This labor of love was a battle waged against finance and time. The commitment began years ago. The first document of this journey was the raw, essential: Live At The Mint, recorded on October 17, 1997. Duwayne recorded with the Blues master R.L. Burnside himself. The second crucial record, Under Pressure, released in 2005, and starting RED ROOSTER in 2006, proved Duwayne was not merely a legacy artist but a force unto himself, earning him a coveted W.C. Handy Award nomination for New Blues Artist of the Year.
I was forced to return to Los Angeles and rebuild. Now it is 2025. More than two decades since those first, sweaty moments, this long-gestating project is finally ready. The sound of this record is a triumph of vision: we eschewed the brittle sound of digital and sought the warm, slick, wrap-around sound of analog-the kind of pure tone loved from the sixties.
Cody Dickinson brought his magic fingers to the producer’s chair, perfectly forging the sound I’d hoped for. Combining Duwayne’s talent with the brilliant contributions of Cody’s brother, Luther, who also plays on this record, they formed a team that was able to bring out the absolute best in Duwayne. The result is a true North Mississippi sound, Burnside Style - a groove that is finally ready to take Duwayne to the next level and springboard his talent for the masses.
The best evidence of that is simple. I recall the first night I spoke to Duwayne, saying, “You have a sound very similar to Jimi Hendrix.”
Duwayne replied, “Yeah, man, I love him. I love ‘Purple Rain’!”
I corrected him, “That song ‘Purple Rain’ is by Prince.”
Duwayne laughed and said, “Yeah, I love him too!”
That exchange is everything. It shows that Duwayne’s talent is purely his own; he is not a copycat. He absorbed the energy of icons without ever losing his authentic, Hill Country voice. He is truly a Johnny B. Goode straight out of the woods. Enjoy this recording, and turn it up loud - and dig into where it all started.
- Scott Hatch
Track List
- Nightmare (4:28)
- Circle in the Sky (2:55)
- Somebody Done Stole My Girl (3:30)
- Things Ain’t Going My Way (2:56)
- Talk Sweet to Me (4:13)
- Tribute (3:59)
- Crazy ‘Bout You (3:35)
- King (with Cody Burnside, Rapping) (3:02)
- Down and out (3:19)
- Mississippi Here I Come (7:26)
This product will be in stock on Friday 05 December, 2025.
