Coleman, George – “Bongo Joe” – [Mississippi Records]

Refreshing repressing of 1968 recording. Bless you Mississippi and Master Stollenwerk (really, that’s his name?). Anyways George Coleman was a completely charming, nasally nutball. He likes to whistle like a dog, and bark like a bell, and he commands a 55 gallon oil drum made out of rattlesnake hide. Well, some of that’s true. Just like his song-stories. He’s kind of giving improvised sermon/stand-up over his syncopations, often times creating a dialog between himself (switching to falsetto for female). It stands the test of time, and withstands replays…where normally one might feel the PUNchline coming, with Bongo Joe on the mic he manages to miss cliches by a country mile. This recording is deep in tone, the mic down in that drum and a cavern of reverb on Coleman’s voice. And it might be deepin meaning too, but it’s definitely playful on the top. There’s six sides to every question, but sadly one two sides to this vinyl.

-Thurston Hunger