© Bluestronomical Publishing Inc. 2009

Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm
2 Man Wrecking Crew
Delta Groove #DGPCD127

This disc finds two young practitioners of the Mississippi Hill Country Blues tradition joining forces and making the kind of music that carries on the tradition of juke joint legends R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. Perhaps this is fitting, considering that one of the members of the “2 Men Wrecking Crew” is Cedric Burnside, the grandson of the aforementioned R.L. Burnside. Cedric began his performing career playing the juke joints of Mississippi at the tender age of 13, was well schooled in the blues tradition, and also displayed a fondness for rap and R&B. Steve “Lightnin’” Malcolm was raised in Missouri and fell under the spell of Muddy Waters at the age of ten. Starting out on drums he eventually moved to Mississippi where he lived with the Burnsides for a time and soaked up the blues styles of players like Kenny Brown, Junior Kimbrough and of course R.L. Burnside. The duo of Malcolm and Burnside self released a CD in 2007 before Delta Groove head Randy Chortkoff caught their act in Memphis and signed them to produce this CD.

The leadoff tune “R.L. Burnside” leads off the disc and features Cedric handling the vocal duties in the tribute to his grandfather. On “So Much Love,” Malcolm trots out the wah wah pedal and steers the tune toward a blues/rock direction. “My Sweetheart” mixes the delta style blues with classic R&B. The duo also displays some gospel influence on the acoustic based “She’s Got Something On Me”. “Fightin’” is a psychedelic take on the Mississippi hill country blues sound. My two favorite tracks on the disc were “Stay Here In Your Arms” and “She Don’t Love Me No More” which are both low down greasy blues and the latter features guest Jason Ricci on harmonica.

2 Man Wrecking Crew is a raw stripped down take on the blues that hearkens back to the days of old when Frankie Lee Sims and Mercy Baby used to work the southern beer joints. Raw and recommended.

- Barry Gober -


Southwest Blues CD Review - April 2009

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