Downhome Sophisticate

Rating

Album: Downhome Sophisticate
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Giddyup	More Info...	0:18
2)	Frankie Doris	More Info...	2:51
3)	Money On My Mind	More Info...	3:30
4)	Don't Let The Devil Ride	More Info...	2:10
5)	Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning	More Info...	2:52
6)	Capitaine	More Info...	2:07
7)	Santoro	More Info...	2:36
8)	Fire On The Radio	More Info...	0:27
9)	Fire	More Info...	5:10
10)	BB	More Info...	2:19
11)	Down Home Prelude	More Info...	0:10
12)	Downhome Sophisticate	More Info...	3:18
13)	Sista Rose	More Info...	6:25
14)	Black Maria	More Info...	4:31
15)	Chinook Interlude	More Info...	2:31
16)	Money Eye	More Info...	4:04
17)	Where The Yellow Crossed The Dog	More Info...	1:53
18)	F'Shizza Santoro remix	More Info...	5:43

Album: Downhome Sophisticate
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Giddyup	More Info...	0:18
2)	Frankie Doris	More Info...	2:51
3)	Money On My Mind	More Info...	3:30
4)	Don't Let The Devil Ride	More Info...	2:10
5)	Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning	More Info...	2:52
6)	Capitaine	More Info...	2:07
7)	Santoro	More Info...	2:36
8)	Fire On The Radio	More Info...	0:27
9)	Fire	More Info...	5:10
10)	BB	More Info...	2:19
11)	Down Home Prelude	More Info...	0:10
12)	Downhome Sophisticate	More Info...	3:18
13)	Sista Rose	More Info...	6:25
14)	Black Maria	More Info...	4:31
15)	Chinook Interlude	More Info...	2:31
16)	Money Eye	More Info...	4:04
17)	Where The Yellow Crossed The Dog	More Info...	1:53
18)	F'Shizza Santoro remix	More Info...	5:43

Performer Notes

Personnel includes: Corey Harris (vocals, guitar, lap steel guitar);
Jamal Millner (vocals, guitar, mandolin); Rob Jackson, Daniel Norman (spoken vocals); Lytle Henry (various instruments); Olu Dara (trumpet); John D'earth, Mark Maynard, Jeff Decker (horns); Henry Butler (organ, keyboards);
Vic Brown, Houston Ross (bass); Johnny Gilmore (drums); Darrell Rose (percussion); Davina Jackson, Darita Jackson (background vocals).
Engineers include: Jeff Juliano, Jeff Bagby, Steve Van Dam.
Recorded at Haunted Hollow, Charlottesville, Virginia and The Dojo, Sperryville, Virginia; Henry Productions, New York, New York.
Personnel: Corey Harris (guitar, lap steel guitar); Olu Dara (trumpet); Jeff Decker, John D'earth, Mark Maynard (horns); Henry Butler (keyboards); John Gilmore (drums); Darrell Rose (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Mark Henry; Jeff Juliano .
Recording information: Haunted Hollow Studio, Charlottesville, VA; Lytle Henry Productions, New York, NY; The Dojo, Sperryville, VA.
Photographer: Jennifer Esperanza.
Arranger: Jamal Millner.
Corey Harris emerged in the '90s as one of the most promising and inventive young blues artists to appear in quite some time, mixing his acoustic country blues with New Orleans-style horns for a unique sound. Subsequent work found him introducing full electric band instrumentation and a mix of R&B, rock, funk and even reggae inflections. This album builds upon those developments while coming at the blues from a standpoint that's simultaneously grittier and quirkier.
While there's no denying the authenticity of Harris's roots, the combination of driving slide guitar and left-field tone/attitude occasionally suggest early Beck jamming with the North Mississippi All-Stars. Amid all the furor, Harris still finds time for reflective acoustic guitar instrumentals like "Capitaine" and the lilting, highlife-tinged "Sista Rose." For the most part though, the blend of blues foundations and unpretentious modernism creates a new, entirely organic paradigm that announces Harris as one of the most important roots artists of the 21st century.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (5/23/02, p.81) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...Harris takes several stabs at breaking the mold-encrusted goober dust spread around the bedrock of modern blues variations..."

Q (8/02, pp.124,126) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Weaving his slide-guitar R&B basics around all manner of rippling juju, bouncy ska and chain-gang mantras...his approach is always heartfelt..."

Living Blues (7-8/02, p.41) - "...His overall theme remains powerful throughout and his facility in the diverse styles he's chosen keeps his vision honed and true."