Various Artists
Sticks Over My Shoulder
Mississippi Records
Street: 06.19.12
Sticks Over My Shoulder = Bluesman of Georgia laying it down!
In the late 70s, documentary maker George Mitchell traveled the back roads of Georgia searching out the remaining bluesmen who could still play. All of these musicians are interesting to listen to, and all of them play in some unique way such as John Lee Ziegler, who was left handed and could play a right handed guitar upside-down with the bass strings on bottom. A great listen, this record supremely demonstrates that the blues is the folk music for the southern African-American population. This is music made by people who just wanted to play it for their enjoyment and that of their neighbors. My favorite track is the devilish “Baby Please Don’t Go” which carries all the desire and desperation of losing one’s woman. Another favorite is “Good Morning Little School Girl,” where James Davis lets his guitar do the talking and just plucks out this rhythmic tune like there’s no tomorrow. Each song is like finding some lost sonic treasure, and I like to think that somewhere someone is still pounding out blues like this. –James Orme