Show Me the Way Home, Honey

Various - Times Ain't Like They Used To Be Vol. 8

Styles: Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, String Bands, Piedmont Blues, Traditional Folk
Label: Yazoo
Released: 2003
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 157,0 MB
Time: 68:36
Art: full

1. Vaughan Quartet - It's Just Like Heaven - 3:12
2. Red Headed Fiddler - The Steeley Rag - 2:36
3. Gitfiddle Jim - Paddlin' Blues - 3:19
4. Dilly & His Dill Pickles - Sand Mountain Drag - 3:23
5. Dock Boggs - Sugar Baby - 3:00
6. King Solomon Hill - My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon - 3:11
7. Stripling Brothers - The Lost Child - 3:07
8. Frank Hutchinson - The Train That Carried My Girl From Town - 3:04
9. Bo Weavil Jackson - You Can't Keep No Brown - 2:52
10. Wright Brothers Quartet - Mother Is With The Angels - 2:59
11. Dick Reinhart - Rambling Lover - 2:53
12. Skip James - 4 O'Clock Blues - 2:52
13. Da Costa Woltz's Southern Broadcasters - Yellow Rose Of Texas - 2:53
14. Johnny Barfield - Gonna Ride Till The Sun Goes Down - 2:54
15. Ed Bell - Mamlish Blues - 2:36
16. Ted Sharp, Hinman and Sharp - Robinson County - 3:10
17. Dennis McGee - Valse Des Vachers - 2:39
18. David Miller - Jailhouse Rag - 2:43
19. Tommy Johnson - I Want Someone To Love Me - 2:57
20. Uncle Dave Macon and McGee Bros. - Tennessee Tornado - 3:16
21. Frank Jenkins - Roving Cowboy - 2:59
22. Shelor Family - Big Bend Gal - 2:49
23. Rev. W.M. Mosley - Yes Tis Me - 3:01

Notes: Each volume in Yazoo Records' Times Ain't Like They Used to Be series (this one is the eighth installment) collects 1920s and '30s commercial 78s that, taken together, project a vital and energetic rural, early 20th century America of jug and string bands, country blues players, fiddlers, banjoists, sacred singers, and musical roustabouts of every conceivable rustic style imaginable. This process makes each volume remarkably similar even as the particular artists and songs included on each may be tremendously different. Volume 8 is a little heavier on the blues side of things and includes such rare gems as Dock Boggs' banjo blues set piece "Sugar Baby," Skip James' haunting rendering of "4 O'Clock Blues" (made especially precious by sounding like it was recorded in a hail storm), Frank Hutchison's sleek and timeless "The Train That Carried My Girl from Town," and Francis Jenkins' ancient sounding fiddle ballad, "Roving Cowboy," which sounds a bit like an inland sea shanty. Since everything is drawn from exceedingly rare 78s, many of which were played to death by their original owners, there is a fair amount of ambient needle noise on most of these tracks, but that only adds to the overall feel of history actually coming alive that is inherent to these kinds of compilations. Well selected, varied, and artfully sequenced, Times Ain't Like They Used to Be, Vol. 8 is a welcome addition to a hopefully never-ending series.

Times Ain't Like They Used To Be Vol. 8



• Pink Anderson - Pink Anderson Vol. 3: Ballad & Folksinger
• Blind Willie McTell - Blind Willie McTell 1927-1933

Oznake: Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, String Bands, Piedmont Blues, Traditional Folk, Various

Various - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 7 of 8

Styles: Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, String Bands, Traditional Folk
Label: Yazoo
Released: 2003
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 160,5 MB
Time: 70:07
Art: full

1. Dilly & His Dill Pickles - Bust Down Stomp - 3:18
2. Jimmie Tarlton - Dixie Mail - 3:22
3. King Solomon Hill - Times Has Done Got Hard - 3:14
4. East Texas Serenaders - Mineola Rag - 2:44
5. Sheffield Male Quartet - Christ Arose - 3:03
6. 'Gitfiddle Jim' - Rainy Night Blues - 3:14
7. Three Tobacco Tags - Good Gal Remember Me - 3:01
8. Red Headed Fiddlers - Texas Quickstep - 2:53
9. Ed Bell - Ham Bone Blues - 2:49
10. David Miller - Cannonball Rag - 2:48
11. Fiddlin John Carson & His Virginia Reelers - Little More Sugar medley - 3:07
12. Bo Weavil Jackson - Devil and my Brown Blues - 2:57
13. Stripling Brothers - Horseshoe Bend - 3:00
14. Daniels-Deason Sacred Harp Singers - Primrose Hill - 2:56
15. Skip James - Hard Luck child - 3:06
16. Uncle Dave Macon & Sam McGee - Go On, Nora Lee - 3:09
17. Dennis McGee - Jeunes Gens Campagnard - 2:44
18. Jay Bird Coleman - I'm Gonna Cross The River Of Jordon Some Of These Days - 3:09
19. Uncle Pete & Louise - Only A Tramp - 3:01
20. Ben Jarrell & Frank Jenkins - Jack of Diamnds - 2:48
21. Son House - Dry Spell Blues, part 1 - 3:11
22. 'Ted' Sharp, Hinman & Sharp - Pike's Peak - 3:10
23. Old Southern Sacred Singers - I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go - 3:15

Notes: Each volume in Yazoo Records' Times Ain't Like They Used to Be series (this one is the seventh installment) collects 1920s and '30s commercial 78s, and taken together they project a vital and energetic rural, early 20th century America of jug and string bands, country blues players, fiddlers, banjoists, sacred singers, and musical roustabouts of every conceivable rustic style imaginable. This process makes each volume remarkably similar even as the particular artists and songs included on each may be tremendously different. Volume 7 includes such rare gems as Jimmie Tarlton's impressive "Dixie Mail," Skip James' haunting "Hard Luck Child," an unhinged fiddle and banjo duet by Ben Jarrell and Francis Jenkins on "Jack of Diamonds" and the first part of Son House's classic two-part 78 rpm recording of "Dry Spell Blues." Since everything is drawn from exceedingly rare 78s, many of which were played to death by their original owners, there is a fair amount of ambient needle noise on most of these tracks, but that only adds to the overall feel of history actually coming alive that is inherent to these kinds of compilations. Well selected, varied, and artfully sequenced, Times Ain't Like They Used to Be, Vol. 7 is a welcome addition to a hopefully never-ending series.

Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 7



• Alan Lomax - Texas Folk Songs
• The 2nd South Carolina String Band - Hard Road

Oznake: Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, String Bands, Traditional Folk, Various

Various - Times Ain't Like They Used To Be Vol. 6 of 8

Styles: Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, String Bands, Piedmont Blues, Traditional Folk
Label: Yazoo
Released: 2002
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 157,5 MB
Time: 68:47
Art: full

1. Birkhead & Lane - Robinson County - 3:06
2. Floyd County Ramblers - Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party - 3:09
3. Mississippi Moaner - It's Cold In China - 2:51
4. Parker & Dodd - Sail Away Lady - 2:59
5. Uncle Dave Macon & The Fruit Jar Drinkers - I'm Goin' Away In The Morn - 3:08
6. Tenderfoot Edwards - Seven Sister Blues - 2:55
7. Virginia Mountain Boomers - Cousin Sally Brown - 2:54
8. Girls Of The Golden West - Whoopee-Ti-Yi-Yo Git Along Little Doggies - 2:46
9. Skip James - Cherry Ball Blues - 2:50
10. Roy Harvey & Jess Johnston - Milwaukee Blues - 3:20
11. Weems String Band - Davy - 2:55
12. Eli Framer - God Didn't Make Me No Monkey Man - 3:13
13. Eck Robertson - Sally Gooden - 3:11
14. Jess Johnston & Byrd Moore - My Trouble Blues - 3:10
15. Charley Patton - Prayer Of Death - Part 2 - 2:49
16. Red Headed Fiddlers - Cheat 'Em - 2:33
17. Dewey & Gassie Bassett - Jesus Paved The Way - 2:42
18. Louie Lasky - Caroline - 2:51
19. The Swamp Rooters - Swamp Cat Rag - 3:07
20. Reaves White County Ramblers - Ten Cent Piece - 3:03
21. Blind Joe Reynolds - Ninety Nine Blues - 2:40
22. Jess Hillard & His West Virginia Hillbillies - Rolling River - 3:27
23. Turney Brothers - At The Cross - 2:56

Notes: Each volume in Yazoo Records' Times Ain't Like They Used to Be series (this one is the sixth installment) collects 1920s and '30s commercial 78s, and taken together they project a vital and energetic early-20th century rural America of jug and string bands, country blues players, fiddlers, banjoists, sacred singers, and musical roustabouts of every conceivable rustic style imaginable. This process makes each volume remarkably similar even as the particular artists and songs included on each may be tremendously different. Vol. 6 includes such rare gems as Isaiah Nettles' (listed here under his moniker "the Mississippi Moaner") quirky "It's Cold in China Blues," Skip James' haunting "Cherry Ball Blues," an energetic "Davy" by the Weems String Band, and the second part of Charley Patton's two-part 78-rpm recording of "Prayer of Death." Since everything is drawn from exceedingly rare 78s, many of which were played to death by their original owners, there is a fair amount of ambient needle noise on several of these tracks, but that only adds to the overall feel of history actually coming alive that is inherent to these kinds of compilations. Well selected, varied, and artfully sequenced, Times Ain't Like They Used to Be, Vol. 6 is another welcome addition to a hopefully never-ending series.

