ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 25, 2002
By Steve Newton
This is my favourite soundtrack album of the year, so far; I must have played it 20 times already.
It’s essentially a showcase for the rough-hewn backwoods boogie of North Mississippi hill-country blues artists Robert Belfour, T-Model Ford, Junior Kimbrough, and R. L. Burnside. The latter old-timer—with the help of harp legend James Cotton and primo string-benders Buddy Guy and Derek Trucks—really goes to town on Bob Dylan’s “Everything Is Broken”.
There’s lots more wonderful stuff, too, including superlative tracks by Tom Waits, Steve Earle (with Norman Blake on dobro), and former Television bard Tom Verlaine, who offers the funky instrumental “Sleepwalkin’ ” and joins the Kronos Quartet on the uplifting “Spiritual”.
I suggest you get on down to the record store right now and pick this sucker up.