In the film DEEP BLUES that was a companion to the late music scholar Robert Palmer's book of the same name, the world at large got its first glimpse of Mississippi bluesman R.L. Burnside. Hailing from that state's rural, depressed hill country, ...    Full DescriptionBurnside lived most of his life in poverty, removed from the mainstream/pop culture of America. This enabled him to soak up hardcore, unadulterated blues unfettered by post-modern distractions.

This debut recording, produced by Palmer, shows the results. With a raw, driving style that combines the electricity and drive of Muddy Waters with fatalistic wisdom of John Lee Hooker, Burnside makes a case for the continuing life of real blues in the '90s. Dirty, angular guitar riffs, pounding rhythms and intense vocals mark these versions of traditional blues tunes, making TOO BAD JIM one of the finest blues recordings of the '90s, and positioning the Fat Possum label as the single-handed saviors of "modern" blues.

Recorded at Junior Kimbrough's Juke Joint, Chulahoma and Fat Possum World Headquarters, Oxford, Mississippi. Includes liner notes by Robert Palmer.

Personnel: R.L. Burnside (vocals, guitar); Kenny Brown (guitar); Dwayne Burnside (bass); Calvin Jackson (drums)

Tracklisting:

A1		Shake 'Em On Down (4:48)
A2		When My First Wife Left Me (3:46)
A3		Short-Haired Woman (3:40)
A4		Old Black Mattie (4:10)
A5		Fireman Ring The Bell (3:58)
B1		Peaches (4:15)
B2		Miss Glory B. (3:24)
B3		.44 Pistol (2:56)
B4		Death Bell Blues (3:54)
B5		Goin' Down South (5:50)