Terry 'Harmonica' Bean & The Cornlickers - Hill Country Blues With The Big Sound

Styles : Hill Country Blues (Diatonic Harp)
Released : 2010
Label : Right Coast Recording

Disc 1
01 - Blues Man
02 - Come Back Baby
03 - Help Me
04 - Love Me Slow
05 - King Bee
06 - I Wonder Who
07 - Tell Me Why

Disc 2

01 - Goin' South

02 - Crazy Mixed Up World

03 - I'm Ready

04 - Learn To Love Me

05 - Miss Betty Green
06 - Red Dress
07 - So Long


Terry stated that "When the Hill Country met the Delta, man it just exploded." Hill Country Blues with the Big Sound is a prime example of what happens when a young man born in the Hill Country makes a life for himself in the Delta. Young Bean learned his lessons well. Growing up listening to his father and his grandfather at home and at house parties and juke joints throughout the South, Terry was exposed to a wide variety of musical styles which blend very nicely here for a sound that is upbeat and danceable while maintaining that hypnotic style so prevalent in the Hill Country. The result is still somewhat hypnotic, easy on the ear and as comfortable as your favorite boots nice fit, well broken in and as comfortable at the end of the day as they were in the beginning. Bean blends styles that have been with us for ages, maintaining the best elements of each for a sound that is uniquely Terry Bean, making timeless classics his own. His backing bands, The Cornlickers, natives of the Harrisburg, PA area, of all places, nail it as if they were born and raised in Mississippi. These guys have a love for the music that runs deeper than geological boundaries. They love the music with all their heart and soul, and it shows. Once considered local or regional talents who played our area venues frequently and often free, these guys have joined the ranks of the professionals, now officially Big Jack Johnson's band. While I admit that the hypnotic sounds coming from the North Mississippi hill country are not in my favorites list, Terry "Harmonica" Bean hits the nail on the head and drives it home. This, even given the fact that it is a double album, holds strong from beginning to end. Much like Jessie Mae Hemphill, one of my favorites from the region, this one cuts through to the heart. This is one piece I would add to my personal collection by choice, no questions asked.

Personnel
Terry 'Harmonica' Bean : Guitar Vocals and Harmonica
Dale Wise : Drums, Foot Tambourine
Dave Groninger : Guitar
Tony Ryder : Bass

original CD from sussex