Earlier today, while driving in my car, I decided that I wanted to hear some grimy, gritty and dirty blues music. I had just recently listened to some old Black Keys, so they weren't an option. Same with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. I thought about Led Zeppelin, but I wasn't in the mood for 14 minute long blues jams. I then dug deep into my iPod and I found some RL Burnside. It had been a long while since I listened to him, so I decided that was what I going to go with for the day.

Boy was that the perfect choice for the music I was craving. RL Burnside does the gritty stuff great. He does the grimy stuff even better. But when you want dirty, muddy and greasy blues music, there is no better option. RL was ahead of his time even though he was in his late 60's and early 70's before he even recorded an album. 

The record I chose was "A Ass Pocket of Whiskey", and it was better than anything that Jon Spencer, The White Stripes and, and dare I even say it, early Black Keys have ever done. His voice is so perfect for this style of music. He has that old man growl that I adore when it comes to the blues. It is stupendous. You can feel his pain when he sings, but you can also tell that he is having a blast recording. When he is singing, you can tell he feels that he is doing what he is supposed to be doing. It is like he was put on Earth to sing grimy blues music. His version of the classic blues tune "Stop Breaking Down" is the best of any cover of that song. Bands like The White Stripes, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears and The Black Keys have all covered this. They don't come close to Burnside's version. The growl and the groans are wonderful. The pain is awesome. The smoothness that his voice brings to this song is perfection. I love it so very much. This goes for all his songs, originals or covers. He knew exactly what he was doing when he was in the studio. One thing that will haunt me is the fact that I never got to see him live. I bet his shows were a blast. I bet he had so much fun on stage and I bet it showed. Man I wish I could have seen him live.

But, it isn't just himself that rules. His band, and his guitar was some of the best gritty and muddy blues ever recorded. The way he used reverb and distortion on every song, stupendous. When I play the blues I like to use the same stuff, but I am not 1/10 the player he was. And it wasn't like he was playing intricate or super hard music. He was playing standard 12 bar blues on his guitar, but the way he used the 2 main effects that he chose, it was masterful. I can see why he was such a big influence on Dan Auerbach. He uses reverb and distortion, especially in the early days, almost as good as Burnside used to. His backing band was great too. The drummer was awesome. I'm not a big fan of drums when it comes to the blues. When you use it like RL's backing band did, it works. To keep the beat for the band, but also use fills, make it sound just as dirty and to have fun with the drums, it was great. The bassist used reverb and distortion just like RL, and, again, it was perfectly simpatico. The way the bass bounced off the guitar was kismet. Again, I love it. Even the backing vocals were perfection. The guys that yell sing with RL, it just works so god damn well. On the song "Snake Drive", when the backup singer yells the words at the end, I don't want it to stop. They have another song where the backup singer is just straight up talking to RL and it is awesome. He is just asking RL random questions, RL answers him in his gruff voice, and it is oddly perfect.

RL lived a fast and hard life and it comes across in his music. He has a famous quote that sums up his music perfectly. When he was younger he spent some time in jail for shooting a guy. He was asked in court why he killed that man, and he said, "I didn't kill that man, the bullet from the gun I shot did". I know, that is crazy. But, when you listen to his music, it weirdly makes sense. Also, he shot and killed a guy, was released from jail and became a folk hero in the blues music scene. How crazy is that?!

RL Burnside died over a decade ago, but his music still lives on. If you like the grimy stuff, the gritty, the muddy and the dirty blues, filled with reverb and distortion, go listen to anything that RL Burnside recorded. He was an awesome blues musician, and I will forever listen to his music any time I want to get down and dirty with the blues. I suggest you do the same.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is only 1/10th the blues player that RL Burnside was, but Ty is 6/7 of acoustic guitar player of the random weirdo strumming at your local coffee shop.

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