Papa George Lightfoot - Goin' Back To The Natchez Trace (1994)

2015-02-15T16:54:08Z

Papa George Lightfoot - Goin' Back To The Natchez Trace (1994)


1. My Woman Is Tired Of Me Lyin'
2. New Mean Old Train
3. Love My Baby
4. Goin' Down That Muddy Road
5. Ah Come On Honey
6. I Heard Somebody Crying
7. Take It Witcha
8. Nighttime
9. Early In The Morning
10. Walkin'
11. Goin' Back To Natchez
12. Baby Please Don't Go
13. Train Tune
14. Papa George - Talkin' About It

Papa George Lightfoot - Harmonica, Vocals
A.J. Johnson - Bass
Jerry Puckett - Guitar
Tommy Tate - Drums
Carson Whitsett - Piano

Papa George Lightfoot holds the distinction of being one of the few bluesmen to hail from Natchez, Mississippi. While most know Mississippi as the "birth place of the blues", the vast majority of those musicians came from the delta, which is a four hour shot on highway 61 north of Natchez. Natchez, by comparison, is much closer to Lousiana (just across the 'sippi river), and this proximity is forefront in Lightfoot's music. Thus, instead of the country-hard luck blues of the delta (a-la Muddy Waters, Son House, Pat Hare, etc.), Lightfoot's music embraces an r & b based flat-top beer joint good timeyness. Lightfoot's harmonica playing is rhythmic and distinctive. He tends to find a good riff and hang on, and he knows the value of not playing too many notes. He also doesn't do much wailing, a-la Little Walter or Sonnyboy Williamson. All in all, this is good, down-home, backyard BBQ party music, and should give the listener a feel for the electric blues popular in Natchez in 1969, and generally performed (and recorded, if at all) by regional, non-famous working class guys. Four stars on this one because it's not Lightfoot's best recording -- for that, check out the frenzied and primal rendering of "When The Saint's Go Marching On" found on the Imperial Records collection Rural Blues, Vol. 2. (Whether or not this is available on CD, I do not know). One last note -- the City of Natchez trash barrel featured on the cover of this album is still in use, just north of Natchez at a rest stop on the Natchez Trace. ---Ben "Swamp Donkey" Brenner, amazon.com

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Papa George Lightfoot - Natchez Trace (1969)

2015-02-07T16:49:50Z

Papa George Lightfoot - Natchez Trace (1969)


1- My Woman Is Tired Of Me Lyin'   
2- New Mean Old Train   
3- Love My Baby   
4- Goin' Down That Muddy Road   
5- Ah, Come On Honey   
6- Heard Somebody Crying   
7- Take It Witcha   
8- Nighttime [sic]   

Papa Lightfoot - vocals, harmonica
Carson Whitsett - piano 
Jerry Puckett - guitar 
Don Barret (Ron Johnson) -  bass 
Tommy Tate – drums

Until producer Steve LaVere redicovered him in 1969, harp giant Papa Lightfoot was revered for a mere handful of '50s sides. This album for Vault served as his comeback announcement, a gloriously down-in-the-alley affair cut at then-fledgling Malaco studios in Jackson, MS. Six bonus tracks, including three minutes of spoken monologue, have been added to the import CD reissue, enhancing an already fine album. ---Bill Dahl, Rovi

Thanks to a handful of terrific 1950s sides, the name of Papa Lightfoot was spoken in hushed and reverent tones by 1960s blues aficionados. Then, producer Steve LaVere tracked down the elusive harp master in Natchez, cutting an album for Vault in 1969 that announced to the world that Lightfoot was still wailing like a wildman on the mouth organ. Alas, his comeback was short-lived; he died in 1971 of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.

Sessions for Peacock in 1949 (unissued), Sultan in 1950, and Aladdin in 1952 preceded an amazing 1954 date for Imperial in New Orleans that produced Lightfoot's "Mean Old Train," "Wine Women Whiskey" (comprising his lone single for the firm) and an astonishing "When the Saints Go Marching In." Lightfoot's habit of singing through his harp microphone further coarsened his already rough-hewn vocals, while his harp playing was simply shot through with endless invention. Singles for Savoy in 1955 and Excello the next year (the latter billed him as "Ole Sonny Boy") closed out Lightfoot's '50s recording activities, setting the stage for his regrettably brief comeback in 1969. --- Bill Dahl, Rovi

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