look: Catfish Keith - Sweet Pea - Fishtail Records - BUY

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Put Your Bucket In The Basket

Baby, I'm A Fine Artiste

Little Sweet Pea

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The latest from Iowa's original country blues guitarist Catfish Keith is an ensemble of finger picking delights portrayed on his collection of resonator guitars. Attached to his own Fishtail label out of Iowa City, this new project consists of 13 tracks, all flavored with the infamous foot tapping, forward drive he delivers on all his blues renditions. From the haunting melody and somewhat spiritual lyrics of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Lighting Flash, Thunder Roll," to the lewd and bashful lyrics of the anonymously written "Salty Thang," Catfish dishes out servings that all can enjoy.

His latest artistic medium consists of his newfound love of the 12-string guitar. Here he plays a 12-string resonator to the likes of the Leadbelly classics "Pile of Plates and a Carving Knife," "When I Was a Cowboy," and Gus Cannon's little ditty "I'm Going To German." In the 60's pop artist R. Crumb and the The Cheap Suit Serenaders had a tune called "Baby, I'm a Fine Artiste." A funny little story about a mans bragging attempt to get a kiss from his girl. His country vocals shine as he sings his version of Skip James "Put Your Bucket In Your Basket," containing both a playful melody and silly play on words. "A True Friend is Hard to Find" is original with influences in the Delta, and again relying on an ominous theme and resonance. The old traditional "Blotted Out My Mind" is included here with a cold, numbing affect. A surprise gem is the instrumental "Deep Sea Moan." Its roots lie in the true Hawaiian mode of dream like melodies played slowly, and using fretted harmonics at given points on guitar. One must remember the steel bar slide originated from the Polynesian people, and he plays this number with a sweet blues intertwined. Taken from the title track, "Little Sweet Pea" is dedicated to Penny, Keith's true love. Other tracks include the pre-blues "That Ain't No Way For Me To Get Along, (Poor Boy Long Ways From Home)," and the opener "Gonna Get My Hambone Boiled." Marty Christensen plays stand up bass on several tracks.

Being a true endorsee of National Resophonic Guitars™, Catfish gets to show off his collection as he incorporates seven guitars in the making of this recording. With several available CD's and DVD's of his performances, and his worldwide acclaim, this "artiste" is a true one-man show. This new recording just adds fuel to the fire.

(©) 2006, Dirk Wissbaum
BluesSource.com