Tag Archives: Rev. Robert Wilkins

365 Days of Album Recommendations – Apr 5

Robert Wilkins – The Original Rolling Stone

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Before he was Reverend Robert Wilkins of “Prodigal Son” fame (see: The Rolling Stones), he was Robert Wilkins, the “Original Rolling Stone” (see: The Rolling Stones & Muddy Waters). And WHEN he was Robert Wilkins the Original Rolling Stone, he was one of the curiouser voices, players, and songwriters in the whole country blues canon.

To discover this, one need only to actually LISTEN to his performances of Rollin’ Stone (parts 1 & 2), which together comprise some of the spookiest, moodiest, vibey-iest recordings ever made. I mean, these things are creepy … unprecedentedly cool, and definitely creepy …

That’s No Way To Get Along is of course the secular predecessor to the afore-mentioned Prodigal Son, and its mix of moodiness and bounce forms a bridge between Rollin’ Stone and the crazy upbeat swing of Old Jim Canan’s …

Don’t miss this chance to go beyond Muddy Waters, and learn something truly magical about the history of this great music …


It Was A Set Your Daddy Dug Tonight [Live Tracks Included]

Preacher Boy - Virgil Thrasher - The National Blues

The inestimably excellent Virgil Thrasher brought his groovily moody and soulfully squallfull harmonica to the stage this evening, and together we ran down a set list which—upon retrospecting—I rather dig.

Here’s the full list of the songs we spelunked in and out of over the course of two solid hours tonight (please click the hyperlinked tracks to hear live, guerrilla-live recordings straight from the stage to vibrating drums:

If I Had Possession Over My Judgement Day (arr. PB, after Robert Johnson)

Rollin’ Stone (arr. PB, after Rev. Robert Wilkins)

Evil Blues (arr. PB, after Mance Lipscomb)

Revenue Man Blues (arr. PB, after Charley Patton)

Levee Camp Blues (arr. PB, after Mississippi Fred McDowell)

Settin’ Sun (PB, from “The National Blues”)

Comin’ Up Aces (PB, from “Demanding To Be Next”)

I Just Hang Down My Head And I Cry (trad., arr. PB, after Mance Lipscomb)

Catfish Blues (trad., arr. PB, after Willie Doss)

Jackson Street (PB, from “Demanding To Be Next”)

The Dogs (PB, from “The Devil’s Buttermilk”)

Obituary Writer Blues (PB, from “The National Blues”)

Down And Out In This Town (PB, from “Gutters and Pews”)

Red Cedar River Blues (PB, new-unreleased)

My Car Walks On Water (PB, from “The National Blues”)

99 Bottles (PB, Demanding To Be Next”)

That’s No Way To Get Along (arr. PB, after Rev. Robert Wilkins)

Casey Bill Weldon (PB, new-unreleased)

You’ve Been A Good Old Wagon (arr. PB, after Dave Van Ronk)

Death Letter Blues (arr. PB, after Son House)

~

Yeah man. I dig. I dug. I dig.


Blues Under The Moonlight: The Setlist From Tonight

If every picture is a poem, this is a haiku:

PB_LiveBlues_Moonlight

 

What song to sing when
the moon’s white eye shines? Which tu-
ning, and how open?

~

In alphabetical order, these are the songs I chose:

  1. 99 Bottles (PB)
  2. A Little More Evil (PB)
  3. Baby, Please Don’t Go (Bukka White)
  4. Big Road Blues (Tommy Johnson)
  5. Catfish Blues (Willie Doss)
  6. Comin’ Up Aces (PB)
  7. Cornbread (PB)
  8. Dead, Boy (PB)
  9. Death Letter Blues (Son House)
  10. Down & Out In This Town (PB)
  11. Down South Blues (Sleepy John Estes)
  12. Down The Drain (PB)
  13. I Shall Not Be Moved (Mississippi John Hurt)
  14. If I Had Possession Over My Judgement Day (Robert Johnson)
  15. Jesus, Make Up My Dying Bed (Blind Willie Johnson)
  16. Livin’ On A Bad Dream (PB)
  17. My Car Walks On Water (PB)
  18. Seven’s In The Middle, Son (PB)
  19. That’s No Way To Get Along (Rev. Robert Wilkins)
  20. There Go John (PB)

PB_#SauceAndASideOfSlide

 

 

 


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