ÒThis may have more guitar solos than all our previous releases,Ó said label president Andrew Galloway. However, they arenÕt wearing because they are not incessant. LilÕ Dave Thompson Ð best known for touring with R.L. Burnside and Jr. Kimbrough Ð only solos for a purpose. On this refreshing recording, Got To Get Over You (Electro-Fi), support is provided by an all-star cast of Canadian blues musicians. The music is pure blues, but soul/blues is also featured. Dave uses his guitar as an extension of his voice, while the sidemen play as if they were raised in Mississippi. Only one of the ten songs is a cover.

Thompson plays the most untainted blues guitar youÕll hear in contemporary blues. He loves his guitar like a woman throughout the disc. His affectionate but gruff voice Ð which sounds a bit like Carl Weathersby Ð and remarkable guitar consistently connect to express emotion and pain.

This is one of the best releases of 2006. The recipe for its success includes Mississippi dirt, cigarette smoke, juke joint liquor, and a touch of urbanity. LilÕ Dave Thompson defines blues for today by infusing blues of yesterday.

--- Tim Holek - Blues Bytes November 2006

Lil' Dave Thompson Got To Get Over You Electro-Fi/Festival

About ten years ago, among the veterans in that first batch of Fat Possum CDs, was a young Lil' Dave Thompson, with hands like Robert Johnson's. That album spoke of great potential but little more was heard of Mr. Thompson on record, only a JSP CD that sank without a trace. Andrew Galloway caught sight of him however and invited him to here last winter to record and play for our Christmas Party. The new CD shows him to be a charter member in the Albert King/Carl Weathersby branch of the blues _ high praise, I think. It is a crowded field however and to stand out there has to be some good material. He has plenty. He excels at slow, minor key blues and there are several excellent examples: "Player's Card" being the best with "I Got the Blues" and "I Wonder" following close behind. "Need for Speed" is the showcase for those hands and it's a good `un. He recorded here at Liquid Sound with an all-Canadian band: John Lee & Jim Boudreau, on organ and drums respectively, from Mel Brown's Homewreckers; Russell Jackson, bass player extraordinaire from Vancouver & a veteran of the B.B. King Orchestra and Pat Carey from Downchild and numerous other bands on tenor sax. It's good to have him back.

John Valenteyn -TBS Maple Blues Newsletter

****

I never grow weary of that thick, fat Albert King blues sound perfected at Stax Records in the '70's and this terrifc new disc by Lil' Dave Thompson has it going on fo' sho. The opener (and title cut) burrows a recipe out of that 1967-1973 Stax cookbook with bass heavy rhythm, horns, and that headnoddin' laidback groove. As a guitar picker Thompson's slightly faster with the fingers than King; sharper, perhaps not as soulful, but the kind of player you just sit back and listen to. He dazzles on every track, never seeming to repeat the same lick. His skills haven't gone unnoticed despite only releasing two records the previous ten years (1995's "Little Dave & Big Love" & "C'mon Down To The Delta"). Neither disc matched his guitar playing but he's still managed to garner two W.C. Handy nominations as a soloist. He's paid his dues backing Booba Barnes, R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbough but this time he's made the record that may finally connect with record buyers.

This time the disc, "Got to Get Over You", is more than just a vehicle for hisimpressive chops. Produced by Andrew Galloway, this set features 9 strong Thompson originals plus 1 written by friend Cheryl Pinkney called "Player's Card". You gotta love a woman writing a song about a man giving up his "player's card" and settlin' down! The track owes a debt to Mack Rice's "Cadillac Assembly Line". The Albert King influence is obvious again on the slow Blues "Lil' Girl" that echoes King's "don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong". Thompson must've took "Lucy" out for a night on the town. Big, big sound. Thompson also has a great supporting cast: Russell Jackson on bass, John Lee on organ, Jim Boudreau on drums and Pat Carey on sax. Props to the label Electro-Fi for finally recording Thompson right.

Blues Critic - The online home of Blues and Southern Soul - September 2006