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I was surprised to learn that the
name sake were not older cats from the rural south but actually
folks from our neighbors to the north...Canada. The artists on
this recording are steeped in tradition and roots music Americana
but represent a group of all stars from across Canada who could
easily be called the best of the best that the country has to
offer. One way to describe this sound is to take a blender and
throw in a little deep old time Blues that has a soulfulness that
spins a vision of Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Muddy
Waters, and then add in a spoonful of the Fabulous
Thunderbirds, a dollop of Chuck Berry, a teaspoon of Rockabilly, A tablespoon of Soul via the Muscle Shoals type
and some Jump. When I first put the CD on the player I said "oh...they sound like the Big Town Playboys from London".
That kind of blend was unmistakable...or so I thought. The more
I listened the more I found it harder to peg, but the more I
listened the more I liked it. Some folks reading this review are
going to say "hey Tom aren't you being a hypocrite since you have
been writing for years about how much you disliked Rock/Blues."
Well true, and not true. More specifically, I never liked the
current generic blend which melds 70's era Acid Rock with Blues
and dares to call it Blues. I also dislike that it has become so
generic and by this date has proceeded to oversell the house,
especially when we have a shrinking 18-30 year old age demographic
while we get an exponentially growing older, more traditionally
oriented demographic of 45 to 65 years of age. My guess is that the older bracket, when listening
to this CD, is going to hear the same things I did with a roots
Rock 50's edge, a bouncy jump, and soulful Blues delivery.
The production values and mix are impeccable as is the song
selection and arrangements. This is tasty and soulful playing and
very creative I might add. All songs written by brothers Leggat
(Gordie & Hugh) and John Dickie have the feel of the
transition period of early R&B/Blues, finding that the baby was
just born, and it was called Rock n' Roll. This is early roots
music deeply steeped in Blues traditions much like the great
crossover acts like
The Fabulous Thunderbirds and
Big
Town Playboys. Hands down the best crossover Blues to
come down the pike since the above mentioned groups arrived on the
scene. It's raw, and sensuous, rhythm section tough and solid,
guitar and vocal work is soulful, and its got style! This group
is going places, make no mistake about that!
-by
Tom Radai/TBMG |
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LIVINBLUES CD REVIEW
by Gary Tate/Jan/05 -
Who cares about such details as to why they call themselves The Mississippi Hippies, especially when you're getting an adrenalin rush from their explosive
carnival of 'Rock-em/Sock-em' revivalism. These musical Canadian veterans,
by way of Toronto,,...read
more! |
