Robert Connely Farr - Shake It

Size: 69.3 MB
Time: 29:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Blues/Rock Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Screamin' And Hollerin' (2:45)
02. Going Away To Leave You (2:39)
03. Ain't No Other Way (3:20)
04. Miss My Baby (4:16)
05. Knock On Wood (3:21)
06. Going Down South (3:00)
07. Lefty (2:36)
08. Shake It (2:38)
09. Sugar Mama (4:45)

Personnel: Jay Bundy Johnson – Drums Tom Hillifer – (on Cleo Pullum’s) Bass Robert Connely Farr – Lead Guitar, Vocals Liam Moes – Shaker, Back Up Vocals
Robert Connely Farr is a songwriter from Bolton, Mississippi - hometown of legends like Charley Patton, Sam Chatmon, Bo Carter & Walter Vinson. Since 2017, Mississippi bluesman Jimmy “Duck” Holmes has been mentoring Farr in the Bentonia Style of the Delta Blues, an obscure style that Holmes learned directly from Henry Stuckey, who also taught Skip James.

Robert released “Dirty South Blues” in 2018 to immediate critical acclaim. In 2019, Farr played Jimmy Duck Holmes’ Bentonia Blues Festival, KEXP named “Dirty South Blues” one of their top albums of the year & Farr was nominated for Songwriter of the Year & New Artist of the Year by Canada’s prestigious Maple Blues Awards - this immediately followed by a cancer diagnosis & emergency surgery.

Farr hit the ground running in 2020, releasing 3 albums, culminating into the 16 track Country Supper - which landed on numerous 'Best of Year' lists and, in similar fashion to Dirty South Blues, garnered dozens of positive reviews from critics.

“Shake It” is Robert Connely Farr’s ninth studio album. Recorded at the legendary Hipposonic Music in Vancouver BC (AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith…) with Farr’s long-time bandmates Jay Bundy Johnson (The Blue Shadows, Herald Nix) on drums & Tom Hillifer (Slim Fathers, Daggermouth) on bass – and let it be know that the bass guitar Tom is playing on this record was legendary Bentonia juke joint bass player Cleo Pullum – of whom little is known about. With only nine songs & clocking in at 30 minutes, the album starts with covers nodding to two of Farr’s mentors – Charley Patton’s ‘Screaming & Hollering’ & Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ ‘Going Away To Leave You’. Followed by six originals penned by Farr in the wake of his cancer diagnosis, the album ends with a Tommy McClennan cover – Sugar Mama.

Shake It MP3
Shake It FLAC

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Robert Connely Farr - Country Supper

Size: 126,0 MB
Time: 53:37
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Cypress Grove (3:53)
02. Girl In The Holler (2:32)
03. Catfish (2:49)
04. Water's Rising (4:48)
05. Cadillac Problems (2:29)
06. Train Train (5:29)
07. I Ain't Dying (2:56)
08. Can't Be Satisfied (2:42)
09. All Good (3:32)
10. Must've Been The Devil (2:28)
11. Bad Bad Feeling (2:55)
12. If It Was Up To Me (3:04)
13. Gimme Yo Money (4:26)
14. Lately (3:53)
15. Bad Whiskey (3:27)
16. I Know I Been Changed (2:05)

Mississippi expatriate Robert Connely Farr knows the blues. He’s not only lived them himself, but has learned at the knee of a master. On his newest offering, Country Supper, Farr serves a banquet of menacing Bentonia and Hill Country blues covers, mixed with original Americana and indie-rock.

Farr grew up in the small southern town of Bolton, Mississippi, home of Charley Patton & The Mississippi Sheiks. He has been mentored in the Bentonia Style of the Delta Blues by Jimmy “Duck” Holmes since 2017. His 2019 release Dirty South Blues was met with widespread critical acclaim, including being named one of KEXP’s Top Albums of 2019 & earning Farr nominations at Canada’s prestigious Maple Blues Awards for Songwriter of the Year & New Artist of the Year. He currently resides in Vancouver, BC but when he’s home in Mississippi, he can be found at Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ historic juke joint – the Blue Front Cafe.

