CD Review
Watermelon Slim and The Workers -
Watermelon Slim and The Workers
The beauty of the Oracles and the Oracles Extended Family is evidenced by the fact that I am writing this review.
- O2 posts a message on the boards on January 23rd entitled Blues Music Awards Nominees.
- I read said post and notice this guy, Watermelon Slim is nominated for:
- Album of the Year
- Entertainer of the Year
- Song of the Year
- Traditional Blues Album of the Year
- Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year
- I think to myself, "This guy and his band are REALLY good OR there just ain’t nothing happening in the blues scene." After all, some have the opinion that is a tired genre. I would not be one of them.
- I am out with my CD shopping fool of a son, Dweezil, and see said album and decide to pick it up and give it a whirl.
- What a good decision I made.
Bill "Watermelon Slim" Humons takes me back. The Oklahoma native has a drawl about him that makes me wanna grab my Red Man and spit into an old tomato can. This guy has a great annunciation technique that makes the simplest of words sound painful.
The CD opens with the slide guitar, infested "Hard Times". Listen to lyrics, Nobs. This ditty sets the tone for the rest of the CD. With lyrics like "I’m too poor to pay attention and too tired to sleep," is it any wonder this number is up for Song of the Year?
The CD continues with a very nice mix of acoustic and electronic blues that leaves you wanting more. Slim’s treatment of "Baby Please Don’t Go" reminds me of why Muddy Waters is one of the giants. His tongue-in-cheek approach to "Check Writing Woman" made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it. The driver in the car next to me was rather amused. His blend of humor seems to have an autobiographical slant to it. I cannot confirm this (if your reading this and know Slim, please chime in). This album has a very colorful nature to it that should attract more than just the standard blues crowd. Unfortunately, too many are listening to Fergie and Mary J. Blige, thus they will overlook Slim.
Watermelon’s backing band in right on. They accentuate without getting in the way. For whatever reason, these guys remind me of Elvis' original backing band. Maybe it's because I am reading a book Bubba gave me for Christmas about Scotty, DJ and Bill. This whole exercise serves as a reminder that the Blues birthed Rock and Roll. We should never forget that.
Please, Nobs, buy this thing and then stop by your local UDF, pick up a pouch of loose leaf, a 6-pack of Old Milwaukee and have a grand old time.
02.15.07