Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down

by R.L. Burnside

Overview

Like jazz, the blues has its share of late bloomers -- artists who didn't start recording or didn't become well-known until they were well into their 50s or 60s. R.L. Burnside is very much a late bloomer; the Mississippi bluesman was born in 1926, but it wasn't until the 1990s that he started to enjoy the publicity he deserved. Recorded in 2000, Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down finds the veteran singer continuing to be fairly unpredictable at 73. Essentially, this CD falls into the Mississippi blues category -- Burnside maintains the earthy, down-home rawness that people expect from Mississippi country-blues. But Burnside certainly isn't without urban influences, and this CD illustrates his appreciation of John Lee Hooker and early Muddy Waters as well as the Texas blues of Lightnin' Hopkins. Burnside has also been influenced by R&B; one of the few tracks that he didn't write or co-write is a cover of Aretha Franklin's 1960s smash "Chain of Fools." The producers (who include Andy Kaulkin, John Porter, and Brad Cook) try to make that track and others relevant to hip-hop by adding sampling and scratching -- and when they do, it sounds forced and unnatural. Some of the producing is simply too high-tech for an artist as raw as Burnside, but that doesn't make his vocals any less impressive. Despite its imperfections, Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down is a generally appealing document of Burnside at 73. ~ Alex Henderson

Product Details

Release Date:	10/24/2000
Label:	Fat Possum Records / Turnstile
UPC:	0045778033218
Rank:	30657

Tracks

1. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
2. Got Messed Up
3. Miss Maybelle
4. Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down
5. Too Many Ups
6. Nothin' Man
7. See What My Buddy Done
8. My Eyes Keep Me in Trouble
9. Bad Luck City
10. Chain of Fools
11. R.L.'s Story
12. Black Mattie
13. Pucker up Buttercup
14. Laugh to Keep From Cryin'

Album Credits

Performance Credits

R.L. Burnside   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Paul Jones   Primary Artist
Kenny Brown   Primary Artist,Guitar
Robert Belfour   Primary Artist
Paul "Wine" Jones   Primary Artist
Andy Kaulkin   Piano,Keyboards,Wurlitzer,Synthesizer
Iki Levy   Loops
Billy Valentine   Vocals (Background)
Antony Genn   Bass
Smokey Hormel   Guitar
Janiva Magness   Vocals (Background)
Lynwood Slim   Harp
John Porter   Bass,Guitar,Mandolin
Jeff Big Dad Turmes   Bass
Johnny Dyer   Harp,Vocals (Background)
Rick Holmstrom   Guitar
Bradley Cook   Loops
Tommy Eyre   Wurlitzer
DJ Swamp   Scratching
Steve Mugalian   Drums
Martin Slattery   Wurlitzer
D.J. Pete B.   Scratching

Technical Credits

Skip James   Composer
Paul "Wine" Jones   Composer,Performer
Stephen Marcussen   Mastering
Traditional   Composer
Andy Kaulkin   Producer
Bill Smith   Digital Editing
Iki Levy   Mixing,Producer
Antony Genn   Mixing,Producer
Doug Messenger   Tracking
Joe McGrath   Mixing,Engineer
John Porter   Mixing,Producer
Robert Belfour   Performer
Richard Flack   Mixing,Engineer,Programming
R.L. Burnside   Arranger,Composer
Bradley Cook   Producer,Tracking,Digital Editing
Matthew Johnson   Producer,Photography
Sally Browder   Digital Editing
Bruce Watson   Producer
Cole Gerst   Design
Helik Hadar   Engineer
Jason Henry   Artwork
Don Covay   Composer