A ASS POCKET O' WHISKEY features bluesman Burnside backed by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

Personnel: R.L. Burnside (vocals, guitar); Judah Bauer (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (vocals, guitar, drums, Theremin); Kenny Brown (guitar); Russell Simins (drums).

Although he had been playing for years, it wasn't until the 1990s that R.L. Burnside's raw electrified Delta blues were heard by a wide audience. His new fans celebrated his wild, unbridled energy, so it made sense for him to team with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the warped indie rock band that's all about energy. However, the very purists who celebrate Burnside hate Spencer, believing that the latter mocks the blues. As the blistering Ass Pocket of Whiskey proves, Spencer may not treat the blues with reverence, but he and his band capture the wild essence of juke-joint blues. And that makes them the perfect match for Burnside, who knows his history but isn't burdened by it. Together, Burnside and the Blues Explosion make raw, scintillating, unvarnished blues that positively burns. ~ Thom Owens

Born in 1926 in Coldwater, Mississippi, R.L. Burnside was a contemporary and protege of the great Mississippi Fred McDowell, the bluesman famous for his statement "I do not play no rock & roll." Burnside, on the other hand, did and does on the surprisingly wonderful A ASS POCKET O' WHISKEY.

Burnside is backed here by the punk-influenced avant-blues noisemongers of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The combination is more credible than some blues purists might imagine. Burnside's distinctively gritty modal blues were an acknowledged influence on Captain Beefheart, and many of these 10 tracks recall nothing quite so much as the Captain's distinctively wild blues experiments-with Spencer's aggro-skronk guitar noises standing in for the Magic Band. Blues classics like John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen" and the '40s broadside "Tojo Told Hitler" sound just fine next to Burnside's idiosyncratic originals.

Q (9/96, p.110) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Burnside matches every fuzz buzz and slide squeal with his own equally gritty axework, slugging out, ducking between, and coughing up his vocals from their phlegmy roost....The blues blister is scuffed until it burts."

Alternative Press (11/96, p.70) - 5 (out of 5) - "...R.L. exhibits a raw brilliance that makes you wonder if he made a deal with the devil...And when the man shouts, "We're gonna boogie,"...you know it's not just a command but an inevitability."

Option (11-12/96, p.96) - "...meaner, nastier and looser, invoking the spirit of the genre's best and leaping on grooves with a devilish ferocity....some of the most immediate, chilling music to ever make it to tape. The CD's slashing, Ginsu-styled editing...only adds to the gut-wrenching feel."

Melody Maker (7/13/96, p.51) - Recommended - "...a basic, bass-less, beautifully badassed boogie that slides as easily from player to player as shit off a shovel....the sound of twin souls effortlessly chewing the fat. It fucking cooks."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.55) - Ranked #88 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "Bloody-minded and belligerent, they blow their stacks in a boogie frenzy..."

NME (Magazine) (7/13/96, p.50) - 7 (out of 10) - "...it's all reassuringly dishevelled. And pretty damn funny too....It all ends...in a mangled heap of piercing Theremin, feedback guitar and some discussion as to what it actually means to have the blues..."