Could Have Waited Another Five Years
acnoth | Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada | 06/22/2001
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I was and am disappointed with this CD. It has some phenomenal names from the world of contemporary blues and yet it fails to to tug at the emotional chords to any real extent. The only tracks that work compltetely are John Lee Hooker's "Thought I Heard" and Isaac Hayes's "Soulsville," the latter of which isn't even blues. Pops Staples's "Why Am I Treated So Bad" and Terry Evans's "Get Your Lies Straight" are both interesting treatments, but they both ultimately fail because they are too pretentiously homey to be taken seriously. "Get Your Lies Straight" is at least intentionally self-mocking with its reference to 'a gang of politicians,' but "Why Am I Treated So Bad" is an indulgent treatment of Martin Luther King that pales on repeated listens. The several other tracks on the CD are basically unmemorable, and Pointblank Records should have tried to find tracks that grip the listener before they issued this CD."