Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Few artists reflect the breadth of black music as vividly as Corey Harris, who performs at the peak of his strength throughout Downhome Sophisticate. The overall feel is rural, with plenty of slide guitar slithering over raw, live rhythms. The hooks have a timeless feel, as on "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning," with its rootsy gospel vocal motif and an implied handclap beat over a "My Sharona" hook. But Harris nods as well toward acoustic folk-blues, softened and broadened on the solo track "Capitaine" by an almost John Redbourne feel (which owes a lot in itself to Son House). Instrumental tracks evoke images nearly as clearly as those with words; the jump boogie bounce of "BB" paints a picture of a Southern roadhouse on a Saturday night. But when Harris adds lyrics they enhance this eloquence, as on "Fire," whose references to Babylon, bloodshed, and perditional flames project an ominous, apocalyptic power. It's an easy leap for Harris from folklore to urgent urban settings; his depiction of a police car as a fearsome, prowling Biblical beast makes "Santoro" especially disturbing. The fact that Harris also borrows from Mexican and Latino traditions, especially on "Sista Rose" and the sensuous "Black Maria," makes the point that African-American culture, the center of Western pop, abuts multiple styles and is able to draw from each with equal ease. In the end, the title says it all: This is music both primitive and elusive, easy to absorb and more difficult to play than it seems.
© Robert L. Doerschuk /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Recording Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Recording Producer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Henry Butler, Organ, AssociatedPerformer - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Davina Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Davita Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Traditional (Public Domain), ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Traditional (Public Domain), ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Darrell Rose, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Davina Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Davita Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Recording Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Recording Producer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Darrell Rose, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Henry Butler, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Recording Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Recording Producer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mark Henry, Producer, Mixer, Recording Producer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Olu Dara, Woodwinds, AssociatedPerformer - Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Henry Butler, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Maynard, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - John D'Earth, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Vic Brown, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Darrell Rose, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Decker, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Davina Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Davita Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Henry Butler, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Maynard, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - John D'Earth, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Vic Brown, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Darrell Rose, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Decker, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Davina Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Davita Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Mark Maynard, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - John D'Earth, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Vic Brown, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Darrell Rose, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Decker, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Davina Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Davita Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Rob Jackson, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Fred Kevorkian, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Juliano, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Corey Harris, Producer, Guitar, Steel Guitar, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Norman, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Jamal Millner, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve Van Dam, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Gilmore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Houston Ross, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Darrell Rose, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Bagby, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Davina Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Davita Jackson, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - 5 X 5 Corey's Band, Unknown, Other - Asheru & Blue Back Of The Unspoken Heard, ComposerLyricist - Brown Sirround, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Rounder Records Corp.
Album review
Few artists reflect the breadth of black music as vividly as Corey Harris, who performs at the peak of his strength throughout Downhome Sophisticate. The overall feel is rural, with plenty of slide guitar slithering over raw, live rhythms. The hooks have a timeless feel, as on "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning," with its rootsy gospel vocal motif and an implied handclap beat over a "My Sharona" hook. But Harris nods as well toward acoustic folk-blues, softened and broadened on the solo track "Capitaine" by an almost John Redbourne feel (which owes a lot in itself to Son House). Instrumental tracks evoke images nearly as clearly as those with words; the jump boogie bounce of "BB" paints a picture of a Southern roadhouse on a Saturday night. But when Harris adds lyrics they enhance this eloquence, as on "Fire," whose references to Babylon, bloodshed, and perditional flames project an ominous, apocalyptic power. It's an easy leap for Harris from folklore to urgent urban settings; his depiction of a police car as a fearsome, prowling Biblical beast makes "Santoro" especially disturbing. The fact that Harris also borrows from Mexican and Latino traditions, especially on "Sista Rose" and the sensuous "Black Maria," makes the point that African-American culture, the center of Western pop, abuts multiple styles and is able to draw from each with equal ease. In the end, the title says it all: This is music both primitive and elusive, easy to absorb and more difficult to play than it seems.
© Robert L. Doerschuk /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 18 track(s)
- Total length: 00:52:48
- Main artists: Corey Harris
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Rounder
- Genre: Blues/Country/Folk Blues
© 2002 Rounder Records. ℗ 2002 Rounder Records.
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.