Delta Blues (music) – Matt Lynn Digital

Guitarist R.L. Burnside of Oxford, Mississippi became known to me when he became popular with musicians I enjoyed from the 1990s and beyond. Among one of my favorite albums put out during this period was Mr. Wizard, first released March 11th, 1997. The album exemplifies multiple blues forms performed by a master of the artform.

(The front of the album **Mr. Wizard** by **R.L. Burnside**, which was released originally on March 11th, 1997).

Over the Hill opens Mr. Wizard with a strong slide guitar that simply won’t quit. The song makes a strong statement for self-determination and perseverance in the face of significant obstacles laid at his feet.

Alice Mae brings an upbeat jam about protecting the love of his lady friend, Alice Mae. After lyrically declaring reasons that he loves his woman in this song, Burnside declares his readiness to kill in defense of maintaining his love. The clarity of the jam and the message are clear and strong.

Georgia Women brings a jam about lusting after women in Georgia, referencing rumors Burnside‘s heard to the distinct sweet love he’s experienced with Alice Mae. That the man is looking to experience intimacy, a subject returned to after his lady has left him in the song Highway 7 later on the album.

With Snake Drive, R.L. Burnside works the blues formula with innuendo, letting his baby ride with the journey’s destination, Snake Drive, providing the anatomical reference for how the joyride in play.

(The back of the **Mr. Wizard** album by **R.L. Burnside**, which was released originally on March 11th, 1997).

Rollin’ and Tumblin’ tells the story of cheating in love. Burnside tells us that getting caught leads to heartache and loss with the burden of responsibility to boot. While the song doesn’t address his lady’s pain, we hear the singer’s pain in this jam.

Out on the Road reflects as classic a blues construction as exists on the Mr. Wizard. The point of view for Burnside on this is distrusting the motives of his romantic love interest. Aiming to find her before she cheats, the singer suffers indignities while losing sleep overnight investigating places his woman might be.

In returning to another jam about being on the road, Highway 7 offers the tale of Burnside‘s lady having left him. He hits the road bound for Georgia with a fierce appetite for intimacy that the lyrics tell us cannot be satisfied.

Tribute to Fred is a straight-up instrumental jam in the eighth slot of nine songs on the Mr. Wizard album. Musically, this song sits quite well among the others presented on this album.

You Gotta Move slides us on our way out for the album with an African American spiritual. Mississippi Fred McDowell of Rossville, Tennessee recorded the song as slide guitar country blues piece in the mid-1960s, which Burnside makes his own following the McDowell song presented here.