Living Blues Magazine #216
December 2011 / January 2012
BIG JOE SHELTON
Tha Older I Get The Better I Was
ALT 45 RECORDS
Mississippi native Big Joe Shelton's second release on the independent ALT 45 RECORDS label features some musical ( Psychoanalyst Voodoo Queen ) and lyrical ( They Can't Be Satisfied ) gems that reveal themselves with repeated listens. Backed by a powerful band, Shelton's witty and keen observations on relationships, politics, and the huiman condition make The Older I Get The Better I Was a worthwhile purchase.The Older I Get The Better I Was is a solid effort.
The disc starts with Hole In Yo Soul and the title track which are standard juke joint blues shuffles that Shelton could probably write in his sleep. By the third song, however, Big Joe and The Black Prairie Blues Ambassadors, offer listeners something to get excited about: the drum introduction and greasy slide guitar distinguish What Else Can It Be; the zydeco-flavored Psychoanalyst Voodoo Queen, is a rollicking and hilarious tale of Shelton's new voodoo lover: " She came to me through the radio / On a late night New Orleans call in show / She was curing woes from A to Z /...She soothed my soul and my mental mind / Man she made me feel so fine / She's the woman in my dreams," The loping Midnight In Mississippi genuinely captures the pathos of self-loathing and loneliness. And Ashes To Ashes, a tale of betrayal and relational dissolution, is the CD's keynote song and captures the Ambassadors at their best: Ed Swan's bass riff, Will Hunt's tribal drums, Ben Ferrell's slithering and seductive guitar, and Shelton's remarkable, weathered sandpaper voice coalesce into a dynamic whole, creating genuine suspense and tension.
The CD is dedicated to blues musician Willie King and former Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Donald "Ean" Wayne Evans ( both died in 2009 ), and there is no doubt that King would have enjoyed listening to They Can't Be Satisfied, a clear-headed challenge to racists who recoil at the notion of an African-American bring president and blame President Obama for the nation's troubles: "Cause for years they said nothin' bout the lying and the debt / As things kept getting worse they never got upset / But let him try and help them that need it most / They all want to tie him to the whipping post." The CD's finak track, Hard To Get Along, examines materialism and the breakdown of moral responsibility. "It's hard to get along" Shelton declares, "Living in a world filled with the greedy priviledged, undisciplined parents, and religious hypocrites." This social critique is an effective conclusion to an album that portends a promising future for Big Joe Shelton and company.
THE OLDER I GET THE BETTER I WAS is a 2012 Blues Music Awards nominee for "Song Of The Year". Listen to all the tracks from the album and read more reviews @ http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/big...=app_2405167945
December 2011 / January 2012
BIG JOE SHELTON
Tha Older I Get The Better I Was
ALT 45 RECORDS
Mississippi native Big Joe Shelton's second release on the independent ALT 45 RECORDS label features some musical ( Psychoanalyst Voodoo Queen ) and lyrical ( They Can't Be Satisfied ) gems that reveal themselves with repeated listens. Backed by a powerful band, Shelton's witty and keen observations on relationships, politics, and the huiman condition make The Older I Get The Better I Was a worthwhile purchase.The Older I Get The Better I Was is a solid effort.
The disc starts with Hole In Yo Soul and the title track which are standard juke joint blues shuffles that Shelton could probably write in his sleep. By the third song, however, Big Joe and The Black Prairie Blues Ambassadors, offer listeners something to get excited about: the drum introduction and greasy slide guitar distinguish What Else Can It Be; the zydeco-flavored Psychoanalyst Voodoo Queen, is a rollicking and hilarious tale of Shelton's new voodoo lover: " She came to me through the radio / On a late night New Orleans call in show / She was curing woes from A to Z /...She soothed my soul and my mental mind / Man she made me feel so fine / She's the woman in my dreams," The loping Midnight In Mississippi genuinely captures the pathos of self-loathing and loneliness. And Ashes To Ashes, a tale of betrayal and relational dissolution, is the CD's keynote song and captures the Ambassadors at their best: Ed Swan's bass riff, Will Hunt's tribal drums, Ben Ferrell's slithering and seductive guitar, and Shelton's remarkable, weathered sandpaper voice coalesce into a dynamic whole, creating genuine suspense and tension.
The CD is dedicated to blues musician Willie King and former Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Donald "Ean" Wayne Evans ( both died in 2009 ), and there is no doubt that King would have enjoyed listening to They Can't Be Satisfied, a clear-headed challenge to racists who recoil at the notion of an African-American bring president and blame President Obama for the nation's troubles: "Cause for years they said nothin' bout the lying and the debt / As things kept getting worse they never got upset / But let him try and help them that need it most / They all want to tie him to the whipping post." The CD's finak track, Hard To Get Along, examines materialism and the breakdown of moral responsibility. "It's hard to get along" Shelton declares, "Living in a world filled with the greedy priviledged, undisciplined parents, and religious hypocrites." This social critique is an effective conclusion to an album that portends a promising future for Big Joe Shelton and company.
THE OLDER I GET THE BETTER I WAS is a 2012 Blues Music Awards nominee for "Song Of The Year". Listen to all the tracks from the album and read more reviews @ http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/big...=app_2405167945
