Customer Reviews:
 Hooray for the modern sounds of the Blues!!! April 28, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Is the Blues dead and gone, a dated piece in the museum of Music? If you ever asked yourself this question, please come and listen to this record. After you've heard it, you'll be pleased to answer, wholeheartedly: "NO! The blues is alive and kicking!".
Skip McDonald, AKA Little Axe, blends the blues with dub, sampling, reggae, rock and who knows whatever else. But the blues is the mainstay of this music. And all these elements are wrapped in a deep haunting bluesy feeling that just tears your soul apart.
If you've heard Little Axe's previous records like the wonderful "The Wolf that House Built", of 1994, and "Slow Fuse", of 1996, I must tell you that this one is somewhat different, more accoustic, with less electronic gimmickery and with much more vocals (and Skip McDonald has a wonderful deep, intense blues-tinged voice). The more you hear it, the more it grows on you! My advice is: don't let this music pass you by, go and get it!
One of the Year's Best!!!!! January 3, 2005
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
This cd is perfect. The best thing about "Champagne & Grits" is that I can't listen to one song without wanting to listen to the whole disc. This is the kind of thing only Little Axe could pull off. This is yet another Little Axe classic and a must for any fan of music in general. Easily 5 stars.
Folk/Blues/Rock classic!! December 21, 2004
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
This is an amazing cd. I had never heard of Little Axe until 2 days ago when I stepped into a music store and heard this deep, haunting, beautiful sound. Wow!! It's a hybrid of folk, blues, dub, with a little rock.
Standouts include the acoustic 'Grinning in your face', the blues of 'Mean things', 'Living and Sleeping in a Dangerous Time', the tender instrumental 'Cloud', and the brooding 'Sinners'.
Simply one of the best cds released this year! Awesome!
A Real Mind Blower December 9, 2004
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I Had only heard little axe a few times before. So I saw this CD and Picked it up, it is great. It opens with a nice minor Key acoustic blues with almost no noticable effects. Then after this, He goes into an almost more Reggae/ish feel with some nice harmonica. The CD Then stays in more of a dub mode all the way through with The Occasional snippits of "True" Blues ("The Way I See IT" and "Take Me Back To The Country"). Songs like "Mean Things" and "walk on water" are Great to. All the Dub elements add nice texture to the Vocals NA d Skip McDonald's National Steel Guitar Playing. Oh, and even though the dub elements are there, the Cd Remains extreamly accesible.
Skip McDonald Returns October 6, 2004
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Another fierce offering from Little Axe AKA Skip McDonald, whose lyrical guitar style has graced many recordings over the years (check out early SugarHill, and with the On-U Sound posse, multiple recordings with Dub Syndicate, African Head Charge and Tackhead). Blends the blues-sampling of earlier recordings (The Wolf that House Built, Hard Grind) with more vocals (similar to the sadly discontinued second CD, Slow Fuse) courtesy of Bernard Fowler, Shara Nelson and - surprise! - Chris Gifford from Squeeze. The Gifford track initially seems a but anomalous, but grows on you and would probably make a great single. Highly recommended.
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