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In 1983, Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman was in the middle of a promising career as the go-to guitar player for all things weird. His totally original helter-skelter guitar lines graced many of the records released up to that time by the eyeball-headed Residents as well as a few albums under his own name. So what drove him to abandon all that and create a lecture-demonstration covering the history of the blues? "Music full of the life force, that stands on its own, crude and powerful, and played by musicians, not mechanics." The blues was Lithman's first love, and the lessons he learned from masters like Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, and the three Kings (Freddie, Albert, and B.B.) always informed all his work, no matter how outside he may have taken it. Every note he played dripped feeling as well as technique, tradition as well as originality. He put together a band from every nook and cranny of San Francisco music except the blues scene: Eric Drew Feldman had just wound up his work with Beefheart; Steve Mackay had recently moved to town after years with Iggy Pop & The Stooges; Richard Marriott and Josh Ende were recruited from the neo-dance band Club Foot Orchestra; Raoul N. DiSeimb�te was a pal of the Residents and active on the theater and comedy circuits; and Miguel Bertel and Johnny "Bonghit" Ryan were mainstays of Lithman's touring band. The group went on a tour that criss-crossed Europe several times over six weeks. Two of the shows smack dab in the middle, when the band was at its tightest but not yet burned out, were recorded for a vinyl release by Rough Trade Deutschland (promising music's CD reissue even features 9 additional tracks). The results are a heart-stirring, mind-blowing, booty-shaking hour of all manner of blues. This is an album that will surprise die-hard experimentalists, delight blues aficionados, illuminate newcomers, and please just about anyone with a pair of ears.

Track Listing

Bonus Materials

• 9 bonus tracks

Sales Points

• Band includes Steve Mackay (Iggy and the Stooges) and Eric Drew Feldman (Captain Beefheart)
• Performed and recorded with the Residents
• Mini LP jacket packaging