Lonesome Sundown I'm A Mojo Man CD

Lonesome Sundown (his real name was Cornelius Green) had a little bit more Delta and Chicago blues in him than most of his Louisiana labelmates who recorded for producer J.D. Miller. Not that Sundown's sound isn't solidly in the so-called swamp blues tradition, but where Slim Harpo, Silas Hogan, and the other Excello artists worked from a laconic, Jimmy Reed-like shuffle, Sundown quickened the pace (at least for an Excello act) to a nastier level, and with Miller's reverb-laden production, ended up sounding a little bit like Jimmy Reed on speed, particularly on tracks like "Don't Go." Not that Lonesome Sundown couldn't do the patented Louisiana blues shuffle when he chose to, as his signature tune, "I'm a Mojo Man," shows, or even improve on the pattern, as with the loose-limbed and brilliant "I'm a Samplin' Man," but he seemed most at home doing more standard blues fare like the modern-sounding "My Home Is a Prison." This collection from Ace Records essentially reproduces the same set that is available from Excello Records, only with a different running order. Although Sundown made a comeback of sorts with a mid-'70s album from Alligator Records, these Excello sides are the ones you need. ~ Steve Leggett

1994 compilation for artist who unlike many of his swamp blues brethren, the evocatively moniker Lonesome Sundown (the name was an inspired gift from producer J.D. Miller), wasn't a Jimmy Reed disciple. Sundown's somber brand of blues was more in keeping with the gruff sound of Muddy Waters. The guitarist was one of the most powerful members of Miller's south Louisiana stable, responsible for several seminal swamp standards on Excello Records. Ace.