Search - R.L. Burnside :: A Bothered Mind

RL Finds A Happy and Groundbreaking Middleground

Jonathan C. Hamlet | USA | 12/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There have been a lot of efforts to bring old timey blues into mainstream, more modern forms of rock and hip hop. RL has been a constant perpetrator in this effort, commenting famously "the blues is just dance music." That said, this is probably my favorite album of his. I have "Ass Pocket of Whiskey", "Burnside on Burnside", "Come On In", and "Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down." I got "A Bothered Mind" recently and it's plain the best of all of what RL has tried to do.



"Come On In" was too dancey and felt like a bunch of DJs just had fun with some RL samples and then he put it out of an album, however interesting that sounded. This both puts RL with Hip Hop Producer and MC extraordinaire Lyrics Born, an amazing team, and in front of a huge backup band that includes his regular touring band of Kenny and Cedric, and also a DJ, Keyboards, and others. The result is RL's punk-blues is fattened up and funked up into a wall of sound that his gravely voice plows right over naturally. This big band sound really showcases how RL's work and songs sound great in minimal settings ("Ass Pocket" and "Burnside on Burnside") but leave tons of room to play around with. The keyboard work is particularly great and adds a lot to the carnival of raucous noise. I recommend this album as the first of RL's anyone buys and no serious RL fan should be without it. Even Lyrics Born, the Asian rapper from San Francisco, sounds blues and countrified on the tracks he produces with RL."

Shake 'Em On Down

Gianmarco Manzione | Tampa, FL USA | 10/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In a characteristically memorable remark, R.L. Burnside once suggested that "Blues aint nothin' but dance music." Considering the fiery grooves guys like Lightnin' Hopkins or Little Walter whipped into now and then, that statement does not seem as absurd as it is on the surface. But what Burnside achieves on "Bothered Mind" is a total and inarguable confirmation: if Blues was anything more than dance music before Burnside took a torch to it, it sure aint nothing more than that now, and that's hardly a bad thing. "A Bothered Mind" is the sound of Skip James by way of the Beastie Boys. "I do what I want," Burnside spits on "Detroit Boogie part 1," an opening cacophony that launches into an electrified and snarling take on Burnside's trademark "Look What My Buddy Did." The man's not kidding. Unlike Bo Diddley's blasphemous "This Should Not Be," Burnside's eclectic brew of funk, hip-hop, blues and rock is as tasteful a reinvention of a storied sound as anyone could have asked for. Even the unfortunate presence of Kid Rock - a talentless poser who seems bent on mooching off the reputation of every elder statesman in the business - cannot distract from Burnside's energetic and menacing vocal performance throughout the set. This is not an attempt at dressing up an older artist's sound to make him seem hip to a younger audience. It is a startlingly successful (and refreshing) experiment in which Burnside's authenticity is never compromised by production. Bold interpretations of standards like "Rollin ' and Tumblin'" or "Goin' Away Baby" possess the addictiveness of a narcotic. When Martin Scorsesee's Blues film and box-set came out, there was a lot of talk about Blues music fading from the American consciousness, like some relic of human expression. Most disconcertingly, Blues did not seem to connect with younger audiences the way rap, hip-hop or even rock did. That changes now, and who better than R.L. Burnside to lead the charge?"

Is there anything better?

Mojo Marie | Denver, CO | 01/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can only hope to see R.L. live in concert one day. This is one of the best Blues albums (or any type for that matter) to grace a CD. Inventive, unusual, hip, funky and smooth all rolled into one. Two words: "Buy It!""