Times Ain't Like They Used To Be Vol. 6



• Violin, Sing The Blues For Me: African-American Fiddlers 1926-1949
• Emmett Miller - Minstrel Man From Georgia

Oznake: Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, String Bands, Piedmont Blues, Traditional Folk, Various

Various - Times Ain't Like They Used To Be Vol. 5

Styles: Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, Regional Blues, String Bands, Traditional Folk
Label: Yazoo
Released: 2002
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 158,6 MB
Time: 69:16
Art: full

1. Sam McGee - Railroad Blues - 3:17
2. Floyd County Rambler - Step Stone - 3:02
3. Skip James - Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues - 2:50
4. Weems String Band - Greenback Dollar - 3:10
5. Jimmie Davis - Doggone That Train - 2:48
6. Eli Framer - Famer's Blues - 3:06
7. Roy Harvey & Jess Johnston - No Room For A Tramp - 3:15
8. Garland Brothers & Grinstead - Just Over The River - 2:49
9. Ben Covington - Mule Skinner Moan - 3:03
10. Reaves White County Ramblers - Shortening Bread - 2:54
11. J.P. Nestor & Norman Edmonds - Black-Eyed Susie - 2:59
12. Buddy Boy Hawkins - A Rag Blues - 3:00
13. Roy Harvey & Jess Johnston - Railroad Blues - 3:22
14. Grayson County Railsplitters - Way Down In North Carolina - 2:31
15. The Swamp Rooters - Citaco - 3:04
16. Unknown - Pistol Blues - 3:02
17. Murphy Brothers Harp Band - Boat Song March - 3:02
18. Frank Blevins & His Tar Heel Rattlers - I've Got No Honey - 2:59
19. Wilmer Watts & Lonley Eagles - Bonnie Bess - 2:57
20. Blind Joe Reynolds - Cold Woman Blues - 2:57
21. Wyzee, Tucker & Lecroy - Hamilton's Special Breakdown - 2:54
22. Bull Mountain Moonshiners - Johnny Goodwin - 2:56
23. Charley Patton - Some Happy Day - 3:09

Notes: Each volume in Yazoo Records' Times Ain't Like They Used to Be series (this one is the fifth installment) collects 1920s and '30s commercial 78s, and taken together they project a vital and energetic early-20th century rural America of jug and string bands, country blues players, fiddlers, banjoists, sacred singers, and musical roustabouts of every conceivable rustic style imaginable. This process makes each volume remarkably similar even as the particular artists and songs included on each may be tremendously different. Vol. 5 includes such gems as Sam McGee's bright "Railroad Blues," Skip James' classic and striking "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues," a breakneck version of "Black-Eyed Susie" by string band great J.P. Nestor, and a unusually hopeful blues treatment of "Some Happy Day" from Charley Patton. Since everything is drawn from exceedingly rare 78s, many of which were played to death by their original owners, there is a fair amount of ambient needle noise on several of these tracks, but that only adds to the overall feel of history actually coming alive that is inherent to these kinds of compilations. Well selected, varied, and artfully sequenced, Times Ain't Like They Used to Be, Vol. 5 is yet another welcome addition to a hopefully never-ending

Times Ain't Like They Used To Be Vol. 5



• Various - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 1 of 8
• Various Artists - Times Ain't Like They Used To Be Vol. 2 of 8

Oznake: Various, Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, Regional Blues, String Bands, Traditional Folk

Various - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 4 of 8

Styles: Prewar Blues, String Bands, Acoustic Blues, Blues Revival, Country Blues, Old-Timey, Traditional Country, Traditional Folk
Label: Yazoo
Released: 1999
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 161,7 MB
Time: 70:37
Art: full

1. Jimmie Tarlton - Lowe Bonnie - 3:24
2. William Harris - Early Morning Blues - 2:51
3. Burnett & Rutherford - Billy In The Lowground - 3:10
4. Dixon Brothers - Rambling - 3:13
5. Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley - Every Day In The Week Blues - 2:57
6. Sweet Brothers - I Got A Bulldog - 2:52
7. Cliff Carlisle - Tom Cat Blues - 2:54
8. Hi Henry Brown - Preacher Blues - 3:29
9. Kessinger Brothers - Salt River - 3:09
10. Golden Melody Boys - Blushing Bride - 2:31
11. Georgia Yellow Hammers - Kiss Me Quick - 2:52
12. Charlie Patton - Magnolia Blues - 3:13
13. Anglelas Le Jeunne - Perrodin Two Step - 3:02
14. Fiddling John Carson - Bachelor's Hall - 3:08
15. Tommy Johnson - Walking Shoes - 3:06
16. Stripling Brothers - Wolves Howling - 3:28
17. James Cole & His Washboard Band - Mistreated The Only Friend You Had - 3:12
18. Martin & Hobbs - Havana River Guide - 3:08
19. Cotton Top Mountain Sanctified Singers - I Want Two Wings To Veil My Face - 2:46
20. Jess Hillard & His West Virginia Hillbillies - Make Down The Bed And We'll Sleep Together - 3:15
21. Skip James - Special Rider Blues - 3:03
22. Watts & Wilson - Walk Right In - 2:45
23. Rev. Rice & Congregation - Leaving All To Follow Jesus - 2:57

Notes: A collection of classic recordings from the 1920s and 30s featuring many all-time great performances of early American traditional music. This series is a fascinating overview of traditional American musical styles from the Civil War to the 1920s, including fiddle tunes, rags banjo songs, religious selections, old ballads, blues, etc.

Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 4



• The 2nd South Carolina String Band - Hard Road
• Luther Dickinson And The Sons of Mudboy - Onward & Upward

Oznake: Prewar Blues, String Bands, Acoustic Blues, Blues Revival, Country Blues, Old-Timey, Traditional Country, Traditional Folk, Various

Various - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 3 of 8

Styles: Delta Blues, Prewar Blues, String Bands, Acoustic Blues, Blues Revival, Country Blues, Old-Timey, Traditional Country, Traditional Folk
Label: Yazzoo
Released: 1999
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 159,9 MB
Time: 69:52
Art: full

1. Blind Willie Johnson - I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole - 3:06
2. Ashley's Melody Men - Bath House Blues - 2:53
3. Frank Hutchison - Worried Blues - 3:18
4. Jelly Jaw Short - Snake Doctor Blues - 3:26
5. East Texas Serenaders - Acorn Stomp - 2:53
6. Carlisle Brothers - Sal Got a Meatskin - 2:53
7. Sleepy John Estes - Streetcar Blues - 3:16
8. Luke Highnight & His Ozark Strutters - Fort Smith Breakdown - 2:47
9. Wilmer Watts & His Lonely Eagles - Sleepy Desert - 3:06
10. Son House - Walking Blues - 2:56
11. Allison's Sacred Harp Singers - Sweet Rivers - 3:11
12. Williamson Brothers - Gonna Die With My Hammer in My Hand - 3:26
13. Charlie Patton - Mean Black Cat - 2:57
14. Lowe Stokes - Billy in the Lowground - 3:04
15. Jelly Roll Anderson - Good Time Blues - 2:44
16. Fiddling John Carson - Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over - 2:53
17. Fruit Jar Guzzlers - Steel Driving Man - 3:05
18. Skip James - I'm So Glad - 2:50
19. Uncle Dave Macon & His Fruit Jar Drinkers - Rok About My Sara Jane - 3:23
20. Cap, Andy & Flip - I'm Taking My Audition to Sing Up in the Sky - 3:11
21. Buster Johnson & James Cole's Washboard Band - Undertaker Blues - 3:03
22. Oscar Harper's Texas String Band - Sally Johnson - 2:34
23. Fa Sol La Singers - I'll Stay on the Right Road Now - 2:49

Notes: The beauty of the anthologies in this series is that the fine music is accompanied by liner notes that help the uninitiated to understand and savor the performers as well as the performances. When I was no longer able to stomach the latest packaged acts being spoon-fed to us by the music industry, I stopped listening to recorded music. Then, on a hunch, I started to explore roots music, much of it on the wonderful Yazoo label. These songs reward repeated listening accompanied by liner note reading and biographical books on favorite performers. So much of what is best in life is hidden, because when it becomes too popular, the commerce machine rushes in and spoils it. These recordings are immune to that phenomenon and will never be stripped of their human warmth, artistry, sincerity and emotional power. Newcomers should keep in mind that "blues" music as performed in most bars and clubs is far removed from its origins -- stripped down, rehashed, sanitized, electrified -- and ruined. I hate that kind of music, but I love the old recordings, where the soul still shines through on each performance. There are numerous sub-genres in roots music that are almost completely unknown to most people today. Shocking, even weird at first listen, they provoke the attentive listener's curiosity and present an opportunity for an adventure in personal exploration. Enjoy. ~ amazon
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Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 3



• Alan Lomax - Texas Folk Songs
• Various - White Country Blues 1926-1938

Oznake: Delta Blues, Prewar Blues, String Bands, Acoustic Blues, Blues Revival, Country Blues, Old-Timey, Traditional Country, Traditional Folk, Various

Various - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 1 of 8

Styles: Country Blues, Pre-War Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, String Bands, Traditional Folk
Label: Yazoo
Released: 1997
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 162,7 MB
Time: 71:04
Art: full

1. Prince Albert Hunt - Blues In A Bottle - 3:26
2. Charlie Jordan - Dollar Bill Blues - 3:00
3. Bascom Lamar Lundsford - Lost John Dean - 2:48
4. A.A. Gray & Seven Foot Dilly - Streak of Lean, Streak of Fat - 3:05
5. Richard 'Rabbit' Brown - Sinking Of The Titanic - 3:49
6. Dykes Magic City Trio - Tennessee Girls - 3:04
7. Bob Campbell - Shotgun Blues - 2:56
8. J.P. Nestor & Norman Edmonds - Train On The Island - 2:58
9. The Four Wanderers - The Fault's In Me - 3:13
10. Happy Hayseeds - The Tail Of Halley's Comet - 2:43
11. Oaks Family - Wake Up You Drowsy Sleeper - 2:58
12. Louie Lasky - How You Want Your Rollin' Done - 2:49
13. Frank Blevins & His Tar Heel Rattlers - Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss - 3:03
14. Memphis Jug Band - On The Road Again - 2:51
15. Buell Kazee - The Dying Soldier - 3:09
16. Buddy Boy Hawkins - Voice Throwin' Blues - 3:03
17. Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles - Been On The Job Too Long - 3:13
18. Ken Maynard - Fannie Moore - 3:34
19. Nugrape Twins - I Got Your Ice Cold Nugrape - 2:57
20. Carson Brothers & Sprinkle - The Old Miller's Will - 3:02
21. Winston Holmes & Charlie Turner - Skinner - 2:50
22. Southern Moonlight Entertainers - How To Make Love - 3:15
23. Grayson & Whitter - Old Jimmie Sutton - 3:07

Notes: These are 23 rare 78s from the 1920s and 1930s, chosen to illustrate the wide range of "early American rural music" that made its way onto disc in the early days of the recording industry. This will not get nearly as much press as Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music box, yet it's on par with that ballyhooed re-release as an overview of the roots of American roots music, so to speak. Styles vary from country blues and fiddle hoedowns to banjo music and jug bands. The Memphis Jug Band is the only name here that might be familiar to more than the most well-versed folk historians. Highlights include J.P. Nestor and Norman Edmonds' "Train on the Island," a frenetic string band gallop; the Four Wanderers' eerie gospel tune, "The Fault's in Me"; and Ken Maynard's "Fannie Moore," a direct predecessor of country music in its vocal phrasing.
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Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol. 1



• Various - Roots of the Blues
• Jack Owens - Blues At Home 8: Recorded In Bentonia, Mississippi (1978-1982)

Oznake: Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Old-Timey, String Bands, Traditional Folk, Various

Pink Anderson - Pink Anderson Vol. 3: Ballad & Folksinger

Styles: Acoustic Blues, Prewar Country Blues, Piedmont Blues
Label: Original Blues Classics
Released: 1963
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 79,6 MB
Time: 34:46
Art: full

1. The Titanic - 4:09
2. Boweevil - 4:03
3. John Henry - 5:03
4. Betty and Dupree - 4:46
5. Sugar Babe - 2:46
6. The Wreck of the Old 97 - 4:42
7. I Will Fly Away - 3:48
8. The Kaiser - 2:07
9. In The Evening - 3:18

Notes: This release contains what is sadly the final volume in Bluesville's trilogy of long-players featuring the highly original Piedmont blues of Pink Anderson. As with the two previous discs, Ballad & Folk Singer was recorded in 1961. It is also notable that Anderson returns to his native South Carolina to document this set. The second installment -- Medicine Show Man -- had been compiled from a New York City session held earlier the same year. Astute listeners will note that three of the titles -- "The Titanic," "John Henry," and "The Wreck of the Old 97" -- were duplicated from Anderson's side-long contribution to Gospel, Blues & Street Songs. The other side featured another Piedmont native, Rev. Gary Davis. However Anderson's delivery is notably different when comparing the two performances. One of the primary discrepancies lies in the pacing. Here, the readings are more definite and seemingly less rushed. The same is true for the phrasing of Anderson's vocals, most notably on "John Henry." The intricate and somewhat advanced guitar-playing -- that became one of Anderson's trademarks -- is arguably more pronounced on these recordings as well. Again, "John Henry" displays the picking and strumming techniques that give his decidedly un-amplified vintage Martin acoustic guitar such a full resonance that it practically sounds electric. The instrumental introduction to "Betty and Dupree" exemplifies the walking blues or stride motif particularly evident and notable among Piedmont blues artists. Enthusiasts should also note that in addition to these latter recordings, Anderson also performed on four tracks with his mentor Simmie Dooley in the late '20s for Columbia Records. Those pieces can be found on the compilation Georgia String Bands (1928-1930). Anderson actively toured until a debilitating stroke forced him to retire in 1964.

