What's Wrong with You is an album by the American musician Robert Belfour, released in 2000.[1][2] He was 60 when the album was released.[3] Belfour supported the album by participating in the Fat Possum Juke Joint Caravan tour.[4]
| What's Wrong with You | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2000 | |||
| Studio | Money Shot | |||
| Genre | Blues | |||
| Label | Fat Possum | |||
| Producer | Matthew Johnson, Bruce Watson | |||
| Robert Belfour chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production
editBelfour signed with Fat Possum after a fan spent years asking if Belfour's phone number could be relayed to the label.[5] "Black Mattie" and "Done Got Old" were written by Junior Kimbrough, Belfour's former neighbor.[6][7] Belfour used a drummer on only two tracks.[8]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| The Commercial Appeal |  [10] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [11] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [12] |
| Winnipeg Sun | [7] |
Billboard wrote that Belfour's "insistent, fluid guitar work and keening singing may remind the listener of John Lee Hooker at times, but his strong, original songs ... and a hypnotic style that betrays his North Mississippi roots, establish him firmly in a class by himself."[13] The Winston-Salem Journal determined that "it is impossible not to hear John Lee Hooker, Fred McDowell and Charlie Patton in Belfour's vocal phrasing and his delightfully eclectic guitar playing."[14] The Commercial Appeal called the album "a tour-de-force of startling fortitude and timeless character that will have you envisioning Belfour contemporaries R. L. Burnside and the late Junior Kimbrough."[10]
The Village Voice stated that, "with a voice cracking with the rage of the oppressed and cuckolded, 60-yearold Belfour is a silent sufferer who'd rather wallow than fight."[15] The Chicago Tribune noted that, "even as fickle characters deceive, confuse and betray him, the singer maintains a melancholy dignity, his stoic voice exuding compassion even as the world he knows collapses around him."[16] The News-Gazette deemed What's Wrong with You "easily one of finest pure Mississippi blues albums to emerge in years, if not decades."[5] Knight Ridder considered it the second best blues album of 2000.[17]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Baby's Gone" | |
| 2. | "Black Mattie" | |
| 3. | "What's Wrong with You" | |
| 4. | "Done Got Old" | |
| 5. | "Treat Me Right" | |
| 6. | "Walkin' the Floor" | |
| 7. | "Norene" | |
| 8. | "Holding My Pillow" | |
| 9. | "Bad Luck" |
References
edit- ^ Himes, Geoffrey (15 Sep 2000). "Fat Possum Records' showcasing of a forgotten...". The Washington Post. p. WW18.
- ^ Casey, Vickie (1 Sep 2000). "Blues". Free Time. Star Tribune. p. 11.
- ^ Musser, Jim (31 Aug 2000). "Mississippi's burning on Fat Possum's caravan". Iowa City Press-Citizen. p. 2D.
- ^ Koster, Michael (26 May 2000). "Caravan to Bring Blues, Characters to SF". Albuquerque Journal. p. 2.
- ^ a b Gerard, Don (1 Sep 2000). "Down-home blues caravan stops Monday at Highdive". Etc. The News-Gazette. pp. 7, 8.
- ^ Berkovitch, Ellen (26 May 2000). "Label Stable Has Old-Time Mississippi Blues". The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. P48.
- ^ a b Sterdan, Darryl (12 May 2000). "Robert Belfour What's Wrong with You". Winnipeg Sun. p. 46.
- ^ Puckett, Jeffrey Lee (15 Apr 2000). "Blues with a feelin'". Scene. Courier Journal. p. 4.
- ^ "What's Wrong with You Review by Mike DaRonco". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ a b Ellis, Bill (1 July 2000). "Old Folks and Newcomers Give the Past Its Props". The Commercial Appeal. p. F8.
- ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 29.
- ^ DeLuca, Dan (16 Apr 2000). "Country/Roots". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. I14.
- ^ Morris, Chris (Mar 4, 2000). "Flag Waving". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 10. p. 92.
- ^ Bumgardner, Ed (28 Apr 2000). "Tiny Fat Possum Records in Oxford, Miss., provides...". Winston-Salem Journal. p. E5.
- ^ Weingarten, Marc (22 Aug 2000). "What's Wrong with You". The Village Voice. Vol. 45, no. 33. p. 122.
- ^ Kot, Greg (27 Aug 2000). "From Southern Porches Chicago Gets a Taste of Hill-Country Blues". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.6.
- ^ Knopper, Steve (20 Dec 2000). "These top 10 CDs just might make you happy about the blues". The Charlotte Observer. Knight Ridder. p. 6E.