In between these songs, we leave the big city to head south down the Mississippi to “take a trip/ to the land of dreams/floating down the river/ down to New Orleans” on “Basin Street Blues.” The harmonica and trumpet call and respond. After the rest the band completes the bridge, Willie asks, “Aren’t you glad you came with me?” to which the audience responds enthusiastically.
Clarenece Williams’ “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It” and Grainger Porter’s “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” find Marsalis contributing vocals. He’s portrays the bartender who turns away Nelson and his bucket in the former. The song is also notable because Jackson gets his first drum solo. In terms of the latter, Nelson opens this slow blues and he and Marsalis trade solos. As Marsalis sings Willie’s offers playful asides underneath. They close out the disc with a rousing version of Merle Travis’ “That’s All.” The background vocals and the clapping audience give it a gospel feel.
Thankfully, that’s not all for these two men as they are playing occasional dates across the country and in September the DVD of their concert at Lincoln Center will be released. Their version of “Down by The Riverside” is available as a bonus track on iTunes, which I have mixed feelings about. I am glad there's more material, but since the CD is less than 54 minutes, there was plenty of room to include it.
Trailer for the DVD:
Article comments
1 - Josh Hathaway
Well done, Bicho. I've been curious about this album since its release. I love unexpected pairings like this.