Pink Anderson Vol. 3: Ballad & Folksinger



• Various - Ragtime Blues Guitar 1927 - 1930
• Baby Tate - See What You Done Done

Oznake: Pink Anderson, Acoustic Blues, Prewar Blues, Country Blues, Piedmont Blues

Pink Anderson - Pink Anderson Vol. 2: Medicine Show Man

Styles: Acoustic Blues, Prewar Country Blues, Piedmont Blues
Recorded: 1961
Released: 1962/1999
Label: Prestige/Bluesville
File: mp3@320K/s
Size: 85.5 MB
Time: 39:34
Art: Front

1. I Got Mine - 4:05
2. Greasy Greens - 4:43
3. I Got A Woman 'Way Cross Town - 3:06
4. Travelin' Man - 4:40
5. Ain't Nobody Home But Me - 4:19
6. That's No Way To Do - 2:36
7. In The Jailhouse Now - 4:41
8. South Forest Boogie - 4:04
9. Chicken - 4:18
10. I'm Going To Walk Through The Streets Of The City - 2:58

Notes:Like volume one and three of the series of LP's Anderson did for Bluesville, this was recorded in 1961 (though it was recorded in New York City whereas the others were recorded in Spartanburg, SC). Volumes one and three were mostly traditional songs; this is all traditional songs in the public domain. It follows that if you liked volumes one and three, you'd probably like this too; if you want to choose just one, you're about as well off with any of the individual volumes. If you had to split hairs, it seems that Anderson sounds a bit more comfortable in the studio/recording setting on this one than on the others, and a tad less countrified and more urbane. The tone is cheerful and easygoing, like that of a well-loved man entertaining his neighbors. Which is not to say this is a throwaway; the phrasing and rhythms are crisp, and the ragtime-speckled folk/blues guitar accomplished. ~ Richie Unterberger

Pink Anderson Vol. 2: Medicine Show Man



• Lonnie Johnson - Blues Roots, Vol. 8: Swingin' With Lonnie
• Baby Tate - See What You Done Done

Oznake: Pink Anderson, Acoustic Blues, Piedmont Blues, Prewar Blues, Country Blues

Pink Anderson - Pink Anderson Vol. 1: Carolina Bluesman

Styles: Acoustic Blues, Prewar Country Blues, Piedmont Blues
Recorded: 1961
Released: 1961/1992
Label: Prestige/Bluesville
File: mp3 @320
Size: 94.2 MB
Time: 34:12
Art: Front

1. My Baby Left Me This Morning - 3:22
2. Baby, Please Don't Go - 2:31
3. Mama Where Did You Stay Last Night - 2:44
4. Big House Blues - 3:38
5. Meet Me in the Bottom - 4:13
6. Weeping Willow Blues - 3:32
7. Baby I'm Going Away - 3:35
8. Thousand Woman Blues - 3:56
9. I Had My Fun - 3:02
10. Every Day in the Week - 3:34

Notes: Pink Anderson was never a big name on the blues circuit, yet he was perhaps the most polished and personal of all the rural bluesmen who recorded for Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary. He was seldom recorded during his long career which began around 1915 with his first of many associations with traveling medicine shows and ended with his death in 1973. He cut three fine albums for Bluesville during the early Sixties, this 1960 date being the first. Anderson, who had a strong influence on folk guitarists Roy Bookbinder and Paul Geremina, specialized in interpretations of blues standards, bringing to each a gentle, uniquely plaintive quality.
A vast majority of the known professional recordings of Piedmont blues legend Pink Anderson were documented during 1961, the notable exception being the platter he split with Rev. Gary Davis -- Gospel, Blues and Street Songs -- which was documented in the spring of 1950. This is the first of three volumes that were cut for the Prestige Records subsidiary Bluesville. Carolina Blues Man finds Anderson performing solo -- with his own acoustic guitar accompaniment -- during a session cut on his home turf of Spartanburg, SC. Much -- if not all -- of the material Anderson plays has been filtered through and tempered by the unspoken blues edict of taking a familiar (read: traditional) standard and individualizing it enough to make it uniquely one's own creation. Anderson's approach is wholly inventive, as is the attention to detail in his vocal inflections, lyrical alterations, and, perhaps more importantly, Anderson's highly sophisticated implementation of tricky fretwork. His trademark style incorporates a combination of picking and strumming chords interchangeably. This nets Anderson an advanced, seemingly electronically enhanced sound. "Baby I'm Going Away" -- with its walkin' blues rhythms -- contains several notable examples of this technique, as does the introduction to "Every Day of the Week." The track also includes some of the most novel chord changes and progressions to be incorporated into the generally simple style of the street singer/minstrel tradition from which Pink Anderson participated in during the first half of the 20th Century. Listeners can practically hear Anderson crack a smile as he weaves an arid humor with overtly sexual connotations into his storytelling -- especially evident on "Try Some of That" and "Mama Where Did You Stay Last Night." Aficionados and most all students of the blues will inevitably consider this release an invaluable primer into the oft-overlooked southern East Coast Piedmont blues. ~ Lindsay Planer
PINK FLOYD - taken from the names of two Georgia bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council - from the early days when the band saw itself as a blues band. Just a little something extra for those of you who care.

Pink Anderson Vol. 1: Carolina Bluesman



• Sonny Terry And Brownie McGhee - Hometown Blues
• Larry Johnson - Presenting The Country Blues

Oznake: Pink Anderson, Acoustic Blues, Prewar Blues, Country Blues, Piedmont Blues

VA - Violin, Sing The Blues For Me: African-American Fiddlers 1926-1949

Size: 173,2 MB
Time: 72:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1999
Styles: Delta Blues, Pre-War Blues, String Bands, Old Timey
Label: Old Hat
Art: Front

01. Johnson Boys - Violin Blues (3:21)
02. Andrew & Jim Baxter - K.C. Railroad Blues (3:31)
03. Peg Leg Howell - Beaver Slide Rag (3:21)
04. Mississippi Mud Steppers - Alma Waltz (2:56)
05. Tommie Bradley - Window Pane Blues (3:16)
06. Alabama Sheiks - Travelin' Railroad Man Blues (3:01)
07. Whistler & His Jug Band - Pig Meat Blues (3:11)
08. Frank Stokes - Right Now Blues (3:07)
09. Bo Chatmon - East Jackson Blues (2:59)
10. Mobile Strugglers - Memphis Blues (2:53)
11. Tennessee Chocolate Drops - Vine Street Drag (2:51)
12. Kansas City Blues Strummers - Broken Bed Blues (2:34)
13. Eddie Anthony, Henry 'Rubberlegs' Williams - Lonesome Blues (2:53)
14. Memphis Jug Band - Memphis Shakedown (3:05)
15. Tommie Bradley - Adam And Eve (3:02)
16. Henry Son Sims - Tell Me Man Blues (3:19)
17. Tom Nelson - Blue Coat Blues (3:04)
18. Booker Orchestra - Salty Dog (2:42)
19. Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers - Baby, Please Don't Go (3:25)
20. Mississippi Sheiks - Stop And Listen Blues No. 2 (3:17)
21. Cow Cow Davenport - Stealin' Blues (2:32)
22. Andrew & Jim Baxter - The Moore Girl (3:00)
23. Jack Kelly & His South Memphis Jug Band - Highway 61 Blues (2:50)
24. Louie Bluie - Ted's Stomp (2:43)

As Marshall Wyatt's thorough liner notes explain in the accompanying 32-page booklet, the violin had a more prominent role in early blues than has often been supposed. Violins were far more apt to be played than guitars in the 19th century, and even when the blues began to be recorded in the 1920s, violins were still often used, although they weren't as apt to be featured on disc as the guitar and other instruments were. This 24-track compilation (with only one cut dating from after 1935) includes some fairly recognizable blues names like Peg Leg Howell, Howard Armstrong, Cow Cow Davenport, the Mississippi Sheiks, the Memphis Jug Band, Charley Patton (accompanying Henry Sims), and Big Joe Williams (a 1935 version of his signature tune "Baby Please Don't Go"), although many of the performers are far more obscure. The material tends toward the more good-timey and folky side of the rural blues tradition; the violins can get into a hoedown kick, as on Peg Leg Howell's "Beaver Slide Rag," or get into a rapid ragtime mode, as on Louie Bluie & Ted Bogan's "Ted's Stomp." Because of the chronological span and wide roster of artists represented, it's a good overview of violin-informed early blues, a subgenre that hasn't gotten a whole of attention. And check out Frank Stokes' "Right Now Blues" to get your head spun around when you hear a lyric that was repeated in Chuck Berry's classic "Reelin' and Rockin'." ~Review by Richie Unterberger

Thanks to DrPeak.
Violin, Sing The Blues For Me



• Lonnie Johnson - Blues Roots, Vol. 8: Swingin' With Lonnie •
• The Blue Rider Trio - Early Morning Blues •

---

Posted by kamane

Oznake: Various, Prewar Blues, Old-Timey, String Bands

Clifford Hayes - Clifford Hayes & The Dixieland Jug Blowers

Styles: Pre-War Country Blues, Jug Band, Early Jazz
Label: Yazoo
Released: 1991
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 100,0 MB
Time: 42:35
Art: front + back

1. Please Don't Holler Mama - 3:04
2. Try And Treat Her Right - 2:21
3. You're Ticklin' Me - Take 1 - 3:11
4. Love Blues - 3:09
5. Blue Guitar Stomp - 3:01
6. If You Can't Make It Easy, Sweet Mama - 2:41
7. National Blues - Take 3 - 2:43
8. Barefoot Stomp - 3:18
9. Bye Bye Blues - 2:55
10. Hey! I Am Blue - 2:53
11. Clef Club Stomp - 3:12
12. Dance Hall Shuffle - 3:14
13. You'd Better Leave Me Alone, Sweet Papa - 3:19
14. Everybody Wants My Tootelum - 3:25

