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Blue Light
Jimbo Mathus
Label: Big Legal Mess Records
Release Date: July 17, 2012
Review Date: July 22, 2012
Music and blues enthusiasts have definitely heard of Jimbo Mathus – either from his days as the head hauncho of the group, Squirrel Nut Zippers, or, if not there, then most definitely from his crucial contributions to Buddy Guy’s Sweet Tea as well as Buddy’s Grammy Award-winning album, Blues Singer.
In Mathus’s home state of Mississippi and throughout the south, he is known as the “torchbearer for Deep South mythology and culture. Think Delta highways, bowling-pin Budweisers and ‘interplanetary honky-tonk’ for the masses.’ After listening to his new CD, Blue Light, I couldn’t agree more.
The three randomly picked Boomerocity favorites on this album are:
Ain’t Feelin’ It has a very Dylan-esque (circa 1979) vibe to it. Smooth. Edgy. Lyrically to the point. I love, love, love this song.
The bluesy Shackles and Chains is a short and sweet tune whose melodic hook will embed itself in your mind, giving quite a satisfying earworm. If fun, smooth and worth the price of the CD all by itself.
Equally fun but with a totally different vibe to it is the country gospel sounding Burn the Honky Tonk. Having been raised in churches in the deep south, I can almost envision this tune with actual gospel lyrics being sung while an old no-name upright piano is being played. The lyrics as written are quite entertaining.
Blue Light is a short and sweet CD (six songs in all with one with an explicit title and lyrics) but don’t let the brevity of the song list fool you. This is a very good disc to own.
Written by Randy Patterson
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