Country Supper kicks off with Farr’s rendition of Skip James’ “Cypress Grove.” A powerfully emotive slow drag done in Bentonia tuning and heavy, greasy, reverb guitar, “Cypress Grove” is an unexpected choice for a lead-off song, but man, does it work. It had my attention from the very first licks.

Following “Cypress Grove” is a strapping cover of Leo Bud Welch’s “Girl in the Holler” and a completely unique and eery re-imaging of the Henry Stuckey/Robert Petway classic “Catfish.” Among the 16 tracks on Country Supper, seven are covers, including two by Farr’s mentor, Holmes. The rest were written by Farr, and most keep the poignant vibe that the covers emit.

Farr handles all the vocals on Country Supper. His muscular, gravelly voice is the perfect vehicle for the music he loves. He’s joined on guitar by Jon Wood, with Tom #TommyRibs Hillifer on bass and Jay Bundy Johnson on drums. Recorded in Vancouver at the heralded Hipposonic Studios, the album was produced by the four musicians plus Liam Moes who also engineered and mixed it. One is quick to notice that the album wasn’t produced to sound like it came from a studio. Rather, this is the sound of a late night juke, when the smoke is thick and the whiskey has all but run out.

The first original is “Water’s Rising,” Robert’s voice is less gritty, and the resonator guitar and harmonica make for a less-over modulated, cleaner track, even though the lyrics are just as heart-rending. The powerful reverb returns on “Cadillac Problems.” With its Hill Country energy, we only wish this one was a bit longer than its 2:29 run-time.

Arguably the most affecting song on Country Supper is the Farr penned “I Ain’t Dyin’,” for good reason. In 2019 as things were taking off with Dirty South Blues Farr was diagnosed with cancer and had to have an emergency surgery – but not before they recorded this record. Since it was previously released on an EP of the same name in 2016, one could take “I Ain’t Dyin’,” as a love gone wrong song, but what I hear in 2020 is a big “F U” to the “Big C.”

60s psychedelia meets 21st Century indie-rock on “All Good, ” one of the most upbeat song on the entire release with the exception of “Bad Bad Feeling,” which had me stomping the floor in time.
Country Supper takes another turn with “If it Was Up to Me,” an alt-country palate-cleanser. Make no mistake though, this isn’t Nashville ‘bro-country’ cranked out of Music City. This is soulful, lonesome, what if Ol’ Hank were still alive country-blues.

Robert pays homage to Jack Owens, another Bentonia, Mississippi native with a cover of his “Gimme Yo Money.” Owens took the classic Bentonia tuning and experimented with several other tunings, which appear to have been his own. He stayed near home for most of his 92 years, and many times was on the front porch of the Blue Front with Jimmy “Duck” Holmes (Farr’s mentor), teaching him the idiosyncrasies of the style. Which lead us to Farr’s self-admitted favorite song on Country Supper.

Farr touches on today’s climate with “Lately.” Without rubbing anyone’s name in the dirt, Robert simply shares his personal feelings in true singer-songwriter fashion. He follows that up with “Bad Whiskey,” another blue-tinted country song.

Country Supper ends the way most country suppers begin – with a prayer. The LaShun Pace/Leo Bud Welch penned “I Know I Been Changed,” contains a line which was the title of Welch’s 2019 album, The Angels in Heaven Done Signed My Name.

So you see, Robert Connely Farr knows the blues. What’s more, he takes the lessons he’s learned and applies them to his original music without forgetting to honor the masters who came before him. With that seemingly simple focus, Farr shares some of the best of the original Mississippi blues in a style that remains relevant today.

