Cedric Burnside – Hill Country Love
Cedric Burnside has graced us with a new album Hill Country Love, which was recorded in an old building in Ripley, Mississippi, and co-produced by Cedric with Luther Dickinson. As Cedric refers to Luther on Instagram, he’s his brother from another mother, and Cedric says the music comes straight from his heart. So there’s a lot of real hill country love poured into this album from the start.
The groove of the hill country blues never gets old as it never lets you down, and when Cedric starts up with “I Know,” you’ll start wiggling along involuntarily, and the harmonica does some heavy lifting too. “My faith get tested out here everyday / My faith get tested in every way / I fall short on you lord on some days / Please forgive me lord everyday I pray.” After the songs end you can hear some exclamations by the musicians.
Then title track describes packing up to hit the road and “spread a little, spread a little of that hill country love.” “Shake ‘Em On Down” is a deep funky song with slide guitar delights: “Hey …Must I holler, must I shake-’em on down.” And then the hill country groove continues with “Juke Joint” and the raw images of the basics of what it’s all about: “And I’m glad y’all came, down to the Juke Joint / Come on in, have something to eat / Let the music, make you stump your feet / Get to Mississippi, to the Juke Joint.” Close your eyes, listen to the vibes, and you’re right there.
This is a real and authentic as you can get. Cedric grew up completely immersed in this scene and you can feel it in every note and every space in between, and teaming up with Luther Dickinson helps deliver the perfection.
Musicians on Hill Country Love are Cedric Burnside on vocals, guitar, and baritone guitar; and Artemas LeSueur on drums. Additional musicians are Luther Dickinson on bass and slide guitars; and Patrick Williams on harmonica.
Hill Country Love was engineered by Kevin Houston and mixed by Luther Dickinson.
Find the music here: https://ffm.bio/cedricburnside and more info on his website here: https://www.cedricburnside.net/
Find our interview of Cedric Burnside here: Interview: Cedric Burnside on New Release, Growing up in the Hill Country Blues