This second release by aging Mississippi bluesman Holmes is a poignant and raw trip through familiar delta blues themes, but delivered with a passion and surprising sense for using updated tempos and mixing in long, sublime jams. It is hard not to be sucked into his world, where the past and present literally do meet at a crossroads. The ten tracks on ?Done Got Tired of Tryin? burst and coo with power and wisdom.

That mix of classic blues with a more open structure is best illustrated by ?Blue Front Breakdown!? and ?Train I Ride? where, joined by drummer Lightnin Malcolm, Holmes? guitar becomes angular and the groove more droning, yet still remains unquestionably the blues.
?Biscuit Roller,? ?Could?ve Been Married? and ?Baby Gal? exhilarate by just being the kind of ominous, lonesome country blues that offers hope simply because they remind us that we are not alone in feeling bad once in awhile.

All the tracks were recorded in a couple of sessions as a juke joint that has been in Holmes? family since the 40?s. The intimacy and familiarity of the place may or may not have influenced the casual power of the delivery of these tunes, but Jimmy Holmes delivered indeed on this raw, inspired, and brilliant release. 9/10 -- Mike Wood (8 January, 2008)