"A lot of people think the blues is depressing" she told The Los Angeles Times in 1992, "but that's not the blues I'm singing. When I'm singing blues, I'm singing life. People that can't stand to listen to the blues, they've got to be phonies" - Etta James
Unfortunately, Richard, when it opens in iTunes the title and performer appear. You should have "sanitised" it. Anyway good clue from Rivers. I'll add - better known on the jazz side.
That's pretty amazing, pianistic guitar playing. Anything else like it emerge from New Orleans at the time I'm led to wonder? It somehow does not feel idiosyncratic enough to have been a style entirely of his own devising. More the result of a method he'd learned, meaning others probably learned the same method.
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My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music. Vladimir Nabokov (1899 - 1977)
My first thought was the Rev. Gary actually, before I saw the mp3 metadata flash up on the screen which gave it away. He was a very good guitar player, I had absolutely no idea.
Hi all, He did play like a pianist in that there was more care taken with regard to voice-leading than you generally find among blues guitarists of the same era. Especially in the second section, where he modulates to D, he sounds somewhat reminiscent of the great New Orleans Jazz guitarist Snoozer Quinn. All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: January 01, 2012, 05:47:29 PM by Johnm »
But seriously: In case you still think that this is Jelly Roll Morton, you're definitely wrong. I heard JRM noodle on a guitar behind his talking while he was interviewed by Lomax for the LoC in 38. Nothing coherent, though, so hard to tell how good he was. He definitely knew how to play diminished chords on the top 4 strings and how to move them around chromatically, but there are no recordings of him doing much more than that.
But I know the track you posted. It's on CD8 of JRM's Complete LoC Recordings Box Set from Rounder. Now I tell you what: "Mississippi Bottom Blues" was played by Kid Bailey and not by Charley Patton, although the song is on the Revenant Charley Patton box set, and just the same, "Guitar Blues" was played by Johnny St Cyr, as recorded by Lomax in 1949, even if it's on the JRM box set. There's not a single JRM track on CD 8 of the Rounder set, just interview snippets and musical examples of acquaintances of JRM. I bet if you rip the CDs to a hard drive, you'll get the metadata all messed up. If you still don't believe me, compare the voices. St. Cyr's is at least half an octave lower the JRM's. Sorry if I come across as Mr. Smarty Pants, if so, it's due to my lacking knowledge of the subtleties of the English language.
Now I tell you what: "Mississippi Bottom Blues" was played by Kid Bailey and not by Charley Patton, although the song is on the Revenant Charley Patton box set,
I'm a little confused, how does that enter into it?
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"Guitar Blues" was played by Johnny St Cyr, as recorded by Lomax in 1949, even if it's on the JRM box set. There's not a single JRM track on CD 8 of the Rounder set, just interview snippets and musical examples of acquaintances of JRM.
Do you have other recordings by JSC to compare? What makes you so positive about JRMs contributions to CD8?
[/quote] I bet if you rip the CDs to a hard drive, you'll get the metadata all messed up. [/quote] Meaning ?