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Mississippi McDonald—Heavy State Loving Blues—APM
Records APMR011

Mississippi McDonald (M.M.) is a London based bluesman, his
beginnings into the Blues world started at the age of ten or
eleven at the Plymouth Pavilions when, on Wednesday, 27
November 1991 he saw Chuck Berry in concert and was
perplexed as to how his live performances sounded exactly like
his records. From that moment on his life was transformed and
he was impelled to play the blues, so much so, that he withdrew
all his savings from the Post Office and bought his own electric
guitar.

He gained his performing experience through a school friend’s parents who were in a band
that played at holiday camps, British Legion clubs and country festivals. They took MacDonald
under their wing and from the age of 14, he would accompany them to shows, playing with
them (he gained the moniker ‘Mississippi’ whilst at school for his interest in Blues music). In
2004, he took himself to America and while in Austin, Texas he saw Kris Kristofferson play to
an audience of sixty people, this performance determined his manner of future performances.

On this, his eighth album, which was recorded at the LSound studios in London, Phil Dearing
produces. In the studio, MM takes lead guitar and vocals with Phil Dearing on guitars and
keyboards with Elliot Boughen on bass, ‘Texas’ Joe McRory provides drums with Lucy Dearing
supplying backing vocals.

The ten numbers include two covers which are: O.V. Wright’s ‘I’ve Been Searching’, from his
1973 ‘Memphis Unlimited’ album, here M.M. plays a splendidly lyrical guitar with blasting horns
at his side while his gospel induced vocal fervour leads the way.

Zack Logan’s ‘Trouble Doing The Right Thing’ is a very pleasant, gently soul infused country
guitar picker with a singing, rolling organ and sympathetic horns. The opener ‘Howlin’ Wolf’
is a stinging, guitar picking Chicago Blues, underpinned by punching percussion, urging organ
and sweetly blasting horns. ‘Heavy State Loving Blues’, is a serious slice of deep southern soul;
slow burning organ and gently rising horns backing a sweetly stinging, sharp, slow picked
guitar.

On ‘Blind Leading The Blind’, Memphis icon Vaneese Thomas duets with M.M. creating a laid
back, searing organ and horn fuelled tempestuous, soul driver. Throughout the album the
singeing baritone of M.M. certainly suits the range of emotion filled numbers here. ‘Blues For
Albert’, is nothing less than an open letter of heart rending musical love to Albert Collins, for
amongst the aching, moving horns and slowly smoking keyboards M.M. plays his dutiful
respects on his own ‘Fender Albert Collins Telecaster’.

Absolutely splendid!

Brian Harman.

Danny Liston—Everybody—Blue House Records

Danny was born in the working class area of St. Louis known as
‘Dogtown’. His, was a musical family in that, his mother sang on
the radio station KMOX in the 1930’s and his grandmother who
was from Reinze, Mississippi taught herself and played the five
stringed banjo. Danny first took up playing the drums but,
changed to the guitar after his family was threatened with
eviction, due his enthusiastic approach to the instrument. Later,
he and his brother Pat and good friend Max Baker formed the
band ‘Mama’s Pride’ they recorded two albums on the Atlantic