This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
If they had held a vote for Artist Least Likely to Get A Tribute Disc, I would have bet on Junior Kimbrough to win by a Mississippi mile.
First because the late singer-guitarist was obscure as hell. And second because his sound — a strain of Delta blues hoodoo so primal, haunting and hypnotic it makes R.L. Burnside seem like B.B. King — is all but impossible to duplicate. Though I have to admit, the roster of underground and indie-rockers on Fat Possum’s new tribute set Sunday Nights get it at least partly right. Spiritualized, for one, manage to replicate Junior’s trancy drone on Sad Days, Lonely Nights. Jon Spencer and his punky Blues Explosion, for another, supply a decent facsimile of Kimbrough’s greasy, gnarly, juke joint grit on Meet Me In The City. Others like Akron duo The Black Keys, roots weirdoes Jack Oblivion and Jim White, and even troubadour Pete Yorn contribute various pieces of the puzzle. But it’s hard to top Iggy And The Stooges, who channel Junior’s unhinged menace on duelling versions of the misogynist You Better Run. Add them up and you’ve got an unlikely minor masterpiece of murder, mayhem and misery.
