Them Update Blues
{{Infobox album
| name = Them Update Blues
| type = studio
| artist = Lowell Fulson
| cover = Them Update Blues.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1995
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Blues, West Coast blues
| length = 42:31
| label = Bullseye Blues
| producer = Ron Levy
| prev_title = Sinner's Prayer
| prev_year = 1995
| next_title = Mean Old Lonesome Blues
| next_year = 1996
}}
Them Update Blues is an album by the American musician Lowell Fulson, released in 1995.{{cite news |last1=Takiff |first1=Jonathan |title=Hot spell persists on music scene |work=The Tampa Tribune |agency=Knight Ridder |date=August 22, 1995 |department=Florida/Metro |page=4}}{{cite book |editor1-last=Obrecht |editor1-first=Jas |title=Rollin' and Tumblin': The Postwar Blues Guitarists |date=2000 |publisher=Miller Freeman Books |page=47}} It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.{{cite news |title=Grammy Nominations |work=Dayton Daily News |agency=AP |date=January 5, 1996 |page=13A}} Them Update Blues was Fulson's second album for Bullseye Blues as well as his final studio album.{{cite web |title=Lowell Fulson Biography by Mark Deming |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lowell-fulson-mn0000301955 |website=AllMusic |access-date=10 June 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Russell |first1=Tony |title=Lowell Fulson: Always the blues |newspaper=The Guardian |date=March 12, 1999 |department=Obituaries |page=18}}
Production
Them Update Blues was produced by Ron Levy.{{cite book |editor1-last=Komara |editor1-first=Edward |title=Encyclopedia of the Blues |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |page=850}} Fulson wrote or cowrote the album's eleven songs.{{cite magazine |last1=Point |first1=Michael |title=Licks galore — Them Update Blues by Lowell Fulson |magazine=DownBeat |date=December 1995 |volume=62 |issue=12 |page=71}} He was backed by the South Central Rhythm section. The Memphis Horns contributed to some of the tracks.{{cite news |last1=Reilly |first1=Terry |title=Red, Hot & Blue |work=The Age |date=November 17, 1995 |page=EG8}}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite web |title=Them Update Blues Review by Bill Dahl |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/them-update-blues-mw0000646668 |website=AllMusic |access-date=June 10, 2024}}
| rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
| rev2score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2011 |publisher=Omnibus Press}}
| rev3 = MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide
| rev3score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide |date=1998 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=134}}
| rev4 = The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings
| rev4score = {{rating|2.5|4}}{{cite book |title=The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin Books |page=210}}
| rev5 = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
| rev5score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Jim |title=Recording Review |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=November 23, 1995 |page=C11}}
}}
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that "these are picture-perfect West Coast blues—like fine brandy—smooth and sensuous with just the right edge." Stereo Review said that Fulson's "electric-guitar playing, juke-joint raw, wastes no notes, and his simultaneously gruff and mellow vocals get the job done with economy."{{cite magazine |last1=Nash |first1=Alanna |title=Popular music — Them Update Blues by Lowell Fulson |magazine=Stereo Review |date=December 1995 |volume=60 |issue=12 |page=106}} The Retford, Gainsborough and Worksop Times noted that Fulson maintains "very high musical standards with gritty commitment."{{cite news |last1=Bryan |first1=Kevin |title=Spirit of 60s |work=Retford, Gainsborough & Worksop Times |date=November 2, 1995 |page=8}}
The Age praised Fulson's "unhurried voice and flowing guitar" on "Sun Going Down". The Lake Geneva Regional News labeled the music "seductive and spiky."{{cite news |last1=Burke |first1=Jack |title=The Wax Works |work=Lake Geneva Regional News |date=March 28, 1996 |page=90}} Metro Silicon Valley opined that "Sun Going Down" "ranks up there with the best of the West Coast blues pioneer's midnight-hour grinders, while the title track percolates with the down-home soul of Memphis-cooked stew."{{cite news |last1=Baxter |first1=Nicky |title=Fountain of Blues |work=Metro Silicon Valley |date=May 16, 1996 |department=Music}}
AllMusic noted Fulson's "customary biting guitar and insinuating vocals."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Them Update Blues track listing
| title1 = What's the Matter Baby
| length1 = 3:58
| title2 = Think About It
| length2 = 4:56
| title3 = Don't Lie
| length3 = 3:45
| title4 = My Secret Love
| length4 = 3:15
| title5 = Sun Going Down
| length5 = 5:18
| title6 = Get On Down (Them Update Blues)
| length6 = 3:29
| title7 = Lonely Man
| length7 = 2:58
| title8 = Forty-Four
| length8 = 4:00
| title9 = Too Soon to Tell
| length9 = 3:55
| title10 = Not a Dime
| length10 = 3:15
| title11 = L & L Special
| length11 = 3:42
| total_length = 42:31
}}