Burnette, Ranie – “Ranie Burnette’s Hill Country Blues” – [Fat Possum Records]

Ranie Burnette (1913-2000) sings and plays guitar and is joined by Abe Young on harmonica on two tracks. Burnette was known in the Mississippi hill country and was a mentor to R.L. Burnside, but was not recorded until later in life. These quality recordings were made in the early 1980′s; I sort of expected them to be shorter and scratchier since the material sounds like what you might find on an old 78rpm disc. Burnette’s sweet voice and the strong rhythm of the tunes put this into the category of extraordinary. The Liner notes say that the rhythm was influenced by local fife and drum bands- very intriguing!