The Too Bad Jims are a three-piece band, Little Victor (Guitar and Vocals, Son Jack Jr (Guitar and Vocals, and Nick Simonen (Drums ). They have all played with many other musicians such as Hubert Sumlin, Charlie Musselwhite, and Chuck Berry.
Getting together for the first time on this album was because of their shared love and admiration of R L Burnside. Over The Hill contains ten songs by R L Burnside, from the very popular to some lesser-known tunes. It’s an album of Mississippi Blues music something that they all love, and something that was part of the DNA of Burnside. The album opens with, Miss MMaybelle, a gritty song that oozes with the sound of the deep south. All of the songs are short and simple, with no fancy overdubs, no overproduction, just three guys recording in a live environment in the studio.
I’ve always loved albums that are recorded this way, for me it represents the real sound of Blues music. Black Mattie is a song that I must confess to having largely forgotten about, so when I saw it on the album cover, I was delighted. That’s what is so special about this album, it’s a trip down memory lane, a history lesson almost.
Skinny Woman ends the album, and I have to say, this is a very good album, Nostalgic, a reminder of just how good R L Burnside was, as a writer and performer, a much loved, and needed reminiscence.
STEPHEN HARRISON
