Fruteland Jackson - I Claim Nothing But The Blues (2000)

Born in 1953 in the Delta town of Doddsville, Mississippi, Jackson moved to Chicago as a child in 1957. His music marries acoustic sound with original lyrics. Since he was able to make his love for the blues his vocation in the mid-'80s, Jackson has accomplished a lot as an educator, performer, and activist. He created an award-winning "All About the Blues" series for the Blues Foundation's Blues in the Schools program, and was awarded the 1996 Illinois Arts Council Folk/Ethnic Heritage Award. He is also the recipient of the Blues Foundation's 1997 Keeping the Blues Alive award for blues in education.
Jackson is forceful singer and an adventurous guitarist, but on his debut album he's too often let down by his songwriting, which is boobytraped with platitudes and doggerel. The novelty 'Mango Bango', set to Latin rhythms, is simply unspeakable, and the busy production, using various instrumental combinations, too often seems to be an attempt to disquise weak material.