Downhome Sophisticate

Downhome Sophisticate
Studio album by
Corey Harris
Released2002
GenreBlues
LabelRounder[1]
ProducerCorey Harris, Jamal Millner
Corey Harris chronology
Live at Starr Hill 1/27/01
(2001) 		Downhome Sophisticate
(2002) 		Mississippi to Mali
(2003)

Downhome Sophisticate is an album by the American blues musician Corey Harris, released in 2002.[2][3]

The album peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Blues Albums chart.[4] Harris promoted the album by touring with his band, 5X5.[5]

Production

The album was produced by Harris and Jamal Millner.[6] Millner also played guitar on Downhome Sophisticate.[7] Henry Butler played piano on "Black Maria".[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Robert ChristgauA−[10]
Ottawa Citizen[11]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]

Robert Christgau noted that the "rock-type poetry ... makes like social conditions are as real as love and dreams."[10] The Washington Post stated that "on 'Santoro', which concerns social injustice and racial profiling, Harris vents his frustration in a voice that rises just above a whisper to ask: 'So why you figure they be so jumpy on the trigger. So quick like that, to assassinate black?'"[13]

Bass Player called the album "a revelation—a nasty, Old School blues album with tinges of boogie-woogie, African soul, hip-hop, blazing yet sensitive slide guitar, and pristine production."[14] The Commercial Appeal thought that the album "shows that one can embrace roots and still be forward looking ... Rarely has traditional sounded more modern."[15] The Ottawa Citizen opined that "this definitely isn't for your 12-bar, hard-core crowd, but for those who're a little more interested in where the blues and grown-up R&B might be headed in the not-to-distant future."[11]

AllMusic wrote that "it's an easy leap for Harris from folklore to urgent urban settings; his depiction of a police car as a fearsome, prowling Biblical beast makes 'Santoro' especially disturbing."[9]

Track listing

  1. "Giddyup" - 0:18
  2. "Frankie Doris" - 2:52
  3. "Money on My Mind" - 3:31
  4. "Don't Let the Devil Ride" - 2:10
  5. "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" - 2:53
  6. "Capitaine" - 2:06
  7. "Santoro" - 2:36
  8. "Fire on the Radio" - 0:27
  9. "Fire" - 5:09
  10. "BB" - 2:18
  11. "Downhome Prelude" - 0:09
  12. "Downhome Sophisticate" - 3:17
  13. "Sista Rose" - 6:28
  14. "Black Maria" - 4:32
  15. "Chinook" - 2:30
  16. "Money Eye" - 4:04
  17. "Where the Yellow Cross the Dog" - 1:53
  18. "F'shizza (Santoro Remix)" - 5:40

References

  1. ^ "RECORDINGS". Chicago Tribune. Arts & Entertainment. 2 June 2002. p. 7.15.
  2. ^ "Corey Harris Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Hadley, Frank-John (Sep 2002). "Corey Harris: Downhome Sophisticate". DownBeat. 69 (9): 66–67.
  4. ^ "Corey Harris". Billboard.
  5. ^ Pareles, Jon (13 June 2002). "A Bouncy Collage of Styles, Each Given a Personal Twist". The New York Times. p. E5.
  6. ^ van Vleck, Philip (May 18, 2002). "Downhome Sophisticate". Billboard. 114 (20): 21.
  7. ^ Reid, Robert (25 May 2002). "Corey Harris Downhome Sophisticate". The Record. p. C6.
  8. ^ Terrell, Steve (14 June 2002). "Beyond the blues". The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. P48.
  9. ^ a b "Downhome Sophisticate - Corey Harris | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  10. ^ a b "Robert Christgau: CG: Corey Harris". www.robertchristgau.com.
  11. ^ a b "Recordings". Ottawa Citizen. 11 May 2002. p. K4.
  12. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (February 12, 2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide". Simon and Schuster – via Google Books.
  13. ^ "Corey Harris Keeps Moving Beyond the Blues Horizon". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  14. ^ Bradman, Elton (Jun 2002). "Corey Harris: Downhome Sophisticate". Bass Player. 13 (6): 76.
  15. ^ Jordan, Mark (20 July 2002). "KIDJO, LOBOS, HARRIS DELIVER REFRESHINGLY PERFECT ALBUMS". The Commercial Appeal. p. E4.