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Living Blues Magazine review of
Black Prairie Blues
December 2008
Issue # 198
Mississippi native Big Joe Shelton is one of the bluesâ many unsung local heroesâwhile he may not be a well known name on the national scene, he has played the King Biscuit Blues Festival (now the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival) toured Europe, and jammed with legends like Junior Kimbrough, R. L. Burnside, Big Joe Williams, and Alabama bluesman Willie King, who make a guest appearance on Black Prairie Blues.
Sheltonâs vocals and harmonica get the job done, but his real strength lies in his songwriting. All 15 tunes on the set list are original numbers, and even in the albumâs weaker moments, Shelton performs with an unrelenting passion. He covers all the blues canon with a pen guided by years of experience playing in the deep south: promiscuity on Scratchinâ Yo Itch; booze on Oneâs Too Many; a relationship on the rocks on Nothinâ Can Save It; wild Saturday nights down in Cat Fish alley; and the ubiquitous disrespectful female on Be A Woman; a high energized rocker that closes the album. The timely Elmore James-style slide blues Hope We Live To See The Day delivers both a poignant critique of the war in Iraq and a call for peace, with Shelton reminding us that âJesus donât like killinâ, no matter what for,â and the title track finds guest Willie King taking a break from the Liberators to contribute tasty lead guitar to the mix.
No doubt Sheltonâs got the goods and Black Prairie Blues is a solid, enjoyable record that should broaden his fan base. The CD is available at www.bigjoeshelton.com.
Roger Gatchet
BLUES REVIEW MAGAZINE
OCT / NOV 2008
Harp player Big Joe Shelton should be named an auxiliary member of the Mississippi Chamber of Commerce for advancing his home state�s interest with Black Prairie Blues (Alt 45 records). The title cut, featuring Willie King on guitar, presents a hard-hitting roster of blues titans from the Mississippi-Alabama border; the hard-shuffling �In Mississippi� touts the local character. �Best I Can Tell� is a solid slow blues: �Devil Lives in Memphis� borrows from �Roll and Tumble�; and an Elmore James feel informs �Hope We Live to See the Day.� �One�s Too Many� and �Can�t Come Back� effectively blend humor with plainspoken truth; he�s a strong songwriter...Tom Hyslop
BLUES IN BRITAIN
August 2008
Big Joe Shelton was born in north-east Mississippi and encountered the blues as a youngster, befriending no less a personage than Big Joe Williams, and he began playing guitar and harmonica in his teens. He later moved to Chicago, before returning back down south. There is little doubt then that he knows his stuff, but just in case �Black Prairie Blues� (Alt 45 Records, no issue number)) should dispel any lingering thoughts. Joe has a big voice, a wonderful non-flashy harmonica style, and at his best sometimes recalls Howling Wolf. Many of his tracks are good old-fashioned house-rocking juke-joint blues, but as the opener shows, even without a band he can whip up a storm (shades of Rice Miller). Down-home Alabama bluesman Willie King is a friend of Joe�s and turns in a brief guest appearance on what is a very fine set indeed...Norman Darwen
BLACK PRAIRIE BLUES reached #8 on the Roots Music Report, international airplay tracking, data base, blues chart on May 30th, 2008
XM Radio channel 74, "Bluesville", is spinning the title track, "Black Prairie Blues", as well as "One's Too Many" and "Devil Lives In Memphis".
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