1927-28 (rec); 1976 (comp); 1991 (reissue)

Personnel:
Clifford Hayes - Violin (all except 9,11), Alto Sax (9,11)
Cal Smith - Banjo (4,7,13), Guitar (all except 13)
Fred Smith - Guitar (1,2)
Johnny Gatewood - Piano (4,6,8,9,11,13)
Earl Hines - Piano (3,10,12,14)
Dan Briscoe - Piano (5,7)
Earl McDonald - Jug (1,2,4,6,7,13)
Hess Grundy - Trombone (3-5,7-14)
Lockwood Lewis - Alto Sax (4,7,13)
George Allen - Soprano Sax (4,7,13), Alto Sax (4,7,13), Clarinet (1,2)
Elizabeth Washington - Vocals (4,13)
William B. Ferguson - Vocal (1,2)
Prince LaVaughn - Vocals (6)

Notes: The Louisville, Kentucky-based Dixieland Jug Blowers were one of the first jug bands to record. Led by violinist Clifford Hayes and jug player Earl McDonald, the Chicago-based group, which featured clarinetist Johnny Dodds, left a legacy of twenty-three tracks, including "Boodle Am Shake", "Memphis Shake" and "Skit, Skat, Doodle-Do", recorded between December 1926 and June 1927. Recording as the Louisville Jug Band, they cut such tunes as "She's In The Graveyard Now".
South Carolina-born McDonald moved to Louisville, at the age of two, in 1885. He formed the Louisville Jug Band while still in high school. The product of a musical family, Glasgow, Kentucky-born Hayes moved to Jeffersonville, Indiana in his teens. He joined McDonald's band in 1913.
Although McDonald and Hayes formally separated, over financial conflicts, by 1919, they continued to hire each other to play on recordings and live performances. ~ Craig Harris

Clifford Hayes & The Dixieland Jug Blowers



• Gus Cannon - Walk Right In
• Various - Good For What Ails You: Music Of The Medicine Shows

Oznake: Clifford Hayes, The Dixieland Jug Blowers, Prewar Blues, Jug Band

Blind Willie McTell - Blind Willie McTell 1927-1933: The Early Years

Styles: Prewar Country Blues, Piedmont Blues, East Coast Blues
Label: Yazoo
Released: 1989
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 99,0 MB
Time: 43:14
Art: full

1. Broke Down Engine Blues - 3:09
2. Mamma, Tain't Long Fo' Day - 3:01
3. Georgia Rag - 3:05
4. Love Changing Blues - 3:08
5. Statesboro Blues - 2:33
6. Stomp Down Rider - 3:08
7. Savannah Mama - 3:18
8. Travelin' Blues - 3:15
9. Drive Away Blues - 3:13
10. Warm It Up To Me - 2:57
11. Three Women Blues - 2:43
12. Writing Paper Blues - 3:12
13. Southern Can Is Mine - 3:15
14. Talkin' To Myself - 3:12

Personnel:
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Willie McTell
Artwork By, Mastered By – Nick Perls
Mastered By – Robert Vosgien
Liner Notes – David Evans

Notes: This album is here because I wanted to fill out a collection of the first ten issues of Yazoo Records that are posted by mark(fr) in the garret.
These issues are among those which explains how did we get here, 21st century Blues scene.
Unfortunately this is not a vinyl rip but Cd, edition of 1989.
More about this album you can read here

Blind Willie McTell 1927-1933: The Early Years (Yazoo L-1005)



• Blind Willie McTell - Statesboro Blues: Secret History Of Rock 'n' Roll
• Blind Willie McTell - Searching The Desert For The Blues

Oznake: Blind Willie McTell, Prewar Blues, Piedmont Blues, East Coast Blues

Various - Ragtime Blues Guitar 1927 - 1930

Styles: Pre-War Blues, East Coast Blues, Rag, Acoustic Blues, Country Blues
Label: Document
Released: 1991
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 166,4 MB
Time: 72:41
Art: front + back

1. Blind Blake - Dry Bone Shuffle - 2:43
2. William (Bill) Moore - One Way Gal - 3:17
3. William (Bill) Moore - Ragtime Crazy - 3:03
4. William (Bill) Moore - Midnight Blues - 2:45
5. William (Bill) Moore - Ragtime Millionaire - 3:10
6. William (Bill) Moore - Tillie Lee - 3:03
7. William (Bill) Moore - Barbershop Rag - 2:58
8. William (Bill) Moore - Old Country Rock - 3:03
9. William (Bill) Moore - Raggin' The Blues - 3:01
10. Tarter and Gay - Brownie Blues - 3:00
11. Tarter and Gay - Unkown Blues - 3:05
12. Chicken Wilson and Skeeter Hinton - Myrtle Avenue Stomp - 2:57
13. Chicken Wilson and Skeeter Hinton - D.C. Rag - 3:19
14. Chicken Wilson and Skeeter Hinton - Chicken Wilson Blues - 3:08
15. Chicken Wilson and Skeeter Hinton - House Snake Blues - 3:06
16. Chicken Wilson and Skeeter Hinton - Frog Eye Stomp - 2:34
17. Chicken Wilson and Skeeter Hinton - Station House Rag - 2:35
18. Bayless Rose - Jamestown Exhibition - 2:49
19. Bayless Rose - Black Dog Blues - 3:09
20. Bayless Rose - Original Blues - 2:47
21. Bayless Rose - Frisco Blues - 3:09
22. Willie Walker - Dupree Blues - 3:30
23. Willie Walker - South Carolina Rag (Take 1) - 3:11
24. Willie Walker - South Carolina Rag (Take 2) - 3:08

Personnel:
Blind Blake - Guitar & Percussion (1)
William Moore - Guitar & Vocals (2-9)
Stephen Tarter - Guitar & Vocals (10-11)
Harry Gay - Guitar (10-11)
George 'Chicken' Wilson - Guitar (12-17), Kazoo (13,16,17)
Jimmy 'Skeeter' Hinton - Harmonica (14-17), Washboard (12,13,16,17)
Bayless Rose - Guitar (18-21), Vocals (19,20)
Willie Walker - Guitar & Vocals (22-24)
Sam Brooks - Guitar (22-24), Vocals (22)

Notes: This disc contains some of the classic recordings in the ragtime blues tradition.
The eight tracks by William Moore, his only issued recordings, have long been favourites with collectors of this genre. Moore (1894 - 1948) was a barber in Tappahannock, Virginia, and performed ragtime songs and gentle blues to his own beautiful guitar accompaniments. Tarter and Gay provide two sophisticated ragtime duets from 1930, while Chicken Wilson & Skeeter Hinton offer more rural entertainment with some lively ragtime numbers for guitar, harmonica & washboard from 1928. Bayless Rose performs three ragtime - influenced blues in the East Coast tradition & one classic rag, "Jamestown Exhibition".
The final performers are better known. The great Blind Blake is represented with a typically virtuoso rendition of "Dry Bone Shuffle", with appropriate percussion. The final three tracks are the only issued recordings by the legendary South Carolina guitar genius Willie Walker. His breathtaking guitar playing, which Josh White likened to Art Tatum's piano style, still impresses today.
This is a wonderful compilation, and showns clearly how ragtime influenced the East Coast guitar blues tradition. Anyone who buys this is guaranteed hours of enjoyment. ~ B.D. Tutt
Read more about Ragtime Blues

Ragtime Blues Guitar 1927 - 1930



• John Henry Barbee - I Ain't Gonna Pick No More Cotton
• Memphis Jug Band with Cannon's Jug Stompers

Oznake: Various, Prewar Blues, East Coast Blues, Rag, Acoustic Blues, Country Blues

Kokomo Arnold - Blues Classics Vol.1: Old Original Kokomo Blues

Styles: Acoustic Blues, Chicago Blues, Country Blues, Pre-War Blues
Label: Wolf
Released: 1997
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 137,9 MB
Time: 60:14
Art: full

1. Rainy Night Blues - 2:57
2. Paddlin' Madeline Blues - 3:16
3. Milk Cow Blues - 3:08
4. Old Original Kokomo Blues - 2:53
5. Old Black Cat Blues - 3:22
6. Back Door Blues - 3:24
7. Hobo Blues - 3:11
8. Bo Weavil Blues - 3:06
9. Stop, Look and Listen - 3:06
10. Milk Cow Blues no. 3 - 2:52
11. Down and Out Blues - 3:04
12. Sundown Blues - 2:41
13. Shake That Thing - 2:39
14. Lonesome Road Blues - 2:58
15. Cold Winter Blues - 3:10
16. Black Mattie - 3:11
17. Rocky Road Blues - 2:45
18. Midnight Blues - 2:49
19. Back Luck Blues - 2:48
20. Kid Man Blues - 2:45

Notes: James 'Kokomo' Arnold (Born: February 15, 1901 in Lovejoys Station GA, Died: November 8, 1968 in Chicago IL)
Not only was left-handed slide guitarist James "Kokomo" Arnold an important early influence on artists like Robert Johnson and Elmore James that would follow, he was also, perhaps, the first "shredder" in guitar history. Arnold was known to be a fast player, and at times he would slide his bottleneck up and down the fretboard with such amazing speed that he'd struggle to keep up with his vocals. To further increase the dramatic effect of his songs, Arnold would also frequently drop into a haunting falsetto voice to accompany his fleet-fingered guitar playing.

Bootlegger's Blues
Born in Georgia, Arnold was taught the rudiments of blues guitar by a cousin named John Wiggs. Arnold moved north in his teens, playing guitar on the side while he worked as a farmhand in Buffalo, New York and as a steelworker in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He moved to Chicago in 1929 and set up an illegal bootlegging operation, which he operated through the last few years of Prohibition. During this time, Arnold would move briefly to Mississippi, later returning to Illinois where he continued his bootlegging until the end of restrictions on alcohol in 1933.
While living in Mississippi Delta in 1930, Arnold traveled to Memphis and recorded two sides for the Victor label, "Rainy Night Blues" and "Paddlin' Madeline Blues," under the name "Gitfiddle Jim." The songs sold few copies, but show a distinctive guitar and vocal style that was unlike any of Arnold's contemporary artists. Forced by the Volstead Act to pursue music as a full-time job, Arnold would be signed by Mayo Williams of Decca Records to a contract, recording his first songs for the label in 1934.

