Piece Description

James Johnson of Clarksdale MS has been known as Super Chikan for many years now, and that's how he spells "chikan" in the title of his new album as well, "Sum' Mo' Chikan." Johnson grew up raising chickens and has a special relationship with the birds that underlies his music, but he is also a keen observer and commentator on human society, especially in Mississippi. His songs are both wonderfully humorous and uncompromisingly direct, and he plays his own "chikantars" (guitars made from gasoline can bodies with his own paintings on them as designs). This singing tractor-driver from Clarksdale MS is one of the most distinctive blues artists around these days, and "Sum' Mo' Chikan" is definitely an album to crow about.