Champagne & Grits

• Artist: Little Axe
• Rating:
• Release Date: September 21, 2004
• Genre: Blues

Review

Skip McDonald's Little Axe returns for Champagne and Grits, and it could well be the band's finest, most expansive set yet. Little Axe's brand of blues-gospel-dub is probably the most interesting and adventurous of all the projects that attempt to infuse new life into the blues, and Champagne and Grits rivals their debut not only for an outstanding set of tunes, but for sheer sonic experimentation as well. Skip runs the show with plenty of help from producer Adrian Sherwood, and of course Doug Wimbish and Keith LeBlanc are on hand as well. The set starts with a pure acoustic blues, but then enters territory charted only by this band. It's still the blues, but there are gospel-flavored vocals, eerie harmonica, and fantastic dub elements all combined into a singular style. Disembodied vocals and sermons waft in and out of the ether, along with washes of electronica, soulful blues guitar, and wicked basslines. A couple of the tracks venture a bit further into reggae territory (with some help from Junior Delgado), but it still all feels bluesy despite the additional trappings. McDonald knows and respects the past, but he knows how to build on it, not enshrine it. Little Axe is the only band that does what it does, and does it brilliantly. Ancient to the future. Highly recommended. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Grinning in Your Face	Son House, Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(3:57)
Finger on the Trigger	Adrian Sherwood, Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(5:09)
Mean Things	Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(6:17)
The Way I See It	Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(:37)
Walk on Water	Adrian Sherwood, Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(4:49)
Go Away Devil	Adrian Sherwood, Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(4:43)
Say My Name	S. Nelson, Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(4:44)
Take Me Back to the Country	Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(1:00)
All in the Same Boat	Adrian Sherwood, Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(4:10)
Living and Sleeping in a Dangerous Time	Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(5:44)
Will I Ever Get Back Home Again?	Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(4:21)
Cloud	Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(3:10)
Sinners	Justin Hinds, Bernard Alexander	Little Axe	(4:42)

Credits

Skip McDonald (Performer), Doug Wimbish (Guitar (Bass)), Skip McDonald (Photography), Clubfoot (Guitar), Prithpal Rajput (Tabla), Bernard Fowler (Vocals), Nick Coplowe (Engineer), Craig Oddy (Photography), Skip McDonald (Audio Production), Skip McDonald (Producer), Prithpal Rajput (Tabla), Dorie Jackson (Vocals (Background)), Nick Coplowe (Mixing), Keith LeBlanc (Drums), Chris Difford (Vocals), Chris Weinland (Engineer), Shara Nelson (Vocals), Nick Coplowe (Programming), Derek Edwards (Graphic Design), Adrian Sherwood (Mixing), Adrian Sherwood (Producer), Nick Coplowe (Audio Engineer), Hilton Grove (Mastering), Adrian Sherwood (Audio Production), Derek Edwards (Design), Dorothy Jackson (Vocals (Background)), Chris Weinland (Programming), Ghetto Priest (Vocals), Junior Delgado (Vocals), Dave Foster (Harmonica), Doug Wimbish (Bass), Alan Glen (Harmonica), Bernard O'Neil (Bass (Upright)), Skip McDonald (Vocals), Denise Sherwood (Vocals (Background)), Bernard O'Neil (Double Bass), Skip McDonald (Guitar)