This CD is part of
Arhoolie
's special "Mid-Price Series." This takes a closer look at the Baton Rouge area that gave us country blues artists like
Robert Pete Williams
,
Butch Cage
Hogman Maxey
and more. Here are the most recent bluesmen in that tradition, going back at most thirty years. The additions of electricity and drums give the music a comparatively modern feel. But, the voice is still the same as that of the ancient jukejoint entertainer.
Lightning Slim
probably let the first wave of this new central Louisiana sound. The artists covered on this largely remote and sad sounding twelve-track disc are
Henry Gray
Guitar Kelley
(his recording debut),
Whipsering Smith
Silas Hogan
and
Clarence Edwards
. Comprehensive artists fit the music specifically and generally into the deep south blues scheme. ~ Tom Schulte