The Decca Years
Between September 1934 and May 1938, Arnold recorded 88 sides for Decca, seven of which have been lost to the ages. Arnold's first single for the company, "Old Original Kokomo Blues," backed with "Milk Cow Blues," would become a minor hit and tag Arnold with his "Kokomo" nickname. Itself a re-working of Scrapper Blackwell's "Kokomo Blues," Arnold's version would be turned into "Sweet Home Chicago" by Robert Johnson, who would also turn Arnold's "Milk Cow Blues" into his "Milkcow's Calf Blues." Arnold performed solo on most of his recordings, although he would be accompanied by pianist Peetie Wheatstraw on a handful of sides.
Arnold also provided his unique guitar talents to two tunes cut in July 1936 by Sam Theard's Oscar's Chicago Swingers. Songs like "How Long How Long Blues," "Sagefied Woman Blues," and "Front Door Blues" would lead to success as a recording artist for Arnold, who along with Wheatstraw and guitarist Bumble Bee Slim (Amos Easton) would be the leading figures in the Chicago blues scene during the 1930s. In 1938, however, Arnold would walk away from the music business in disgust and take a job in a Chicago factory. Although his recordings would be rediscovered during the folk-blues boom of the early 1960s, Arnold was less than interested in getting back into music, and he would die of a heart attack in 1968.

Recommended Albums: Kokomo Arnold's songs are some of the most popular of the early blues era, and have been reworked through the years and recorded by artists like Elvis Presley and Aerosmith. Arnold's recordings have been collected on a number of compilation albums, but for the interested that can endure the early, low-fidelity sound, Blues Classics, Vol. 1 features 20 songs from across the guitarist's brief career, including most of the favorites. Yazoo's Bottleneck Guitar Trendsetters of the 1930s features seven tracks apiece from Arnold and Casey Bill Weldon. by Reverend Keith A. Gordon

Blues Classics Vol.1: Old Original Kokomo Blues



• Robert Wilkins - The Original Rolling Stone
• Tommy McClennan - I'm a Guitar King 1939-42

Oznake: Acoustic Blues, Chicago Blues, Country Blues, Kokomo Arnold, Prewar Blues

John Henry Barbee - I Ain't Gonna Pick No More Cotton

Styles: Country Blues, Prewar Country Blues, Delta Blues
Recorded: 1964
Released: 1981/1989
Label: Storyville/Amiga
File: mp3@ 320K/s
Size: 91.6 MB
Time: 37:43
Art: Front

1. Dust My Broom (James) - 3:21
2. Hey Baby (Barbee) - 3:28
3. That's All Right (Crudup) - 3:35
4. Early Morning Blues, No. 1 (Barbee) - 3:33
5. I Heard My Baby (Barbee) - 4:05
6. I Ain't Gonna Pick No More Cotton (Barbee) - 4:26
7. Worried Life Blues, No. 2 (Major) - 3:24
8. Miss Nelly Grey (Barbee) - 3:15
9. Tell Me Baby (Broonzy) - 3:07
10. John Henry (Traditional) - 4:31

Personnel:
John Henry Barbee - Guitar, Vocals

Note: rec. Copenhagen, Denmark, Oct. 8, 1964 only one month before he died in jail.
This rec. released several times as
- Portraits in Blues Vol. 9 (Storyville 671171)
- I Ain't Gonna Pick No More Cotton (Storyville 616013)
- John Henry Barbee (Storyville/Teichiku ULS-1814-R)
- Blues Roots Vol. 2: Guitar Blues From The Memphis Area (Storyville/Teldec 6.23701)
also released in Serbia 1981 (PGP RTB 2220636)
- Blues Roots Vol. 3 (Storyville SLP 4037)
- Blues Collection Vol. 11 (Amiga 856281)
and finally
- Blues Masters Vol. 3 (Storyville STCD 8003) with bonus tracks

Same day Barbee rec. some tracks at the Folk Club in Copenhagen and that rec. released on album John Henry Barbee & Sleepy John Estes: Blues Live (Nov 1967).

I Ain't Gonna Pick No More Cotton



• Baby Tate - See What You Done Done
• Robert Wilkins - The Original Rolling Stone

Oznake: John Henry Barbee, Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Delta Blues

Baby Tate - See What You Done Done

Styles: Prewar Country Blues, Piedmont Blues
Recorded: 1961
Released: 1994
Label: Prestige/Bluesville
File: mp3 @320kbps
Size: 86.3 MB
Time: 34:35
Art: full

1. See What You Done Done - 3:05
2. Dupree Blues - 4:04
3. What Have I Done To You - 2:41
4. Baby, I'm Going - 3:05
5. Hey Mama, Hey Pretty Girl - 2:16
6. When Your Woman Don't Want You Around - 2:40
7. My Baby Don't Treat Me Kind - 2:48
8. Trucking Them Blues Away - 2:08
9. Baby, You Just Don't Know - 3:18
10. Lonesome Over There - 2:24
11. Thousand Woman Blues - 2:43
12. I Ain't Got No Loving Baby Now - 2:37

Personnel:
Baby Tate - Guitar, Vocal


Notes: Charles Henry Tate was born in Georgia, but moved as a child to Greenville, South Carolina, where he knew Blind Boy Fuller. After serving in the Army in WW II, he moved to Spartanburg, and was active in that city's blues scene when not poursing his trade as a bricklader. Tate recorded in the '60s through his association with Pink Anderson, and again in 1970, although few titles from the later sessions have been issued, and none on CD. Tate wasn't an originator, and he'd learned most of his song two or three decades before he recorded them, but his version are lively, meaningful and personalized; even at his most Fullerish he wasn't a mindless imitator. It's easy to identify the bricks that Baby Tate used to built his music, but the mortar which binds them together is his considerable talent as singer and picker alike.

See What You Done Done



• John Dee Holeman - John Dee Holeman & The Waifs Band •
• Smoky Babe - Hottest Brand Goin' •

Oznake: Baby Tate, Prewar Blues, Piedmont Blues

Blind Willie McTell - Statesboro Blues: Secret History Of Rock 'n' Roll

Styles: Prewar Country Blues, Piedmont Blues, East Coast Blues, Country Blues, Acoustic Blues
Recorded: Oct 18, 1927-Feb 22, 1932
Released: 2003
Label: RCA Victor
File: mp3@160K/s
Size: 57,3 MB
Time: 50:06
Art: Full covers

1. Statesboro Blues - 2:38
2. Mama, 'Tain't Long Fo' Day - 3:06
3. Drive Away Blues - 3:23
4. Loving Talking Blues - 2:39
5. Lonesome Day Blues - 3:17
6. Mama, Let Me Scoop For You - 3:15
7. Love Changing Blues - 3:17
8. Dark Night Blues - 2:55
9. Stole Rider Blues - 3:12
10. Mr McTell Got The Blues - 2:21
11. Three Women Blues - 2:47
12. Rollin' Mama Blues - 3:04
13. Writin' Paper Blues - 3:15
14. Searching The Desert For The Blues - 3:07
15. Teasing Brown - 2:43
16. This is not the Stove to Brown your Bread - 2:33
17. Mr McTell Got the Blues (Take 2) - 2:26

Personnel:
Blind Willie McTell - Guitar, Vocals, Guitar (12 String)
Bethenea & Alfoncy Harris - Vocals (15, 16)
Ruby Glaze - Vocals (11-14)
Willie Shorter - Banjo (15)
Curley Weaver - Guitar (11, 12)


Note: "Statesboro Blues" is the ninth item in the "Secret History Of Rock n' Roll" series, and it presents 17 classic performances by singer/guitarist Blind Willie McTell.
These tracks were recorded between late 1927 through February 1932 for RCA Victor, and while there are other more comprehensive Willie McTell-compilations, this one is a very good starting place for anyone not familiar with the prewar blues master.

McTell was a magnificent guitarist and a fine, expressive singer, and songs like "Writin' Paper Blues", "Stole Rider Blues", "Love Changing Blues", and the classic "Statesboro Blues" are not just among his best singles, they're simply some of the finest, most sophisticated prewar blues singles ever recorded. And the beautiful slide guitar-workout "Mama 't'Ain't Long Fo' Day" is perhaps the most inspired song of the lot, one of the most remarkable blues tunes you'll ever hear, played by a true master of his craft.
This is an excellent appetizer. And no, there aren't two or three guitarists playing, just Blind Willie McTell.

Statesboro Blues: Secret History Of Rock 'n' Roll



• The Blue Rider Trio - Harp, Steel And Guts •
• Mick Martin - Revelator •

Oznake: Blind Willie McTell, Prewar Blues, Piedmont Blues

John Jackson - Don't Let Your Deal Go Down

Styles:Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, Prewar Country Blues, Piedmont Blues
Recorded: Apr 19, 1965-Oct 23, 1969
Release: 1995
Label: Arhoolie
File: mp3 @320kbps
Size: 166 MB
Time: 69:56
Art: front + back

1. Going Down in Georgia on a Horn (Odum) - 2:34
2. Black Snake Moan - 2:13
3. John Henry (Traditional) - 3:56
4. If Hattie Wants to Lu, Let Her Lu Like a Man - 2:03
5. Nobody's Business But My Own - 3:02
6. John's Rag (Jackson ) - 2:35
7. Boat's Up the River - 3:31
8. Rattlesnakin' Daddy - 2:30
9. Flat Foot and Buck Dance (Traditional) - 3:05
10. Bear Cat Blues (Public Domain) - 2:41
11. Reuben (Public Domain) - 1:51
12. Rocks and Gravel (Carter) - 3:20
13. Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad - 3:53
14. Police Dog Blues (Blind Blake, Jackson) - 3:33
15. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down (Jackson) - 2:07
16. Mule Skinner Blues (Jackson) - 3:29
17. I Bring My Money (Jackson) - 2:14
18. John's Ragtime (Jackson) - 1:55
19. Red River Blues (Jackson) - 3:05
20. Knife Blues (Jackson) - 2:14
21. Trucking Little Baby (Jackson) - 3:09
22. Blind Blake's Rag (Blind Blake, Jackson) - 2:26
23. Goodbye Booze (Jackson) - 2:04
24. Graveyard Blues (Jackson) - 2:50
25. Early Morning Blues (Jackson) - 3:42
26. You Ain't No Woman (Jackson) - 1:54


Notes: Twenty-six tracks running over 70 minutes, recorded by John Jackson between 1965 and 1969 and featuring the rural blues legend at the very top of his form on vocals, guitar, and even banjo on one instrumental ("If Hattie Wants to Lu, Let Her Lu Like a Man"). Jackson's repertory here includes standards like "John Henry" (in one of the most exciting versions ever done, with some killer slide) and "Muleskinner Blues," established parts of other bluesmen's repertories (Blind Boy Fuller's "Rattlesnakin' Daddy," Blind Arthur Blake's "Police Dog Blues" and "Early Morning Blues"), as well as originals, such as the dazzling acoustic pyrotechnic displays on "John's Rag," "Graveyard Blues," and "Knife Blues" (the latter a slide guitar showcase worth the price of the disc by itself), and adaptations of popular songs ("Blind Blake's Rag," which borrows at one point from "Has Anybody Seen My Gal"). Good as his playing is, Jackson's singing is also to be admired, as his baritone voice surges with a quiet power and forcefulness, and a rich tone -- "Boats Up the River," a children's song adapted from various traditional sources, is probably the vocal standout on this collection. The fidelity is excellent, these being modern recordings, and overall this CD is the best single overview of John Jackson's music, its value enhanced by the presence of detailed notes that have been updated to the 1990s. It's records like this that humble lots of young white bluesmen.

