Topic: Which Charley Patton (and other blues "originals") recordings?

[Mike Shipman]

Hi - It appears that I need to move with the times and get some more recent recordings of some of the original blues greats. Most of my albums / CDs are from years ago and are, as my wife called them, "fried egg records" (all the background noise sounds like someone is frying eggs) and as such can be pretty indistinct.
I heard a version of Spoonful on the internet today that (to my ears anyway) sounded crystal clear - I was bowled over!
So... is there a particular recording(s) of Charley Patton songs that is recommended for its audio clarity and selection  of songs?

Thanks,-Mike

ps - any other , good clear recordings of othe early artistes??

[harriet]

There are some at http://www.pristineclassical.com/ and one is Charley Patton. You'd have to go to their preview page and scroll through to listen. I got this as I was working on Tom Feldmann's lesson and my Yazoo "Best of Charley Patton" was scratchy - which I like but I wanted to hear the guitar a little better so I got it for reference.

Other members here would better be able to tell you about the merit of a the cleaned up version as to its faithfullness to the artist I imagine.

[banjochris]

I would recommend the most recent Yazoo albums -- Best of Charlie Patton and Primeval Rags, Blues or whatever it is. Covers almost all of his stuff (minus maybe 6 or 7 tracks) in excellent sound. Still plenty of surface noise on the Paramounts but you can hear more music than ever before.
Chris

[Lyndvs]

+1 For Yazoo Patton.

[harriet]

My Yazoo cd is about 20 years old - is the "new" version referred to different? You can put me down also as a +2 on it.

[dj]

This being the digital age, you can go to iTunes, Amazon, or another online retailer and sample a bunch of disks to see what you think has the best sound.  Search for Charley Patton and the name of a song you're interested in and you'll get at least a dozen hits.  Listen to a sample from each of them.  Repeat with another song, & etc. 

[banjochris]

Yes, there are two Yazoo Patton CDs that came out in the 2000s some time. Big improvement over the old one. The new best of has more of Patton than just his head on the cover.

[harriet]

Thanks Banjo Chris - I just looked at mine its called "King of the Delta Blues" 2001, duh, maybe I'll look into the best of.

[misterjones]

I prefer Yazoo, but if you need some noise reduction, both of these are good:

http://www.amazon.com/Devil-Sent-Blues-Complete-Recordings/dp/B00035WGIQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1367101958&sr=1-1&keywords=patton+universe

http://www.amazon.com/Definitive-Charley-Patton/dp/B0000594VE/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1367102075&sr=1-1&keywords=patton+catfish

I created a hybrid of the two.  Unfortunately, neither is superior on all tracks.

[Randy Meadows]

The version that sounded best to me was listening direct from the original 78rpm  with Wardlow..
 

[Mike Shipman]

Many thanks to you all for the suggestions - now to make a purchase!

[Rivers]

You could always get a divorce, might be cheaper once you start down that road... 

[Mike Shipman]

Have now got the "Definitive" series and marriage intact!

[Papa Pea Vine Patton]

My Yazoo cd is about 20 years old - is the "new" version referred to different? You can put me down also as a +2 on it.

Different and improved and in some cases "speed corrected" over the earlier CD's.

I consider the most recent (Best Of / Primeval) Yazoo Patton CD's the ultimate as it stands.    But if you don't stand surface noise, they're not for you.

[Kokomo O]

I don't think anybody has mentioned the JSP set. It's complete, I think it has pretty good to excellent sound, although not tarted up like Pristine, and it has the ancillaries like the Son House and Willie Brown sides that were recorded alongside Patton. And it's cheap for all you get.