Delta Boogie Press Releases
Delta Boogie Hairy Larry
invites you to
join the
Delta Boogie
email list
Home Network Search Table of Contents
Music Video Radio Delta Boogie Network-Gamer+

RL Burnside New Release On Fat Possum

R.L. BURNSIDE'S NEW CD TO BE RELEASED ON FAT POSSUM RECORDS OCTOBER 24

Legendary bluesman R.L. Burnside will issue his new CD Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down on the Oxford, Miss.-based Fat Possum Records (distributed through Epitaph Records) on October 24. The follow up to his ground-breaking Come On In, a disc that fused Burnside's homespun, Mississippi Hill Country blues with electronica beats, Wish I Was In Heaven… brings Burnside's blues to the masses with a more subtle blend of traditional and contemporary styles.

While Wish I Was in Heaven… is more of a true blues album than its predecessor, Burnside continues to incorporate a variety of musical tools from turntables and ambient beats to the more traditional slide guitar and mandolin. His unique and powerful voice is a key element throughout the disc. It provides an almost playful quality on tracks such as "Too Many Ups" and "Nothin' Man" and turns chilling on the haunting, autobiographical, spoken-word tale "R.L.'s Story."

" R.L. has always had a distinctive style," says Fat Possum founder Matthew Johnson. "But his voice is stronger and more emotive on these songs than I've heard him be in years. He is comfortable and completely in control of his sound."

Wish I Was in Heaven… was co-produced by John Porter (Taj Mahal, The Smiths, B.B. King) and features guest appearances by guitarist Smokey Hormel (Beck, Tom Waits) and DJ Swamp (Beck) on turntable.

At 73, Burnside remains a catalyst for making the blues relevant to a new generation. From his classic hill country blues album Too Bad Jim, to his album and tour with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Burnside has gone from Mississippi legend to indie-rock hero. On his 1998 Fat Possum disc, Come On In, Burnside broadened his appeal with an album of songs re-shaped by Beck's producer Tom Rothrock and Alec Empire. The project spawned a radio hit with "Let My Baby Ride," landing Burnside on HBO's "Reverb" and MTV's "120 Minutes." Another standout track "It's Bad You Know," served as an appropriate backdrop to the action on an episode of HBO's Mob-inspired hit series "The Sopranos." The song also appears on "The Sopranos" soundtrack, which has sold more than 400,000 copies. Today, Burnside's influence is evident in the music of a wide range of contemporary artists from the North Mississippi All-Stars to techno-pop guru Moby.

Burnside will take to the road with a series of live shows in late October. Please visit the Fat Possum Web site at www.fatpossum.com for up-to-the-minute news and tour dates.

More information on RL Burnside can be found on DeltaMusicians and an interview by Ed Mabe.

Delta Boogie Press Archive



Email Delta Boogie
Copyright by Larry Heyl and Vivian Heyl, 1997