Peter Parcek - News

Rootsville - September 2020

Rootsville review:
“Award-winning blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Peter Parcek demonstrates the rare ability to get into the soul of his songs and listeners on his new record “Mississippi Suitcase”. Parcek is a virtuoso in the primal sense of the word and has much more in common with the voodoo blues of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker than with the technical blues / rock of SRV and Joe Bonamassa.

Parcek uses "Mississippi Suitcase" to take his fans on a quest through the eternal, timeless humanity that all blues music revolves around. His guitar work is powerfully sparse and direct, and his vocals are dripping with the despair of someone waiting at the crossroads of life to strike a deal.

From the first notes of the opening track "The World Is Upside Down", Parcek is poignant and apocalyptic. A dark voice and a greasy slide are the listener's share. The following is the "graveyardswamp" sound of "Everybody Oughta Make A Change." When people talk about blues as the truth, they are talking about songs like this. "Beyond Here Lies Nothin" "is another spooky blues featuring Parcek's slide guitar playing. The title track, "Mississippi Suitcase (Slight Return)" is a top-tier mid-tempo song. Full of growling lyrics and greasy guitars and solidly backed by Oldham's hammond, the album's most ambitious and unexpected surprise is Parcek's instrumental version of the Beatle classic 'Eleanor Rigby'. It adds a rock guitar element to the record, but also connects it to everything else on this disc. Parcek is tasteful, melodic and enchanting. "Waiting For The Man" is a beautiful cover of Lou Reed's hit song and "A Head Full Of Ghosts" closes the record in a somewhat Snowy White-like guitar style.

Every moment of Mississippi Suitcase contains the same level. Peter Parcek quietly masters every nuance of the blues and will keep your attention throughout the record.”