March 2000

Eddie Kirkland
The Complete Trix Recordings
32 Blues

By Bill Milkowski

Eddie Kirkland, The Complete Trix Recordings (32 Blues 32166; 57:17/53:05). Disc one, originally recorded between 1970 and 1972 and eventually released as Front and Center, features the energetic blues man in an uncharacteristic solo "unplugged" setting of country blues originals. Includes a rare 12-string acoustic performance of "Goin' Back to Mississippi," some striking National steel work on "Lonesome Talking Blues" and piercing bottleneck playing on "Jerdine." Disc two, also recorded between 1970 and 1972 and released as The Devil and Other Blues Demons, is a full band performance that blends Kirkland's dynamic soul singing with raw urban blues and real deal Southern storytelling, as on "Hard to Raise a Family Today" and "Georgia Woman."