Junior Kimbrough – Sad Days, Lonely Nights

I saw Junior Kimbrough play at the San Francisco Blues Festival, and he fell off his chair when he was trying to get set up. That was more exciting than the entire rest of the festival combined.

And then he started to play. And he was just as killer as you’d expect him to be, based on what you’d expect, having listened to this album.

I don’t remember a single other act.

Jazz cats talk about bein’ modal. Country blues cats have known since forever that just means sittin’ on one chord forever. Few do it better than Junior Kimbrough did it.

This is just straight up as badass as it gets. Junior is SO tough. This is just dirty, boot-stompin’ haiku blues in action. So in-the-moment you can smell it.

Listen to both versions of Sad Days, Lonely Nights (the song): the band one, and the solo one. (Thank GOD the producers of this album included both!). And then go take a bath.

Man, I mean, I talk about RAW a lot when it comes to this music, but THIS … is raw.

And so, so good.