01	Miss Maybelle						02:20
	02	House Up On The Hill						02:46
	03	Gone So Long						03:21
	04	Skinny Women						02:22
	05	See What My Buddy Done						03:11
	06	Don'T Care How Long You'Re Gone						02:22
	07	Lost Without Your Love						03:15
	08	Shake 'Em On Down						02:49
	09	Bad Luck And Trouble						03:40
	10	Just Like A Women						02:45
	11	Greyhound Bus Station						03:45
	12	Crying Won'T Make Me Stay						03:00
	13	Rolling And Tumbling						02:45
	14	Mellow Peaches						02:57
	15	I Believe						02:24
	16	Poor Boy						03:02
	17	Poor Black Mattie						02:53
	18	Jumper On The Line						02:50
	19	Long Haired Donkey						04:42

Date of Release Jul 11, 2000

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: It's a pleasure to hear R.L. Burnside's early acoustic blues played the way he learned them in the hill country of Northern Mississippi. Three of these tracks date from 1967 and were recorded in Coldwater, MS by folklorist George Mitchell, while the remaining 16 were recorded in the early '80s by Swingmaster operator Leo Bruin in Groningen, Netherlands. This is Burnside playing solo (and mainly) acoustic country blues with the only addition to his guitar and voice being the harmonica of Red Ramsey on "Rolling and Tumbling." While you can't go wrong with the purchase of any Burnside recording, these Swingmaster sessions portray a natural relaxed unaccompanied Burnside. Recorded long before the mid-'90s, Fat Possum releases would find him playing in an electric band with his son and son-in-law and occasionally experimenting with sampling and indie rock leanings. - Al Campbell

1. Miss Maybelle (Traditional) - 2:20
2. House upon the Hill (Traditional) - 2:46
3. Gone So Long (Traditional) - 3:21
4. Skinny Woman (Traditional) - 2:22
5. See What My Buddy Done (Traditional) - 3:11
6. Don't Care How Long You're Gone (Traditional) - 2:22
7. Lost Without Your Love [#] (Traditional) - 3:15
8. Shake 'Em on Down (Traditional) - 2:49
9. Bad Luck and Trouble (Traditional) - 3:40
10. Just Like a Woman (Traditional) - 2:45
11. Greyhound Bus Station [#] (Traditional) - 3:45
12. Crying Won't Make Me Stay [#] (Traditional) - 3:00
13. Rollin' and Tumblin' (Traditional) - 2:45
14. Mellow Peaches (Traditional) - 2:58
15. I Believe (Traditional) - 2:24
16. Poor Boy (Traditional) - 3:02
17. Poor Black Mattie (Traditional) - 2:53
18. Jumper on the Line (Traditional) - 2:50
19. Long Haired Doney (Traditional) - 4:42

R.L. Burnside - Guitar, Arranger, Vocals
Axel Kuestner - Photography
Red Ramsey - Harmonica

2000 CD Swingmaster 2201
2001 CD Fat Possum 80341

R.L. Burnside
AKA born: Rural L. Burnside
Born Nov 23, 1926 in Oxford, MS
Styles Juke Joint Blues, Modern Delta Blues, Delta Blues, Electric Delta Blues, Electric Blues, Modern Electric Blues
Instruments Vocals, Guitar

North Mississippi guitarist R.L. Burnside is one of the paragons of state-of-the-art Delta juke joint blues. The guitarist, singer and songwriter was born November 23, 1926 in Oxford, MS, and makes his home in Holly Springs, in the hill country above the Delta. He's lived most of his life in the Mississippi hill country, which, unlike the Delta region, consists mainly of a lot of small farms. He learned his music from his neighbor, Fred McDowell, and the highly rhythmic style that Burnside plays is evident in McDowell's recording as well. Despite the otherworldly country-blues sounds put down by Burnside and his family band, known as the Sound Machine, his other influences are surprisingly contemporary: Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins. But Burnside's music is pure country Delta juke joint blues, heavily rhythm-oriented and played with a slide.
It's only recently that he's been hitting full stride with his tours and his music, thanks to the efforts of Fat Possum Records. In recent years, the label has issued recordings made by a group of Burnside's peers, including Junior Kimbrough, Dave Thompson and others.

Up until the mid-'80s, Burnside was primarily a farmer and fisherman. After getting some attention in the late '60s via folklorists David Evans and George Mitchell (Mitchell recorded him for the Arhoolie label), he recorded for the Vogue, Swingmaster and Highwater record labels. Although he had done short tours, it wasn't until the late '80s that he was invited to perform at several European blues festivals. In 1992, he was featured alongside his friend Junior Kimbrough (whose Holly Spings juke joint Burnside lives next to), in a documentary film, Deep Blues. His debut recording, Bad Luck City, was released that same year on Fat Possum Records. Burnside has a second record out on the Oxford-based Fat Possum label, Too Bad Jim (1994).

These recordings showcase the raw, barebones electric guitar stylings of Burnside, and on both recordings he's accompanied by a small band, which includes his son Dwayne on bass and son-in-law Calvin Jackson on drums, as well as guitarist Kenny Brown. Both recordings also adequately capture the feeling of what it must be like to be in Junior Kimbrough's juke joint, where both men have been playing this kind if raw, unadulterated blues for over 30 years. This is the kind of downhome, backporch blues played today as it has been for many decades. In 1996, Burnside teamed with indie-rocker Jon Spencer to cut A Ass Pocket O' Whiskey for the hip Matador label; he returned to Fat Possum in 1998 for the more conventional Come on In. My Black Name A-Ringin' followed a year later and Mississippi Hill Country Blues and Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down were released in 2000. Well Well Well and Goin' Down South both appeared in 2001. - Richard Skelly



1992 Bad Luck City [live] Fat Possum
1994 Too Bad Jim Epitaph
1996 Ass Pocket of Whiskey Matador
1997 Mr. Wizard Fat
1997 Sound Machine Groove HMG
1997 Acoustic Stories M.C.
1998 Come on In Epitaph
1999 My Black Name A-Ringin' Genes
2000 Mississippi Hill Country Blues Swingmaster
2000 Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down
2001 Well Well Well M.C.
2001 Goin' Down South Hightone
2001 Burnside on Burnside Epitaph

1998 Rollin' Tumblin' Bong Load