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Blues Underground Network |
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Sleepy Eyes Nelson "Where The Town
Ends"
It does not take any time at all, once
you start listening to Sleepy Eyes Nelson's music, to realize that when it
comes to Country Blues, he is certainly the real deal. Sleepy Eyes Nelson
is probably one of the purest and unpretentious Blues players out there
today. He lives his life with a rare simplicity and creates and
plays his style of Country Blues in much the same manner. A good
example of that is his latest release, "Where The Town Ends", an
album for which Sleepy Eyes Nelson, not only wrote all but two of the
Tracks, he also mixed and recorded it Live in his
home.
"Where The Town Ends" consists of 10
Tracks, with the 2 Tracks Sleepy Eyes Nelson did not write, credited to
Mike Snow ("Preacher Man Blues" and "Laughin' Mortician Blues"). Of the 10
Tracks all but 2 end with the word Blues and if you ever thought there was
something that had not had the Blues sung about it, you would be convinced
that that list has certainly shortened, once you see the subject matter
covered on this album. Fried Chicken Blues, Preacher Man
Blues, Giving Up Blues, Laughin' Mortician Blues, St.
Vincent Street Blues, Not So Friendly Blues, Dying Rodent Blues,
and Postman Blues are about as diverse a collection of Blues subjects
you are apt to hear on any Blues album, Country Blues or
otherwise.
There are 3 things that make Sleepy
Eyes Nelson such a great Country Blues artist, which are his vocals, his
mastery of the Guitar, and his amazing ability to put pen to paper. His
vocals are clear and concise, reminiscent of artists from many years past,
most notable, although not a Country Blues artist, Hank Williams Sr.
Nelson's vocals just match his music perfectly. One reviewer stated that
"His sound belongs among the best blues musicians of the early 20th
century", and I certainly could not argue with that. His Guitarmanship,
comes across with a feel of flawless simplicity, yet we all know how
hard it must have been to master his style of playing to the level he has
achieved. Last, but certainly not least, is his amazing and prolific
songwriting which match the true essence of Country Blues to perfection,
not only in their content and delivery, but also in their length,
which, for this album, were authentically all under 3 minutes. There
is also one other bit that draws this album into the realm of true old
fashioned Country Blues, and that is the rawness you get from this album
due to it being recorded Live. It is that rawness that makes you feel like
Sleepy Eyes Nelson is sitting right there in your house with
you.
Although perceived, by me at least, as
being a somewhat humble Country Blues artist whom simply loves doing what
he is doing and if it leads to accolades and acclaim, it is appreciated
but certainly it is not his main goal, which is to just keep writing
and performing the Blues, just for the love of
it.
As far as Country Blues is concerned,
you won't find any much better then Sleepy Eyes Nelson and you won't find
any much better Country Blues recording, especially in this day and age,
then "Where The Town
Ends".
For Country Blues afficianado's,
"Where The Town Ends" is a must have and highly recommended addition to
ones
collection.
I would also like to Highly Recommend
Sleepy Eyes Nelson's "The Town Trail" a great companion CD to "Where The
Town Ends", and for which was also recorded in the same manner and
style.
Review by John Vermilyea (Blues
Underground
Network)
Additional Info
Tracklist
1. Fried Chicken Blues
2. Preacher Man Blues 3. I Like To Drink On My Own 4. Giving Up Blues 5. Laughin' Mortician Blues 6. St. Vincent Street Blues 7. Not So Friendly Blues 8. Worried Blues On My Mind 9. Dying Rodent Blues 10. Postman Blues
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