Artist: Cedell Davis
Title: When Lightnin' Struck the Pine
Year Of Release: 2002
Label: Sunyata Records
Genre: Blues
Quality: Mp3 320 / Flac (tracks, log, .cue)
Total Time: 53:19
Total Size: 136/326 Mb (covers)
Tracklist:
1. Pay To Play 4:33
2. Come On and Ride With Me 5:34
3. Woke Up This Morning 3:48
4. So Long I Hate To See You Go 4:04
5. Give Me That Look 4:54
6. Love Me A Little While 5:35
7. Cold Chills 6:38
8. One of These Days 4:00
9. Propaganda 2:36
10. Rub Me Raw 5:07
11. Hold Me Baby 6:27
Cedell Davis is one of the last of a dying breed, playing his slide guitar in the old way, with a butter knife. He's had a storied career, backing the likes of Robert Nighthawk, but didn't release his first solo album until the '90s. However, this disc should garner him a new audience, since among the friends helping him out here are Peter Buck, Barrett Martin, and Scott McCaughey, who all have their own histories and bring a touch of Seattle to his Delta blues. However, they're more than happy to remain in the background -- this is Davis' disc, after all, and he makes the most of it, letting his guitar loose frequently with the trademark wobbly slide notes, but also singing up a storm, as a few old buddies give a raw core of support behind him. It's a glorious, defiant celebration of Mississippi blues, recalling Muddy Waters more than, say, Junior Kimbrough in the deep Delta mud that sticks around greasy tracks like "Pay to Play" or the closing instrumental "Hold Me Baby." As the between-song patter shows, Davis is a warm, funny man with a host of stories, and that warmth comes through in his songs; he has the blues, but they're not going to kill him. This is a disc that's a pleasure. Maybe not his best, but very accessible, which may be just as important.
