Search - Fred Mcdowell :: Portraits: First Recordings

Solid

Jeffrey Konkel | 05/08/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Now, if you made it this far, don't stop reading quite yet. You are lucky to have stumbled upon the absolute cream of delta blues artists (and perhaps the best blues slide guitarist of all time). I came upon an old record of McDowell in a used record store and have been hooked ever since. That said, this is a solid record, but not his best. For an introduction to McDowell's beautiful, soulful acoustic guitar pieces, try his "You Gotta Move". Not only are the performances better, you get almost 30 more minutes of music on "You Gotta Move". Good listening!"

Best 60 minutes of Blues Guitar you'll ever hear

Jeffrey Konkel | 01/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mississippi Fred McDowell is unsurpaced as a blues guitarist. His transitions from note to note are fluid, smooth, and without error. Often we think of blues as free-form and improvisitional yet McDowell defies this truism because his rhythm are perfect. Were we to substitute one note differences it would ruin perfection. In this case there is only one right note, Fred's. Fred McDowell often finishes his lyrics with his guitar as opposed to his voice. This creates a call and response reminicent of revival preaching yet Fred is the preacher and his guitar, the parishoners."

ACOUSTIC BLUES AT IT'S FINEST

Jeffrey Konkel | 06/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're looking for real, hard-hitting acoustic blues, this is a good place to start...just Fred and his acoustic guitar...Fred McDowell is the real thing...why he wasn't recorded until the late 50's is one of the unsolved mysteries of the blues...he's at his best when playing acoustic guitar, but I've bought every Fred McDowell cd that I could get my hands on...buy and enjoy!"