Let Me Ride

Yup, we here at the Mountain will be taking a little trip to our old college stomping grounds in Columbus, Ohio at the end of June for a little concert by Mr. Tom Waits. Yup, we managed to score tickets, so no whining on this end. 'Course this'll be our third time seeing the man in the last 10 years. Is there no length we'll go to for Mr. Waits? We think not. We're a little special that way. Anybody in/going to Columbus?

Anyhow, today we're gonna take a little trip down Delta way.

Little Axe is, essentially, a feller you might have heard about what goes by the name of Skip McDonald. If that name doesn't ring any bells, McDonald has been, and in some cases continues to be, a member of Tackhead and the On U Sound collective with Adrian Sherwood. Oh, and he also figured as a house musician in the Sugar Hill Records label, playing on such platters as "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash.

A pretty heady resume, sure, but what does that have to do with this little site?

Before y'all go wanderin' elsewhere, let me say that Mr. McDonald has got quite a bit of the Mississippi Blues inside of him, and as Little Axe, he takes us straight to the jukejoints, revival meetings, back porches, bbq's, and plowed acres of the deep South.

It's hypnotic, old-as-the-Mississippi hills music, with dub rhythms slinking about like sweaty, dirt-floor dancers, samples of preachers and vagrant farmers fading in and out with a heavenly southern gospel choir. Charred t-bone bass and deep rusted guitar drone ground the proceedings in the river-washed dirt, while McDonald's voice, and those of his guest vocalists, swirl around, stained but triumphant, vice and god meeting at the crossroads.

"Let Me Ride", in particular, is a culmination of McDonald's aesthetic. A perfect 3-minute slice of glory that'll swirl through your head like a dream, pushing you to the end of days.

The following songs were taken from the albums "Stone Cold Ohio", "Hard Grind", and "Champagne and Grits".

Little Axe: Let Me Ride (mp3)

Little Axe: Pray (mp3)

Little Axe: Tight Like That (mp3)

Little Axe: All In The Same Boat (mp3)

Little Axe: All Night Party (mp3)

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