The Too Bad Jims - Over The Hill: A Tribute to RL Burnside

Album: Over The Hill
Size: 74,7 MB
Time: 31:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2025
Styles: Blues, Hill Country Blues
Art: Front

1. Miss Maybelle (2:38)
2. Going Down South (4:32)
3. Long Haired Doney (3:34)
4. Peaches (2:37)
5. Black Mattie (3:31)
6. Out On The Road (3:34)
7. Jumper On The Line (2:30)
8. Over The Hill (2:20)
9. Alice Mae (4:07)
10. Skinny Woman (2:24)

This is a new band, based in the UK but containing two Americans. Little Victor Mac is perhaps best remembered for his work with the late Louisiana Red; Son Jack Jr. moved to England more recently from his Seattle location. Both men are avid fans of the North Mississippi Hill Country style of blues, and of RL Burnside in particular. They had met over social media and as soon as both were living on the same side of the pond they decided to work together.

Their choice of drummer was Nick Simonon, and if that name sounds familiar, yes, Nick is the brother of The Clash’s Paul. Between them they bring plenty of energy to the music; Little Victor actually played with RL (as well as others including Jesse Mae Hemphill and Robert Belfour), Son Jack enjoyed a successful career in the States, releasing three albums under his own name and touring with Charlie Musselwhite; Nick has toured with The B52s and The Clash and plays in a style not unlike RL’s grandson, Cedric Burnside. The material here is drawn entirely from RL’s catalogue and the sleeve notes explain in detail the origins of the songs, many drawn from traditional sources but usually credited to RL in that long-standing blues practice of appropriation.

Vocals are shared between Victor and Jack and both play guitar. Much of the material is relentlessly upbeat, typified by the opener “Miss Maybelle”, the grungy guitars over basic and insistent drums, all very much in the style of the originals. “Going Down South” is perhaps RL’s best known song, having been covered many times; the Jims’ version is heavy on the slide work, the vocals sounding a little ‘distant’. “Long Haired Doney” rattles along before “Peaches” provides more of a John Lee Hooker approach. We return to the faster pace with another well known RL tune, “Black Mattie” before some Elmore James style slide on “Out On The Road” (also known as “I Got To Find My Baby”), again with distorted vocals.

“Jumper On The Line” was the title track of one of RL’s albums, another tune that barrels along impressively. It’s quite a short track, as are “Skinny Woman” and “Over The Hill”. RL’s tribute to his wife, “Alice Mae”, completes the album. Fans of North Mississippi Hill Country blues should enjoy this tribute, clearly put together with admiration by the band, or, in their own words, “a humble tribute to our hero RL Burnside and his music”. /John Mitchell, Blues Blast Magazine

Over The Hill: A Tribute To RL Burnside mc
Over The Hill: A Tribute To RL Burnside gofile

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