...
The Legends, Live in 1971
Review of: Ike & Tina Turner
Ike and Tina Turner The Legends - Live in 1971 (Eagle Vision) Red hot, smokin’, funky, get down, Soul Train, sexy, sweaty, rhythm and blues soul, delivered by the masters. Filmed at the pinnacle read more...
Electric Blue Watermelon
Review of: North Mississippi Allstars
The Dickinson Brothers pay homage to their Hill Country brethren and Memphis musical kin on Electric Blue Watermelon. The album was produced by their father Jim Dickinson. Luther and Cody rise to the read more...
Smiling Assassin
Review of: John Hermann
John “JoJo” Hermann’s new record, Smiling Assassin, consists of eleven country-hearted blues songs, and includes an all-star musical cast. Hermann, the Widespread Panic read more...
Home
Review of: Delaney and Bonnie
Delaney and Bonnie Home (Stax) For their second album back in 1969, Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett found their true “home” among the black musicians at Stax Records. Backed by Booker T. and the MG’s and an read more...
Amsterdam Live
Review of: Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy Amsterdam Live (Munich Records) The Big Bill Broonzy boxed set features live performances from two outstanding shows recorded in Amsterdam back in 1953. The songs are supplemented with Bill’s story telling.
Shell-Shocked
Review of: David Kimbrough Jr.
David Kimbrough Jr. Shell-Shocked (Blues Cool Records) David Kimbrough, the son of the late and great North Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough, recorded this album called “Shell-Shocked” less than a week after getting out read more...
Under Pressure
Review of: Duwayne Burnside and the Mississippi Mafia
Duwayne Burnside and the Mississippi Mafia Under Pressure (Blues Cool Records) Duwayne Burnside has stepped up with a new recording of his own called Under read more...
Lee Gates and the Alabama Cotton Kings
Review of: Lee Gates
Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi in 1937, Lee Gates moved to Milwaukee as a teenager where he’s been playing juke joints for over fifty years. Blues legend Albert Collins is his first cousin. After several rotations of this CD, its evident Gates’ playing evokes a genetic read more...
Friends Of Old Time Music
Review of: Various Artists
Friends Of Old Time Music The Folk Arrival 1961-1965 (Smithsonian Folkways) Between 1961 and 1965, New York’s Friends of Old Time Music presented 14 concerts that introduced dozens of traditional musicians to city folk for the very read more...
Hooker
Review of: John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker Hooker (Boxed Set) (Shout! Factory) In a beautiful 4-CD set that both begins and ends with his most well known hit “Boogie Chillin,” blues legend John Lee Hooker is given all due respect with a read more...
What You See
Review of: Super Chikan
(Fat Possum Records) The Mississippi based Fat Possum Records has a knack for finding artists that are trapped in a another time. Their rediscoveries of Junior Kimbrough and RL Burnside helped to renew blues by bringing it closer to its roots. In the read more...