CHARLIE MUSSLEWHITE & RICHARD BARGEL DO THE MISSISIPPI BEAT

 

Far out! This is powerful and rich blues if ever I heard it. I went digging for a CHARLIE MUSSLEWHITE song featuring on his 2005 ALLIGATOR RECORDS greatest hits collection, and I was met by this live recording with guitarist RICHARD BARGEL titled MISSISSIPPI BEAT PART 1. 

It's sounds so much like something ELMORE JAMES would have written in his heyday, like the song THE SKY IS CRYING, just with a few more amps ramping it up. 

MUSSLEWHITE is up there in my top three harp players of all time, but this performance at Cologne, Germany in 2007 also showcases just what a mighty fine blues singer he is as well. 

There's a strong hint of a Kansas City blues influence in the emphatic way in which MUSSLEWHITE sings the blues, he is like a white man version of JIMMY RUSHING on that score. 

As for playing the harp, he is both a traditionalist and a pioneer. Somewhere between SONNY TERRY and the late NORTON BUFFALO. 

The Alligator Records greatest hits is a fantastic introduction to CHARLIE MUSSLEWHITE. Even if you aren't a big fan of the harmonica I still think no blues collection is complete without having this guy amongst it.