Farr has laid out a 16-track feast of Country Supper, and invites us all to sit down for a heaping helping. All I can say is there’s always room for more. Pass the sweet potato pie! ~JD Nash

Country Supper MP3
Country Supper FLAC

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Robert Connely Farr & The Rebeltone Boys - Dirty South Blues

Size: 89,9 MB
Time: 38:30
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Juke Joint Blues, Dirty Blues
Art: Front

01. Ode To The Lonesome (3:44)
02. Dirty South Blues (3:24)
03. Blue Front Cafe (3:56)
04. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (3:15)
05. Magnolia (4:07)
06. Lady Heroin (3:31)
07. Just Jive (3:30)
08. Cypress Tree Blues (4:27)
09. Yes Ma'am (3:40)
10. Hey Mr. Devil (4:53)

Robert Connely Farr is no stranger to blues music. He grew up in the small, Southern town of Bolton, Mississippi, the hometown of Charley Patton and the Mississippi Sheiks. Although Farr currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, when he is home you can most likely find him at the Blue Front Cafe in the company of his mentor Jimmy “Duck” Holmes.

Holmes is regarded as the last of the Bentonia, Mississippi bluesmen, and has been mentoring Farr in this all-but-lost art form for the last couple of years. Holmes himself learned the Bentonia style of blues by Henry Stuckey, the man who taught Skip James and Jack Owens.

Farr has learned the lessons well. Teaming up with Canadian producer/songwriter Leeroy Stagger in May 2018, they recorded this collection of songs influenced largely by Connely’s mentorship with Holmes.

Having spent a decade with the band Mississippi Live & The Dirty Dirty has added some touches of Southern Rock and alt-country to Farr’s sound. Regardless, the unmistakable droning sound and odd tuning of Bentonia shines through.

Dirty South Blues begins with “Ode to the Lonesome.” Sonically simplistic, the song is a great opener. Some nice guitar licks overlay the basic beat with wistful keyboards. Farr’s vocals fade in and out in spots, which only adds to the haunting sound that is Bentonia.

Recorded and produced by Stagger at The Rebeltone Ranch in Lethbridge, Alberta, Dirty South Blues had us feeling like we were on the porch at the historic Blue Front Cafe. Farr handles vocals and guitar. His band, The Rebeltone Boys, is made up of Evan Uschenko (lead guitar), Tyson Maiko (bass), Kyle Harmon (drums), and Michael Ayotte (keyboards).

That’s about four more people than would normally record in this genre, but Dirty South Blues is not a typical Bentonia style record. With that in mind Jimmy told Farr, “You got to go play this. You ain’t gonna play it like Skip, not like Jack and not like me – you got to go play it your own way.”

Farr wrote 8 of the 10 tracks. “Just Jive,” a song that Holmes wrote in ’81 and was almost lost forever is a co-write with Farr. Farr also pays homage to the roots of this album by covering Skip James’ “Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues.” “Just Jive” is upbeat and funky, while Robert’s re-imaging of “Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues,” has a touch of those other influences we mentioned.

The title track comes across rocking and takes aim at some of the more controversial elements of today’s South. Burning crosses are still seen in Mississippi, where pockets of racism still exist. The attitude of “if you ain’t right, you’re wrong,” is prevalent in some areas, and Farr calls it out. Similarly, “Magnolia” talks about his home county where Confederate flags still fly from front porches of folks who are “filled with hate and rebel pride.” “Magnolia” has more of the standard Bentonia drone but adds some psychedelic organ and guitar beginning about halfway through.

As a lyricist, Farr has a John Prine approach. Keeping it simple enough for even the common man to understand. As a singer, suggestions of another Southern vocalist, Gregg Allman, come across. Some songs such as “Lady Heroin,” and “Hey Mr. Devil” bring it out more than others.

“Yes Ma’am” is the most alt-country flavored song on the release, but our personal favorite is a toss-up between the two most standard Bentonia flavored tunes. “Cypress Tree Blues,” has deep echoing vocals with a 12-bar makeup and “Blue Front Cafe” couldn’t be a more fitting tribute to the last surviving original juke joint in the Delta. This is blues that originated in Mississippi.

If you have the opportunity, either in the deep South or the Great White North, to catch Robert Connely Farr and the Rebeltone Boys, don’t miss it.

Dirty South Blues MP3
Dirty South Blues FLAC

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