Don't Let Your Deal Go Down



• Harlem Slim - Delta Blues & Piedmont Ragtime •
• Mick Martin - Revelator •

Oznake: Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, John Jackson, Piedmont Blues, Prewar Blues

Big Joe Williams - Walking Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 74:42
Size: 171.0 MB
Styles: Acoustic blues, Delta blues, Pre-war blues
Year: 1961/1992/2007
Art: Front

[5:05] 1. Levee Camp Blues
[2:56] 2. Low Down Dirty Shame
[4:45] 3. Gambling Man
[2:13] 4. Ain't Gonna Rain No More
[4:02] 5. Feel So Good
[3:35] 6. Prowling Ground Hog
[3:23] 7. Back Home Again
[4:10] 8. Sugar Babe
[3:01] 9. Tell Me Mama
[3:14] 10. Studio Blues
[3:01] 11. I'm A Fool About My Baby
[2:42] 12. 38 Pistol Blues
[2:42] 13. Pearly Mae
[2:41] 14. Walking Blues
[4:13] 15. Highway 45
[3:29] 16. Meet Me At The Bottom
[2:54] 17. Skinny Mama
[2:50] 18. Jockey Ride Blues
[3:22] 19. Coal And Iceman Blues
[3:08] 20. Army Man Blues
[4:09] 21. Black Gal You're Sure Looking Warm
[2:58] 22. Pallet On The Floor


Unless you are a serious blues historian or blues aficionado, this 22-track collection of tracks by Big Joe Williams is all you are ever going to need. All of these tunes were recorded in New York on October 7, 1961, and issued as two separate LPs on Prestige's Bluesville imprint. The first ten tracks here were released as Studio Blues (catalog number 1083) and the rest as Blues for 9 Strings (catalog number 1056). Right, they are presented here in reverse release order, but they were all recorded during the same session. Williams is accompanied throughout by Willie Dixon on bass and Larry Johnson on harmonica. Williams plays his trademark nine-string guitar with its wild tuning on all but three tunes here. All of his well-known numbers are presented, though they are obviously later dates, but they lack no passion or proficiency given that this was the real beginning of the blues revival on this side of the Atlantic. The folk revival had not yet begun to wane, and many young men were heading for the East Coast in station wagons to find the bluesmen they had heard on either Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music or similar recordings. Williams and his friends show incredible stamina in running through these songs, and producer Kenneth S. Goldstein does a great job of presenting them raw and rugged. This is a party record if there ever was one. ~Thom Jurek

Walking Blues

Mo' Albums...
• Cincinnati Slim - Widows Pleasure
• Muddy Waters - King Bee

Oznake: Big Joe Williams, Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Prewar Blues

The Blues Preachers - Next Stop Beulah Land

Styles: Acoustic Blues, Prewar Blues, Rag
Label: Independent
Released: 2007
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 150,5 MB
Time: 54:08
Art: front

1. Daniel - 3:52
2. Wabash Rag - 3:15
3. Louis Collins - 2:43
4. Sittin' On Top Of The World - 4:16
5. Saint James Infirmary - 5:41
6. Plant The Seed - 3:29
7. Goin' Up The Country - 3:58
8. Nobody's Fault But Mine - 7:03
9. Trimmed & Burning - 3:58
10. Trouble - 3:56
11. Chump Man Blues - 3:53
12. Mystery Train - 3:16
13. Prodigal Son - 4:41


Notes: The Blues Preachers began their traditional Delta/country blues journey in the early 1990s. A highlight of the project was their performance at the Byron Bay Blues Festival in 1993, which was featured on ABC TVs Blue Moon Over Byron.
The Blues Preachers will take you to another place & time, somewhere between 1920 & 1940. Their music paints a landscape of pre-war struggle & determination with sounds reminiscent of the Deep South.
The Blues Preachers perform blues, rags, gospel & hillbilly folk music. The powerful simplicity of driving finger style guitar, slide guitar & harmonica combined with old school vocal harmonies create a traditional un-tarnished sound that will have you on the edge of your seats.
The Blues Preachers will make you dance with their joyful country and ragtime blues and send a shiver up your spine with their atmospheric feels which echo & pay homage to the sacred sounds of early artists such as Blind Willie Johnson.
The Preachers are: Brother John on guitar, banjo and vocals, and Captain Bluetongue on harmonica, mountain dulcimer and vocals.
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Next Stop Beulah Land



• Funny Papa Smith - The Original Howling Wolf, 1930-1931 •
• Tommy McClennan - I'm a Guitar King 1939-42 •

Oznake: The Blues Preachers, Acoustic Blues, Prewar Blues, Rag, australia

Bukka White - The Complete Bukka White

Styles: Pre-War Blues, Country Blues, Delta Blues
Label: Legacy
Released: 1994
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 89,7 MB
Time: 39:10
Art: full

1. Pinebluff, Arkansas - 2:48
2. Shake' Em On Down - 3:01
3. Black Train Blues - 2:58
4. Strange Place Blues - 2:53
5. When Can I Change My Clothes? - 2:59
6. Sleepy Man Blues - 2:52
7. Parchman Farm Blues - 2:39
8. Good Gin Blues - 2:23
9. High Fever Blues - 2:51
10. District Attorney Blues - 2:42
11. Fixin' To Die Blues - 2:49
12. Aberdeen Mississippi Blues - 2:35
13. Bukka's Jitterbug Swing - 2:39
14. Special Streamline - 2:57


Notes: Here it is all in one place, all 14 of Bukka White's legendary Vocalion recordings. Kicking off with his lone 1937 single of "Pinebluff, Arkansas" and "Shake "Em on Down," the set continues with the marathon 12-song session from 1940 which produced such classics as "Sleepy Man Blues," "Parchman Farm Blues," "Fixin' to Die Blues," and "Bukka's Jitterbug Swing." This is personal blues, hitting on a number of subjects usually too stark for blues lyrics, but all on open-wound display here. Powerful stuff, indeed.

The Complete Bukka White



• Lonnie Johnson & Elmer Snowden - Blues And Ballads •
• Gus Cannon - Jug Band Blues Essentials •

Oznake: Bukka White, Prewar Blues, Country Blues, Delta Blues

Lonnie Johnson & Elmer Snowden - Blues And Ballads

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 43:59
Size: 100.7 MB
Styles: Pre-war blues, Acoustic blues
Year: 1960/1991
Art: Front

[5:02] 1. Haunted House
[4:21] 2. Memories Of You
[5:07] 3. Blues For Chris
[4:36] 4. I Found A Dream
[3:05] 5. St. Louis Blues
[4:33] 6. I'll Get Along Somehow
[4:14] 7. Savoy Blues
[5:07] 8. Backwater Blues
[3:35] 9. Elmer's Blues
[4:15] 10. He's A Jelly Roll Baker


This beautiful album was engineered by Rudy Van Gelder in his Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home studio where so much jazz history was made. It features guitar innovators Lonnie Johnson and Elmer Snowden together for the first time--despite a friendship going back to the 1920s when both appeared on some of the earliest jazz and blues 78s. Johnson, the father of single-note six-string soloing, is in marvelous voice on this selection of blues, ballads, and jazz, crooning the double-entendre "Jelly Roll Baker" and the heartache-laden "Back Water Blues" (a Bessie Smith tune he first cut in 1927) with a marksman's sense of pitch and chilling nuance. Snowden serves mostly as accompanist. But these men play so closely that they seem to be sharing every breath. --Ted Drozdowski

Blues And Ballads

Mo' Albums...
• Gus Cannon - Jug Band Blues Essentials
• Toby Walker - What You See Is What You Get

Oznake: Lonnie Johnson, Elmer Snowden, Acoustic Blues, Prewar Blues

Robert Wilkins - The Original Rolling Stone

Styles: Acoustic Memphis Blues, Country Blues, Pre-War Country Blues
Label: Yazoo
Released: 1990
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 102,2 MB
Time: 44:09
Art: front

1. I'll Go with Her Blues - 3:07
2. Rolling Stone, Pt. 1 - 2:53
3. Get Away Blues - 3:33
4. Alabama Blues - 2:38
5. I Do Blues - 3:38
6. Long Train Blues - 3:06
7. That's No Way to Get Along - 2:53
8. Falling Down Blues - 2:38
9. Jailhouse Blues - 3:33
10. Losin' Out Blues - 3:11
11. Rolling Stone, Pt. 2 - 3:30
12. Old Jim Canan's - 2:58
13. Nashville Stonewall Blues - 3:24
14. Police Sergeant Blues - 3:01


Notes: Yazoo's Original Rolling Stone is a wonderful disc containing 14 of the 17 sides Robert Wilkins recorded before the war. Wilkins was one of the great country-blues artists, and these songs -- including "Rollin' Stone," "That's No Way to Get Along," "Jailhouse Blues" and "I'll Go with Her" -- became legendary, not only because the songs were terrific (which they are) but also because the performances are intense and haunting. Original Rolling Stone features these songs in the best fidelity possible, along with some fairly good liner notes, making this the best package of his most influential recordings.

The Original Rolling Stone



• Sherman Lee Dillon - 309 Blues •
• Memphis Willie B. - Hardworking Man Blues (Remastered) •

Oznake: Robert Wilkins, Memphis Blues, Country Blues, Prewar Blues

Memphis Jug Band with Cannon's Jug Stompers (4 Disc Box set)

Styles: Jug Band, Pre-War Country Blues, Acoustic Memphis Blues
Recorded: 1927-1930
Released: 2005
Label: JSP
Art: full


