CEDELL DAVIS
''WHEN LIGHTNING STRUCK THE PINE''
AUGUST 20 2002
53:16
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 Baby /5:07
11. Hold Me Baby /6:27
Danny Balis /Bass
Jeffrey Barnes /Harmonica, Saxophone
Peter Buck /Bass, Guitar, Surdo
Joe Cripps /Drums, Percussion
CeDell Davis /Guitar, Vocals
Barrett Martin /Drums, Percussion
Scott McCaughey /Bass, Guitar, Pedal Steel
Alex Veley /Keyboards
REVIEW
by Chris Nickson
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.
BIOGRAPHY
by John Bush
CeDell Davis was born in 1927 in Helena, AR. His right hand was crippled by polio at the age of ten, so he switched his guitar to a left-handed bottleneck style, which makes for a unique, atonal sound. He played locally throughout the 1950s and '60s, with friends such as Robert Nighthawk, Big Joe Williams and Charlie Jordan. After a series of compilation appearances and several live dates in New York, Fat Possum Records signed Davis. Noted blues journalist Robert Palmer produced his debut, Feel like Doin' Something Wrong (1994). The Best Of... (1995) was also released, with help from Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit. The Horror of It All followed in 1998. Davis took time away from recording after these releases, and spent the next four years writing and performing. When he returned to the studio, he drafted musicians like R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and the Screaming Trees' Barrett Martin into his sessions. The final results, When Lightnin' Struck the Pine, arrived in stores that summer.
DoWnLoAd
''WHEN LIGHTNING STRUCK THE PINE''
AUGUST 20 2002
53:16
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 Baby /5:07
11. Hold Me Baby /6:27
Danny Balis /Bass
Jeffrey Barnes /Harmonica, Saxophone
Peter Buck /Bass, Guitar, Surdo
Joe Cripps /Drums, Percussion
CeDell Davis /Guitar, Vocals
Barrett Martin /Drums, Percussion
Scott McCaughey /Bass, Guitar, Pedal Steel
Alex Veley /Keyboards
REVIEW
by Chris Nickson
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.
BIOGRAPHY
by John Bush
CeDell Davis was born in 1927 in Helena, AR. His right hand was crippled by polio at the age of ten, so he switched his guitar to a left-handed bottleneck style, which makes for a unique, atonal sound. He played locally throughout the 1950s and '60s, with friends such as Robert Nighthawk, Big Joe Williams and Charlie Jordan. After a series of compilation appearances and several live dates in New York, Fat Possum Records signed Davis. Noted blues journalist Robert Palmer produced his debut, Feel like Doin' Something Wrong (1994). The Best Of... (1995) was also released, with help from Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit. The Horror of It All followed in 1998. Davis took time away from recording after these releases, and spent the next four years writing and performing. When he returned to the studio, he drafted musicians like R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and the Screaming Trees' Barrett Martin into his sessions. The final results, When Lightnin' Struck the Pine, arrived in stores that summer.
DoWnLoAd
