J.B. Lenoir

AMG Review of J.B. Lenoir

Mark Allan
All Music Guide

His songs sadly underexposed in spite of a crusade by John Mayall, this Mississippi bluesman deserves better even if it's posthumous. These songs from the final recording session before he died prematurely in 1967 testify about what he might have done had he lived longer. "Down in Mississippi," "Tax Paying Blues," "Shot on James Meredith," and "Vietnam Blues" are social commentary. "Feeling Good" and "Voodoo Music" are irresistible good-time tunes with a startling Arabic or African flavor. It's a rare bluesman with finger cymbals in his music. Segments from an interview Mayall did with widow Ella Louise Lenoir are interesting at first and irritating after repeated listens, but they do nothing to lessen the striking music.