Review: Little Freddie King – I Used To Be Down
Little Freddie King – I Use To Be Down
Format: CD – Digital / Label: Made Wright Records
Release: 2025
Text: Martien Koolen
Fread Eugene Martin a.k.a. Little Freddie King is almost eighty-five years old, but if you listen and experience his new album, I Used To Be Down you must still acknowledge that he is a 100% gut-bucket blues master indeed.
On ‘I Used To Be Down King’ is joined by various combinations of Wade Wright, playing the drums, Paul Defiglia playing the bass guitar and Stephen Daly on slide and second guitar. King’s new album contains eleven new songs, and they sound as early recordings of Lightning Hopkins and John Lee Hooker; meaning: very laid back, cool-related, stark, and unpolished guitar-based blues. Just listen to the instrumental opening track Bywater Crawl and you know what to expect from the rest of the album.
So, most of the songs are rather simple, direct, and slow; however, they are also groovy and all showcase King’s sober but brilliant guitar playing. Going Upstairs is, at least in my humble opinion, the highlight of this album; the song is recorded live and here King’s solo guitar playing and singing is second to none indeed. The title track features that typical King hard-hitting minimal guitar chords, while guest harmonica player Robert Louis diTullio plays a mean harmonica solo there. Standing At Your Door sees a nice performance of guest piano player Elan Mehler, while King swaggers along in that infectious track, making it extremely hard to sit still during that one.
Bus Station Blues and Can’t Do Nothing Baby truly remind me of good old Lightnin’ Hopkins, who is of course Freddie’s cousin, by the way… One of the best guitar solos on this album can be heard/experienced in Mean Little Woman, proving that maybe ‘I Used To Be Down’ is the best recording good old Little Freddie King has ever made. If you beg to differ, well, listen to the album some more, and play it LOUD.
Tracks:
01. Bywater Crawl
02. Pocket Full of Money
03. Going Up The Mountain
04. Bad News
05. I Used To Be Down
06. Coming Home to Jesus
07. Bus Station Blues
08. Standing At Your Door
09. Can’t Do Nothing Baby
10. Mean Little Woman
11. Going Upstairs (Live)
Website: https://littlefreddieking.com/