For fans who got turned on to
R.L. Burnside thanks to The Sopranos, this compilation perhaps represents the next logical step toward embracing the postmodern juke joint sound of the Fat Possum label. Chapter VII: All Men Are Liars goes where no blues compilation has ever dared to go, blurring the lines between Delta blues and, yes, punk. (Fat Possum would outdo this feat with
New Beats From the Delta, which straddled the blues/hip-hop fence). Featuring some of the crunchiest guitar riffs imaginable, Chapter VII is a quick 41-minute romp that invites Mississippi blues legends (Burnside,
Junior Kimbrough) and their garage band progeny (20 Miles, Bob Log III, the Neckbones) to the same mosh pit. The results range from one-chord,
John Lee Hooker-style boogies to pure headbanger material -- and somehow, it all gels together. Less blues intensive than its sister compilation Not the Same Old Blues Crap, Chapter VII is also louder, cruder, and much more fun. ~ Ken Chang