Ahhhh... Wolfman Belfour! I remember first hearing his music in a friends car. I still have shivers when I think of his deep full bodied voice. Definitely a great singer.

Unfortunately I don't own any CDs of Belfour... I seem to recollect a great performance I saw somewhere (either online or TV) of Wolfman playing at the House Of Blues Sunset Strip in LA.

Great stuff - he must be incredible to see in a nice small bar, packed to the rafters!

Cheers,

Viva small clubs where you can hear the sound of a guitar string breaking ... there's something magical about being close to a performer, and intimate. Not just close, the vibe is different being front row at an arena, or stage side in a 200 person bar, where the division between the stage and the room is barely evident.

cheers,

Perhaps this music appeals to some of the young as a sort of techno with soul. There is a lot of techno-oriented and even hip hop music these days that tries to exploit these kind of repetitive hypnotic blues effects. Moby is the most famous example. But hell, why listen to Moby when you can hear something that gets the same job done, but comes right from the deepest part of the human soul and North Mississippi soil?

Maybe the real benefit of artists like Moby is increasing interest among young people in the roots, somewhat like the effect of the British rock invasion in the 60s.

On this subject, I was very impressed by the latest R.L. Burnside album, "Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down." I have had very mixed feelings about past attempts to "update" R.L.'s sound with various "modern" effects and gimmicks. But I think that "Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down" really works, at least a number of the tracks do. They succeed in creating something that works both as (sometimes spine chilling) deep Mississippi blues and new electronic music. Very encouraging for the future.

Boogie Chillin' !

Muddy Lives

quote:

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Originally posted by Muddy Lives:
is a lot of techno-oriented and even hip hop music these days that tries to exploit these kind of repetitive hypnotic blues effects. Moby is the most famous example.
(snip)
Maybe the real benefit of artists like Moby is increasing interest among young people in the roots, somewhat like the effect of the British rock invasion in the 60s.

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So true what you mention about the impact of crossover music on the original genre.

I bought Moby's Play album about 2 years ago well before the masses caught on - I was a fan of his earlier techno work. His innovative use of blues and gospel samples melded together with a wide variety of synthetic and natural instruments made for one heck of a CD. This CD was playing easily 50% of the time in my player, both at home and in the car.

I believe some of the blues/gospel/field hollering samples included a good number from the Alan Lomax box set.

Other artists who I like that also sample classic rareties in the blues, early rock and jazz include The Beastie Boys, Massive Attack as well as Rage against the Machine.

A lot of early hip hop music (Public Enemy, EPMD, Schooly D, LL Cool J) also used samples from the great masters of black music... I think this has a subtle effect on the listeners. Some people believe that the "kids" who listen to this music don't appreciate the origins but I disagree. Eventually these kids grow older, and their taste for the arts (including music) evolve and they may be surprised to "discover" an artist - or a sound - which was actually from 50 years before their time!