REVIEW: Robert Belfour, What's Wrong With You (Fat Possum)
- David J. Klug
The Fat Possum label has been heralded for unearthing electrified North Mississippi juke-joint blues by R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and T-Model Ford, in addition to offering the stirring music of Mississippi natives Asie Payton and Super Chikan. Robert Belfour is a striking addition to the Fat Possum catalog, as he makes music that's genuinely difficult to distinguish from vintage blues recordings of the 20s and 30s. Any familiarity with that era's country blues serves as excellent reference, because with the exception of two songs What's Wrong With You is a solo acoustic recording. It may also be the finest blues record I'll hear all year.
What astounds as much as the music on record is that this is Belfour's first full-length release. Now 60, he's recorded only once before -- in 1995 he contributed eight songs to an obscure German anthology titled The Spirit Of Blues Lives On. Belfour's vocals at times recall John Lee Hooker in utilization and tonal range but as remarkable as his singing is, his guitar playing is outstanding (it's notable too that he's entirely self-taught). The power of Belfour's music is undeniable, and at least comes from the tradition of Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters. What's Wrong With You gets my highest recommendation, and makes for an essential addition to any serious blues music enthusiast's collection. In 1982 John Swenson (Crawdaddy editor and frequent contributor to Rolling Stone and Village Voice) wrote that Lightnin' Hopkins was the last of the great country-blues singers. Had Belfour been recording then, that statement would never have been written.
