Come On In

by R.L. Burnside

Overview

You have to give a guy credit for trying. In an age when most of the old blues players are either dead or too old to play, R.L. Burnside, the 71-year-old Mississippi native, can still rip dirty juke-joint blues in convincing fashion. Come On In attempts, with some success, to bring one of America's oldest musical forms into the 21st century by adding sampling and looping techniques to Delta blues. Come On In is a collaboration with Beck mixmaster Tom Rothrock and Alec Empire of Digital Hardcore. Seldom does one see the words "dub," "remix" and "programming" on a Delta blues album, but R.L. Burnside is no ordinary bluesman. Come On In is a risky move to say the least, and unfortunately, it doesn't always pay off. The best tracks in the album are the least techno-fied. "Come On In," a solo shot, and the down-and-dirty "Just Like a Woman" has a non-trip-hopped Burnside mining tough riffs for all their emotion. "Let My Baby Ride" with a stomping, looped beat, is still recognizable as Burnside and works well. On the other hand, "Don't Stop Honey" and "It's Bad You Know" take the techno tampering too far, and the results are feckless shells of what were once gritty blues. Next time out, if Burnside gets his ass pocket o' whiskey, turns down the techno a bit and cranks those amps up, he could be onto something. ~ Matthew Hilburn

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/1998
Label:	Fat Possum Records / Epitaph / Turnstile
UPC:	0045778031719
Rank:	32876

Tracks

1. Been Mistreated
2. Come on In
3. Let My Baby Ride
4. Don't Stop Honey
5. It's Bad You Know
6. Just Like a Woman
7. Come on in Part 2
8. Rollin' Tumblin'
9. Please Don't Stay
10. Shuck Dub
11. Come on in Part 3
12. Heat

Album Credits

Performance Credits

R.L. Burnside   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Cedric Burnside   Featured Artist,Drums
Alejandro Rosso   Guest Artist,Organ
Kenny Brown   Guitar,Slide Guitar
Joey Waronker   Drums
Lester Butler   Harmonica
Tom Rothrock   Bass
John Oreshnick   Maracas
Beale Dabbs   Bass,Organ,Clavinet
Joe Ranieri   Drums
Calvin Jackson   Drums

Technical Credits

Beal Dabbs   Engineer
Bob Corritore   Producer
R.L. Burnside   Composer
Tom Rothrock   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming
Doug Boehm   Engineer
Alec Empire   Mixing,Producer,Remixing
Beale Dabbs   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming
Bruce Watson   Engineer
David Barry   Photography
Don C. Tyler   Mastering
Laurie Hoffma   Photography