Bottleneck Blues
Stuart Jefferson | San Diego,Ca | 06/11/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Approximately 60 min. Sound is good for the times and places recorded. This album,supposedly scheduled to be released in the latter part of the sixties was finally released. This album features fifteen different bluesmen and a number of different styles. Some are played traditionally using a six string guitar,while others use a more primitive style,harking back to slave days. Some of the people featured here include Napoleon Strickland,Big Joe Williams,Fred McDowell, J.B. Hutto and Johnny Shines. There are other people here you will recognize if you are at all familiar with this style of blues.
The tracks themselves range from acoustic to electric guitar,some solo and some with small-group back-up. What's important is that this is a fine example of slide guitar,in an array of different styles. Some tracks were recorded "in the field",while others benefited from a studio setting. Whats important is that all the artists here bring their own style of playing,which on close listening is very rewarding. The last track,by Napoleon Strickland,is very close to the "oiginal" style of slide guitar playing. On the track Shake 'em On Down,Strickland confines his playing to a single string,using the others for a rhythmic affect. But whatever style you like,this album will satisfy your craving for some good,down-home slide playing using the "diddley-bow". You won't be sorry."