This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Some artists spend years slaving away on an album and still can’t come up with 12 usable songs (are you listening, Axl?). Guys like neo-bluesman Kelly Joe Phelps can spend three days in the studio and end up with an embarrasment of riches.
Phelps shares the wealth on Beggars Oil, an EP of extras and alternate cuts from last year’s superb CD Sky Like a Broken Clock. Putting aside his trusty slide for a more earthy fingerpicked sound, Kelly Joe submits a slate of lazily delicate, hypnotically beautiful folk-blues tales painted with the dusty sunset tones of his voice. A live cut from a 1999 folk festival closes things off nicely — at least until Phelps treats us to his next batch of delicious leftovers.
