Bummer Road is a compilation album by the American blues musician Sonny Boy Williamson II, released in 1969.[1][2] It achieved notoriety due to the inclusion of 11 minutes of studio outtakes related to the track "Little Village", where Williamson and producer Leonard Chess argue about the song.[3] The album was issued with a label advising that the track was not suitable for airplay, due to profanity—allegedly, it is the first blues album to carry any kind of "explicit lyrics" sticker.[3] "Little Village" inspired the name of Little Village, a band that included Ry Cooder, Jim Keltner, Nick Lowe, and John Hiatt.[4]
Production
"Little Village" was recorded in September 1957, at the Chess Records studio in Chicago.[5] The songs on Bummer Road were produced by Leonard Chess; the album was compiled by T.T. Swan.[6][7]
AllMusic wrote that "every track is a burner," and called the 11-minute "Little Village" studio chatter addition "one of the best examples of enlarging the scope of a musical track by adding auxiliary material that wasn't originally meant for release."[7] Reviewing a reissue, The Age wrote: "The stunning 'Unseen Eye' ventures low-down through understated piano and guitar arpeggios, while the haunting 'Keep Your Hand Out of My Pocket' follows Sonny Boy's admonition: 'You'd better cut it now because if you let it cool, goddam it! It won't be worth a damn!'"[10] The Anchorage Daily News called "Santa Claus" a "sweet and lazy harp blues from a master, backed up by Robert Jr. Lockwood's guitar, and allegedly made up on the studio spot when Sonny Boy was drunk."[11]
Track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"She Got Next to Me"
2:30
2.
"Santa Claus"
2:42
3.
"Little Village"
11:50
4.
"Lonesome Cabin"
3:00
5.
"I Can't Do Without You"
2:45
6.
"Temperature 110"
2:14
7.
"Unseen Eye"
3:00
8.
"Keep Your Hand Out of My Pocket"
2:45
9.
"Open Road"
2:52
10.
"This Old Life"
2:34
References
^Krampert, Peter (March 23, 2016). The Encyclopedia of the Harmonica. Mel Bay Publications – via Google Books.
^Wagner, David F. (16 Nov 1969). "To the Roots Again". The Post-Crescent. p. S4.
^ a bGoldstein, Patrick (24 Feb 1991). "Nasty Blues?". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 64.
^"Little Village a Blend of Talent". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
^London, Justin (2013). "Ephemeral Media, Ephemeral Works, and Sonny Boy Williamson's 'Little Village'". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 71 (1): 45–53.
^Herzhaft, Gérard (1997). Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press. p. 36.
^ a b c"Bummer Road - Sonny Boy Williamson II | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
^Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 697.
^The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House. 1983. p. 549.
^Reilly, Terry (22 Apr 2003). "Must-have classics". A3. The Age. p. 10.
^Meyerowitz, Robert (December 4, 1994). "Add Soul, Blues to Holiday Soundtrack". Anchorage Daily News. p. E1.