Among the recorded members were (at various times) Will Shade (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Charlie Burse (pronounced Bursey) (guitar, mandolin, and vocals), Charlie Nickerson (piano and vocals), Charlie Pierce (violin), Charlie Polk (jug), Tewee Blackman (vocals, guitar), “Hambone” Lewis (jug), Jab Jones (jug), Johnny Hodges/Hardge (piano), Ben Ramey (vocals and kazoo), Casey Bill Weldon (guitar and vocals), Memphis Minnie (guitar and vocals), Vol Stevens (vocals, violin, and mandolin), Milton Robie (violin), Otto Gilmore/Gilmer (drums and woodblocks), and Robert Burse (drums). Vocals were also provided by Hattie Hart, Memphis Minnie, Jennie Mae Clayton (Shade’s wife), and Minnie Wallace, with Charlie Burse often contributing beautiful harmony parts to Shade’s lead vocal lines. In the case of Memphis Minnie, the Memphis Blues Band accompanied her on two sides for Victor Records, recorded in 1930 when the band's career was "winding down".
The attributed names of the group led by Will Shade on various recording labels vary quite a bit, but recent scholarly consensus has led writers to compile all of these works under the over-arching rubric of the Memphis Jug Band. In addition to that name, alternative names found on record labels include the Picaninny Jug Band, Memphis Sanctified Singers, the Carolina Peanut Boys, the Dallas Jug Band, the Memphis Sheiks, the Jolly Jug Band and recordings credited to the individual performers Hattie Hart, Minnie Wallace, Casey Bill Weldon, Charlie Nickerson, Vol Stevens, Charlie Burse, “Poor Jab” Jones, and Will Shade, but actually performed with accompaniment by other Memphis Jug Band members.
The Memphis Jug Band played wherever they could find engagements, and busked in local parks. They were popular among white as well as black audiences. Musically they were flexible, playing a mixture of ballads, dance tunes, knock-about novelty numbers, and blues. Some of their songs mention hoodoo magical beliefs, and some members also contributed to gospel recordings, either uncredited or as part of the Memphis Sanctified Singers. In total, they made more than eighty recordings, first for Victor Records, then—as the Picaninny Jug Band—for the Champion-Gennett label, and finally for OKeh Records. The Victor recordings were made in Memphis and Atlanta, Georgia between 1927 and 1930, the Champion-Gennetts in Richmond, Indiana in August 1932, while the final sessions on Okeh were held in Chicago in November 1934. By that time, their style of music was no longer in demand, and Will Shade was no longer able to keep the musicians assembled as a group, although many of the individuals carried on working around Memphis until the 1940s.
In 1963 Will Shade recorded one last time with another Memphian, 79-year-old Gus Cannon, former leader of Cannon’s Jug Stompers, another popular jug band. They recorded the album Walk Right In, on Stax Records, a result of The Rooftop Singers having made Cannon's "Walk Right In" into a number one single. Will Shade on jug and Milton Roby on washboard perform a series of thirteen traditional songs, plus Cannon's great hit "Walk Right In," including "Narration," "Kill It," "Salty Dog," "Going Around," "The Mountain," "Ol' Hen", "Gonna Raise A Ruckus Tonight," "Ain't Gonna Rain No More," "Boll-Weevil," "Come On Down To My House," "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor," "Get Up In The Morning Soon," and "Crawdad Hole." The album is almost an audio documentary tour through different corners of Cannon's life and career that, ideally, might've run to several volumes.

Booklet

Oznake: Cannon's Jug Stompers, Country Blues, Jug Band, Memphis Blues, Memphis Jug Band, Prewar Blues

Gus Cannon - Jug Band Blues Essentials

Styles: Jug Band, Pre-War Blues
Label: Master Classics Records
Released: 2010
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 178.0 MB
Time: 77:46
Art: front

1. Wolf River Blues - 2:38
2. Ripley Blues - 3:02
3. Hollywood Rag - 3:04
4. Minglewood Blues - 3:45
5. Cairo Rag - 2:58
6. Mule Gets Up In The Alley - 2:49
7. Tired Chicken Blues - 2:55
8. Prison Wall Blues - 2:37
9. Heart Breakin' Blues - 3:04
10. Pig Ankle Strut - 3:03
11. Bugle Call Rag - 3:01
12. Noah's Blues - 2:52
13. Pretty Mama Blues - 2:40
14. Big Railroad Blues - 3:18
15. Viola Lee Blues - 3:05
16. Feather Bed - 3:12
17. Going To Germany - 2:33
18. Walk Right In - 2:57
19. Riley's Waggon - 2:57
20. Jonestown Blues - 2:50
21. Money Never Runs Out - 2:49
22. Madison Street Rag - 3:14
23. Springdale Blues - 3:06
24. Bring It With You When Come - 2:45
25. The Rooster's Crowing Blues - 3:01
26. Last Chane Blues - 3:16


Notes: A remarkable musician (he could play five-string banjo and jug simultaneously), Gus Cannon bridged the gap between early blues and the minstrel and folk styles that preceded it. His band of the '20s and '30s, Cannon's Jug Stompers, represents the apogee of the jug band style. Songs they recorded, notably the raggy "Walk Right In," were staples of the folk repertoire decades later, and Cannon himself continued to record and perform into the 1970s.
Self-taught on an instrument made from a frying pan and a raccoon skin, he learned early repertoire in the 1890s from older musicians, notably Mississippian Alec Lee. The early 1900s found him playing around Memphis with songster Jim Jackson and forming a partnership with Noah Lewis, whose harmonica wizardry would be basic to the Jug Stompers' sound. In 1914, Cannon began work with a succession of medicine shows that would continue into the 1940s, and where he further developed his style and repertoire.
His recording career began with Paramount sessions in 1927. He continued to record into the '30s as a soloist and with his incredible trio, which included Noah Lewis along with guitarists Hosea Woods or Ashley Thompson. (Side projects included duets with Blind Blake and the first ever recordings of slide banjo.) Often obliged to find employment in other fields than music, Cannon continued to play anyway, mostly around Memphis. He resumed his stalled recording efforts in 1956 with sessions for Folkways. Subsequent sessions paired him with other Memphis survivors like Furry Lewis. Advancing age curtailed his activities in the '70s, but he still played the occasional cameo, sometimes from a wheelchair, until shortly before his death. ~ AMG

Jug Band Blues Essentials



• Maria Muldaur - Garden Of Joy •
• Various - Jugband Specials: 25 Great Original Recordings 1926-1935 •

Oznake: Gus Cannon, Jug Band, Prewar Blues

Blind Willie McTell - Searching The Desert For The Blues

Styles: Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, East Coast Blues, Piedmont Blues, Pre-War Blues, Songster
Label: Pristone Audio
Released: 2009
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 182,3 MB
Time: 79:36
Art: front

1. Stole Rider Blues - 3:12
2. Mama, Tain't Long Fo' Day - 3:06
3. Mr. McTell Got The Blues (take 2) - 2:18
4. Three Women Blues - 2:49
5. Dark Night Blues - 2:53
6. Statesboro Blues - 2:39
7. Loving Talking Blues - 2:41
8. Come On Around To My House Mama - 3:07
9. Kind Mama - 2:59
10. Drive Away Blues - 3:21
11. Talkin' To Myself - 3:12
12. Southern Can Is Mine - 3:16
13. Broke Down Engine Blues - 3:10
14. Painful Blues - 3:01
15. Scarey Day Blues - 3:08
16. Low Rider's Blues - 3:18
17. Georgia Rag - 3:06
18. Rollin' Mama Blues - 3:04
19. Lonesome Day Blues - 3:12
20. Mama Let Me Scoop For You - 3:17
21. Searching The Desert For The Blues - 3:11
22. Warm It Up To Me - 2:54
23. Savannah Mama - 3:21
24. Love-Makin' Mama - 2:59
25. Lord, Send Me An Angel - 2:50
26. Lay Some Flowers On My Grave - 3:19


Notes: The king of 12-string acoustic blues - 26 of the very best.
In astonishing newly XR-remastered sound quality - surely the best ever!

Like many pre-war Blues artists, Blind Willie McTell recorded for a number of record companies, often at the same time, under a variety of pseudonyms. Fortunately for the lover of vintage blues, none of these was the notorious Paramount record company, and as a result we have a body of work which not only stands up musically, but in terms of recording and pressing quality as well - unlike the recordings of the likes of Charley Patton, Blind Blake and Blind Lemon Jefferson, for example.
In some respects this ought to make the audio restorer's job easier, you might think. Alas, life is rarely that simple - with higher quality originals to begin with, one inevitably aims higher and is less able to settle for anything less than excellence.
In compiling this CD, I initially worked on some 40 tracks by Blind Willie McTell, in many cases from two or three different sources. Each was taken a considerable way along the road of restoration and remastering in order that a judgment could be made (a) between different copies of the same recording, and then (b) between the complete set to narrow it down to a full CD (and I apologise here both for having to leave some excellent material out, and for leaving some rather small gaps between tracks in order to squeeze as much on as possible).
Then comes the painstaking job of "finishing" - a near-forensic examination of each track, looking for individual clicks, surface swishes and other extraneous noises, and attempting to remove or reduce them, one by one, as well as varrying out further final noise and hiss reduction. For a set such as this, which had already taken several weeks to assemble, this finishing work took a further three full days of intensive effort to complete.
What do I hope to achieve with all this effort? The finest-sounding a most representative collection of pre-war recordings by McTell ever assembled. No doubt some will dispute the track selections - especially some are here on musical merit., others on sonic merit - but put together as a whole I do feel this considerably improves on all previous issues of this material that it's been my pleasure to listen to over the years. I hope you'll feel similarly!

Searching The Desert For The Blues

Covers pdf



• Leadbelly - Take This Hammer •
• Mance Lipscomb - Texas Songster •

Oznake: Blind Willie McTell, Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, East Coast Blues, Piedmont Blues, Prewar Blues, Songster

Funny Papa Smith - The Original Howling Wolf, 1930-1931

Styles: Prewar Blues
Label: Yazoo
Released: 1971
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 94,7 MB
Time: 40:31
Art: front

1. Seven Sisters Blues Part 1 - 2:48
2. Seven Sisters Blues Part 2 - 2:57
3. Hungry Wolf - 3:06
4. Corn Whiskey Blues - 2:55
5. Hoppin' Toad Frog - 2:54
6. Mama's Quittin' And Leavin' Part 1 - 2:51
7. Mama's Quittin' And Leavin' Part 2 - 2:46
8. Good Coffee Blues - 2:50
9. Honey Blues - 2:55
10. County Jail Blues - 2:54
11. Howling Wolf Blues Part 1 - 2:52
12. Howling Wolf Blues Part 2 - 2:55
13. Tell It To The Judge Part 1 - 2:56
14. Tell It To The Judge Part 2 - 2:46


Notes: One of the very earliest pre-war blues albums I ever purchased as a kid was Yazoo's L-1031, J.T. "Funny Papa" Smith, billed as "The Original Howling Wolf". Now, I knew back then who the real Howlin' Wolf was, had a bunch of his records, but I'd never heard of Smith, so I bought the album on a leap of faith that it would be great. I remember being very let down back then by what I heard, because I had visions of the frantic, manic vocals by Chester Burnett, and Smith just didn't measure up to my expectations. I promptly forgot about the album, and somewhere along the way I sold it off.

