Fred McDowell was born and died in Tennessee, yet he is known as one of the most influential guitarists in the regional hill country blues style of the Mississippi by the likes of legendary delta bluesmen such as Junior Kimbrough.
Says Fred: [sleeve transcription]
Says Fred: [sleeve transcription]
"I seem like I'm at home there when in Mississippi ... and I do not play no rock and roll y'all. I just play straight 'n natchel blue. And whenever you get somebody, you know, you want to plow for you, you just call for Fred McDowell. Hmmm. I were raised on the farm, you unnerstand. Now the only way you can rock Fred you have to put him in a rocking chair, or just lay me down, you unnerstand, see heah ... that's my type of rocking!"
In this opening statement, which begins the album, Fred McDowell deconstructs and demystifies the regional exoticism of his identity played up in his image and promotion as an artist. He also dismisses the appropriative use of the term "rock 'n' roll" as a descriptor of his music, which is clearly in the culturally significant Afro-American musical idiom of the blues. Then he and his band and his bottleneck mesmerize us with their hypnotic rhythmic chordal drones and fluctuating tempos. Nuanced and understated renditions of delta classics such as Baby Please Don't Go and McDowell authored pieces Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Highway 61 and Everybody's Down On Me give off an atmosphere that is hot and humid, like a Mississippi swamp in summer, but always with the occasional cool breeze off the surface of the water.
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