Before there were guys like Tony Joe White or The Allman Brothers, the swampy southern blues were created by Otis Hicks, aka LIghtnin’ Slim (1913-1974),with this 2 cd, 46 song collection of his singles a fitting testament to his still long reaching influence. He started his career late in life, and stayed close to his Baton Rouge home, but his mix of blues, Cajun and laid back folk teamed with his ominously toned guitar and foreboding voice in Spartan settings set the tone for harrowing melodies, beats and moods.
Slim only had one real “hit”, a 1959 R&B charter “Rooster Blues” and if he’s teamed with anyone, it’s usually the growling harmonica of Lazy Lester and a local drummer, making you feel as if you’re stepping into some early morning juke joint and working through the waft of smoke to take in the sounds. Slim was able to play upbeat rhythms like “Lightnin’ Slim Boogie” which shows his earthy drive, or blues groover “New Orleans Bound”and he shows how to rock out on “Hoodoo Blues” and “It’s Mighty Crazy”. For the most part, however, the pace and mood is down and out like a relief pitcher’s curve ball, with “Goin’ Home” and the echoey “Back Luck and Trouble” as foreboding as a black nimbus cloud. Casual and cool, these tunes have created a wake that lives on in modern bands like Tedeschi Trucks and living legends like Robert Cray. Here is Ground Zero.