I did not know until recently that Yazoo reissued that compilation in 1992 on CD, and for whatever reason, last week I decided to take another leap of faith and buy it again. My reaction 40 years after first hearing these recordings is markedly different than my reaction at age 17: Smith is a wonderful vintage Texas blues guitarist and singer! The Yazoo CD, which apparently went OOP a long time ago, also sounds fabulous. The source 78s used to compile this CD were in superb condition, and the resulting sonics are first rate, especially given the age of the recordings. ~ Tom Rushen

The Original Howling Wolf, 1930-1931



• Various - Oh Brother, Best Of Southern Blues •
• Josh White - Bluesman, Guitar Evangelist, Folksinger •

Oznake: Funny Papa Smith, Prewar Blues

Tommy McClennan - I'm a Guitar King 1939-42

Styles: Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, Delta Blues, Pre-War Country Blues, Soul-Blues
Label: Wolf
Released: 1990
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 140,7 MB
Time: 61:25
Art: full

1. Brown Skin Girl - 2:48
2. Baby Don't You Want To Go - 2:59
3. I'm Goin' Don't You Know - 2:50
4. She's Just Good Huggin'-Size - 3:00
5. My Little Girl - 2:53
6. My Baby's Doggin' Me - 2:42
7. She's A Good Looking Mama - 2:55
8. New Sugar Mama - 3:00
9. Down To Skin And Bones - 2:45
10. Katie Mae Blues - 2:46
11. Love With A Feeling - 3:01
12. Drop Down Mama - 2:54
13. Black Minnie - 2:57
14. Elsie Blues - 3:02
15. Cross Cut Saw Blues - 2:51
16. You Can't Read My Mind - 3:05
17. Deep Blue Sea Blues - 3:05
18. I'm A Guitar King - 2:52
19. It's A Cryin' Pity - 2:55
20. Mozelle Blues - 3:00
21. Bluebird Blues - 2:55


Personnel:
Tommy McClennan - Guitar, Vocals
Robert Petway - Guitar, Vocals

Notes: A gravel-throated back-country blues growler from the Mississippi Delta, Tommy McClennan was part of the last wave of down-home blues guitarists to record for the major labels in Chicago. His rawboned 1939-1942 Bluebird recordings were no-frills excursions into the blues bottoms. He left a powerful legacy that included "Bottle It Up and Go," "Cross Cut Saw Blues," "Deep Blue Sea Blues" (aka "Catfish Blues"), and others whose lasting power has been evidenced through the repertoires and re-recordings of other artists. Admirers of McClennan's blues would do well to check out the 1941-1942 Bluebird sessions of Robert Petway, a McClennan associate who performed in a similar but somewhat more lyrical vein. McClennan never recorded again and reportedly died a destitute alcoholic in Chicago; blues researchers have been unable to confirm the date or circumstances of his death.

I'm a Guitar King 1939-42



• Geoff Muldaur - Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere •
• The Hound Kings - Unleashed •

Oznake: Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, Delta Blues, Prewar Blues, Robert Petway, Tommy McClennan

Various - Oh Brother, Best Of Southern Blues

Styles: Early American Blues, Harmonica Blues, Acoustic Blues, Pre-War Country Blues, Country Blues, Acoustic Memphis Blues
Label: Northquest
Released: 2005
File: mp3 @320K/s
Time: 29:18
Art: front

Disc 1
1. Bessie Tucker - Penitentiary - 3:33
2. Sonny Boy Williamson - I'm Dealing With The Devil - 2:49
3. Muddy Waters - Burying Ground Blues - 2:32
4. Blind Blake - Police Dog Blues - 2:50
5. Lucille Hegamin - Land Of Cotton Blues - 3:05
6. Blind Boy Fuller - Bus Rider Blues - 2:43
7. Josh White - Blood River Blues - 2:49
8. Hot Lips Page - Uncle Sam Blues - 3:20
9. Big Maceo Merriweather - County Jail Blues - 2:52
10. Bumble Bee Slim - Hard Rocks In My Bed - 2:40

Disc 2
1. Tommy Johnson - Canned Heat Blues - 3:41
2. Charley Patton - High Sheriff Blues - 3:10
3. Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - Rock Me Mamma - 2:58
4. Son House - My Black Mama (Part 1) - 3:10
5. Tommy McClennan - Bottle It Up And Go - 2:50
6. Skip James - Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues - 2:51
7. Robert Johnson - Phonograph Blues - 2:40
8. Roosevelt Sykes - Give Me Your Change - 3:04
9. Big Joe Williams - Please Don't Go - 2:50
10. Mississippi John Hurt - Frankie - 3:21

Notes: Do you need an explanation or anything, what you hear is a true classic blues. This was the beginning. After that something happened, I call that the real Blues.

Oh Brother, Best Of Southern Blues

• The Hound Kings - Unleashed •
• Eric & Suzy Thompson - Dream Shadows •

Oznake: Various, Early American Blues, Harmonica Blues, Memphis Blues, Prewar Blues, Country Blues

Skip James - She Lyin'

Styles: Acoustic Blues, Piano Blues, Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Delta Blues
Released: 1964, CD in 2000
Label: Adelphi
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 102,5 MB
Time: 44:45
Art: front

1. All Night Long - 1:22
2. Broke and Hungry - 1:48
3. I'm So Glad - 2:57
4. Bad Whiskey - 1:35
5. Cypress Grove Blues - 4:04
6. Catfish Blues - 5:05
7. Goin' Away To Stay - 2:29
8. Crow Jane - 2:08
9. Devil Got My Woman - 3:12
10. She Lyin' - 1:14
11. Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues - 2:18
12. Drunken Spree - 3:35
13. Black Gal - 3:17
14. Illinois Blues - 3:06
15. Worried Blues - 3:29


Notes: By the time James had been rediscovered in the 1960s, he was still capable of playing entrancing, dynamic music, but was much less consistent and not as striking a vocalist. It was a testimony to his greatness that he still managed to make compelling records, and he was among the best storytellers and dramatic singers in the traditional realm. This mid-'60s CD features songs James recorded for the Adelphi label in 1964 that were never issued. It's hard to understand why this wasn't issued at the time it was recorded; it's just as solid as the albums James recorded for Columbia during the same period. ~by Ron Wynn

She Lyin'

• Roy Book Binder - Live At The Fur Piece Station •
• Washboard Sam - Washboard Sam 1936-1947 •

Oznake: Skip James, Acoustic Blues, Piano Blues, Country Blues, Prewar Blues, Delta Blues

Washboard Sam - Washboard Sam 1936-1947

Styles: Acoustic Chicago Blues, Prewar Country Blues
Label: Wolf
Released: 2000
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 144,3 MB
Time: 62:49
Art: front + back

1. I'm a Prowlin' Groundhog - 3:30
2. Mixed Up Blues - 3:12
3. The Big Boat - 3:00
4. Yellow, Black and Brown - 2:49
5. Jumpin' Rooster - 2:50
6. Walkin' In My Sleep - 2:54
7. Washboard Swing - 3:03
8. Good Old Easy Street - 2:58
9. I Believe I'll Make a Change - 2:59
10. That Will Get It - 3:09
11. Don't Fool With Me - 2:51
12. Jersey Cow Blues - 2:43
13. So Early In the Morning - 3:08
14. Digging My Potatoes - No. 2 - 3:06
15. Morning Dove Blues - 2:40
16. Dissatisfied Blues - 3:02
17. Good Luck Blues - 3:08
18. Ain't You Comin' Out Tonight - 2:40
19. River Hip Mama - 2:41
20. Don't Have To Sing the Blues - 2:56
21. You Can't Have None of That - 3:22

Oznake: Acoustic Blues, Prewar Blues, Country Blues, Washboard Sam, Big Bill Broonzy, Roosevelt Sykes, Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon

Josh White - Bluesman, Guitar Evangelist, Folksinger

Styles: Piedmont Blues, Folk-Blues, Pre-War Blues
Released: 2007
Label: Saga Blues
File: mp3@320K/s
Size: 153.2 MB
Time: 66:56
Art: full

Part I - The Bluesman
1. Black and Evil Blues - 3:15
2. Howling Wolf Blues - 3:04
3. Greenville Sheik - 3:08
4. Low Cotton - 3:02
5. Blood Red River - 2:50
6. Defense Factory Blues - 2:46
7. Jelly, jelly! - 5:55
8. Careless love - 5:38
9. I Know how to do it - 2:58
10. Prison Bound Blues - 2:39

Part II - The Singing Christian and The Folk Singer
11. Motherless Children - 2:41
12. Paul and Silas Bound to Jail - 3:03
13. Strange Fruit - 3:03
14. The House of the Rising Son - 3:19
15. John Henry - 3:14
16. Saint James Infirmary - 3:40
17. Jesus Gonna make up my Dying Bed - 4:16
18. Jerry the Mule (Timber) - 2:16
19. Midnight Special - 3:13
20. Jim Crow Train - 2:46

Notes: Album from Saga Blues Collection, Vol. 34
Josh White and Blind Blake were the fathers and pioneers of Piedmont blues. The ten first songs included on the CD show this excellent musician on his most bluesy side, only playing his own guitar or backed by Al Hall, Jack Fallon, Sonny Greer or Phil Seamen, all them reputed musicians at that particular time. The other ten songs that that complete the CD, give us White’s most religious aspect he used to combine with folk singer skills in songs like “John Henry”, “Saint James Infirmary” or “The House Of The Rising Sun”, all them recorded between 1933 and 1956. GREAT Dusty Blues CD review
Josh White was a key figure in the evolution of the folk and blues music revivals, a brilliant guitarist and dashingly sexy cabaret star who for three decades was the world's most popular acoustic blues performer. After a childhood leading blind street singers through the South, Josh was a popular recording artist in the 1930s golden age of acoustic blues; then in the 1940s he became the first bluesman to capture a large mainstream audience. Though his smooth, polished style is quite unlike the harder-edged approach that many people now consider basic to blues, his unique, lyrical guitar work and soulful singing made him a formative influence on the international folk scene.
Born in South Carolina, White spent his childhood as a "lead boy" for traveling blind bluesmen. In the early '30s he moved to New York and became a popular blues star, then introduced folk-blues to a mass white audience in the 1940s. He was famed both for his strong Civil Rights songs, which made him a favorite of the Roosevelts, and for his sexy stage persona. The king of Café Society-also home to Billie Holiday--he was the one bluesman to consistently pack the New York nightspots, and the first black singer-guitarist to act in Hollywood films and star on Broadway. In the 1950s, White's bitter compromise with the blacklisters left him with few friends on either end of the political spectrum. He spent much of the decade in Europe, then came back strong in the 1960s folk revival. By 1963, he was voted one of America's top three male folk stars, but his health was failing and he did not survive the decade.

Bluesman, Guitar Evangelist, Folksinger

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Posted by muddy

Oznake: Josh White, Piedmont Blues, Folk-Blues, Prewar Blues

Tom Feldmann - Lone Wolf Blues

Oznake: Acoustic Blues, Gospel, Tom Feldmann, Prewar Blues

Carolina Slim - Blues From The Cotton Fields

Styles: Piedmont Blues, Pre-War Country Blues
Label: Sharp Record Co
Released: 1960
File: mp3 @320K/s (from vinyl)
Size: 74,7 MB
Time: 32:36
Art: front + back

1. Rag Mama - 2:22
2. Sugaree - 2:24
3. Blues Go Away From Me - 2:24
4. Shake Boogie - 2:49
5. Worrying Blues - 2:31
6. Slow Freight Blues - 2:26
7. Wine Head Baby - 1:50
8. Pour Me One More Drink - 2:49
9. Carolina Boogie - 4:29
10. I'll Get By Somehow - 2:32
11. Blues Knockin At My Door - 3:02
12. Worry You Off My Mind - 2:53

Notes: Fine collection of country blues by Carolina bluesman whose music was partly in the tradition of the Carolina and partly influenced by Texas bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins. Tracks feature Slim alone with his guitar and sometimes with a second guitar. Material includes sides originally issued on Savoy 78s along with some previously unissued tracks. ~ popsike.com

Blues From The Cotton Fields

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Posted by muddy

Oznake: Carolina Slim, Piedmont Blues, Prewar Blues, Acoustic Blues