R. L. Burnside - A Bothered Mind (2004)

New, unexplored directions in music. A Bothered Mind is a great title (I call dibs on it because I'm going to use it for the name of my band: Mark and The Bothered Minds). While R.L. Burnside was a blues guitarist/singer, this is hardly what I would call a blues album. It's more of a hip hop-meets-blues-meets-rap-meets garage rock kinda album. Burnside is obviously having a great time here; you can hear him laughing throughout the album. I like albums that attempt to fuse genres because even when they aren't successful, they lead to greater things. This is a relevant, fascinating study in remixes. Great music for backyard bbq on a hot summer day. It would have been interesting to see where this would have led, but, unfortunately, Burnside died in 2005. I would have loved to have heard a collaboration between Burnside and Drive-By Truckers.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Peak on Billboard Top Blues Albums chart: #6

Tracks: I like Shake 'Em On Down, Go To Jail, Goin' Away Baby, Rollin' And Tumblin', and Stole My Check (which has the best lyrics on the CD). The track with Kid Rock, My Name Is Robert Too, is contrived, but I can't help but like it. The two collaborations with Lyrics Born, Goin' Down South and Someday are both good. For me, the highlight of the CD is the 1968 acoustic version of Bird Without A Feather. While this should seem strangely out of place on this CD, it's not. It just fits. Nothing you'd want to skip on this one.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This CD reminds me of a trip to Houston with my buddy Jim (who turned me on to Burnside). I think we went to the Reggae Festival and were extremely disappointed.