Prison Blues (1999)

About this title: Recording may be a relatively new luxury to Neal Pattman, but in life he is a grizzled veteran. His first album is a stark affair, almost an eavesdrop into a backroom rehearsal. A frisky harp player and singer, Pattman is joined by Taj Mahal and labelmate Cootie Stark on over half the album, and together and in various configurations the trio turns out some fine, jaunty country blues. There are, however, a number of clumsy stabs at testimonial blues, and these diminish the appeal of the album as a whole. In fact, everything has a clumsiness about it, and when it swings in favor of the ... read more

Tracks:

1. Momma Whoopin' Blues [Traditional]
2. Catfish Blues [Traditional]
3. Shortnin' Bread [Traditional]
4. Talkin' 'Bout You Baby [Pattman]
5. Market Blues [Pattman]
6. Neal's Testimony [Pattman]
7. Prison Blues [Pattman]
8. Disco Twist [Pattman]
9. Goin' Back to Georgia [Pattman]
10. Five Long Years [Boyd]
11. Bottle up and Go [Traditional]
12. Oklahoma City Blues [Traditional]
13. I Want Jesus to Walk With Me [Pattman]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.