You need all kinds of everything to make up for a complete human species. This is certainly true when you take a close look at this phenomenon called Doctor Oakroot, born in central North Carolina, region of the Piedmont blues. He himself talks about being ,,born in a taxi’’. He released six full CD’s, an EP and there is also a record from his earlier days with his band Emrys. One might think in terms of Tiny Tim or Weird Al Yankovich, when it comes to the freak factor. Doctor Oakroot looks a bit like a long lost and forgotten uncle of Billy Gibbons & Dusty Hill of ZZ Top. He’s a real bluesman, but started his career under the name Radikulo when he sang exclusively in Esperanto, which he still favours a lot. On this Shroud For The Dead (32’) there’s one song in that international articificial language, the very likeable Jen Mi. This has an awkward effect, as if the lyrics were played backwards (there’s an Esperanto text on his blog) Doctor Oakroot plays, so he states, ,,rough-adged songs on quirky homemade guitars’’. These have a square resonance-box (think of Bo Diddley!) It’s a natural thing: his grandma made her own dulcimer. It’s kind of a family tradition and he believes that every self respecting musician should play his self-made gear. It’s also a custom that he takes along simpler two stringed instruments to concerts, plays a few songs on them and then gives them to a lucky person in the audience. Probably the key factor for liking or disliking this and other CD’s of Doctor Oakroot is his voice. Someone said he thought of Tom Waits on helium, we believe he sounds like Tony Joe White with a terrible cold, more so as the man mostly is accompanied by drums only, just like TJW (on House Of The Rising Sun we also hear an organ…After a short blank he continues this age old tune in Esperanto) If you are immune to this very odd sounding voice, then this Shroud For The Dead, loosely centered round the theme of ,,death’’, is a viable record.. What’s Wrong With You was already recorded as Bosnia in 1996. Then it was a protest against the genocide in ex-Yugoslavia (and also Ruanda) Ten years later he has to conlude that there’s another genocide going on in Darfur: anger meanwhile transcended into sadness. The man really is full of good intentions: he joins the army of those artists who react to the lies of their leader(s): see his blog Blues & Beyond. We advise you to listen first: there’s ample to hear on his site!