PROGRAM:? 44 Blues--Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas; Mississippi Heavy Water Blues--Robert Pete Williams & Guitar Welch; Smokestack Lightning--Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards & Butch Cage; Who Broke The Lock--Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas; You Don't Love Me--Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards & Butch Cage; It's The Sign Of Judgement--Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas; Foxhunt--Ben Douglas; Your Dice Won't Pass--Sally Dotsin, Smoky Babe & Hilary Blunt; Jelly Roll--Willie B. Thomas & Butch Cage; I've Got Religion--Rebecca Smith, Tom Miller & Ruth Miller; Going Downtown Boogie--Smoky Babe; Stack O' Dollars--Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards & Butch Cage; Brown Skin Woman--Willie B. Thomas, Butch Cage & Martha Thomas; I Won't Be Your Low-Down Dog No More--Leon Strickland, Lucius Bridges & Leslie Anders; The Piano Blues--Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas; Cotton Field Blues--Smoky Babe; The Farm Blues--Otis Webster; The Boss Man Blues--Otis Webster; Whoa Mule!--Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas; Boll Weevil Blues--Otis Webster; Thousand Miles From Nowhere--Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards & Butch Cage; Dead And Gone--Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas; Called For You Yesterday--Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas; Me & My Chauffeur--Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas; Baby Please Don't Go--Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas
? ?
This is a collection of Country dance music, blues and religious numbers that were recorded, in the main, by folklorist Dr. Harry Oster in Louisiana and Mississippi in 1959, 1960 and 1962 (the remaining 5 titles on the program were recorded by Chris Strachwitz and Paul Oliver in 1960).? In it's earliest incarnation, the first 14 tracks of the 25 title program were released on Dr. Oster's now-defunct Folk Lyric label, and then re-released on Arhoolie intact after Chris Strachwitz purchased the Folk Lyric catalog.? The remaining ten titles on the present CD version (running time of 76:55 minutes!) had not previously been released.
The keystone personalities on the CD are fiddler Butch Cage, born in 1894 near Meadville, MS, whom Dr. Oster describes aptly in the liner notes as "a great representative of the now virtually extinct 19th century black fiddle tradition", and Willie B. Thomas, born near Lobdell, LA in 1912.? The music that Butch and Willie played together had tremendous range, going from Blues originals and covers to religious songs, songs that sound rooted in the minstrel tradition, and dance tunes, many of which are commonly found in the white Old-Time fiddle tune tradition as well.? Butch and Willie have eleven tunes on the program, so you really have a chance to get a good taste of their music.? They open with "44 Blues", with Butch singing lead, switching to Willie on lead after about three verses, which allows Butch to give more attention to his fiddle with great results and some terrific fills.? "Who Broke The Lock" is a great and funny dance song with verses commonly encountered in the minstrel tradition, e.g.,
?"Some folks say that a preacher won't steal, but I caught two in my cornfield, etc."
"Jelly Roll", in A, works out to be a great tune for fiddle, and Willie B. sings a verse I always associate with "Keep It Clean".
"Up she jumped, down she fell, her mouth flew open like a mussel shell."
"Whoa Mule" is a great dance tune in G which Willie accompanies as a one-chorder, going the "boom-chang" back-up style one better by simply strumming full chords on the off-beats.? It really makes the time happen well.? "Dead And Gone" is another great dance tune in G, and a one-chorder, that bears a lot of resemblence to Clayton McMichen's "Cackling Hen And Rooster Too" and Burnett and Rutherford's "All Night Long".? "Called For You Yesterday" is an 8-bar blues in G, and they conclude the program with "Me And My Chaffeur" and Baby Please Don't Go".? Willie's accompaniment throughout his and Butch's portion of the program focuses more on laying down the rhythm and chords than playing nifty fills--he is a strong kind of "meat and potatoes" type of rhythm guitarist, generally flat-picking, I would say.
There is a lot of additional music in the program, too.? Robert Pete Williams, joined by Robert "Guitar" J. Welch, performs "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" in a nifty duo version with both instruments in Spanish tuning (this tune seems to have had really wide circulation--just last week I heard a recording of the Southwestern Virginia banjo player Josh Thomas doing it).? "Smokestack Lightning", "You Don't Love Me", "Stack O'Dollars" and "Thousand Miles From Nowhere" are performed by the grouping of Clarence and Cornelius Edwards and Butch Cage.? The liner notes provide almost no information on them, but Clarence Edwards comes across as a very strong player in E standard, and any one of these performances would be a great tune to figure out by ear, with memorable signature licks.? That great groover, Smoky Babe, does two solo numbers in Spanish, "Going Downtown Boogie" and "Cottonfield Blues" (on which he plays slide with a Chevrolet bushing), and is joined by Sally Dotson and Hillary Blunt on "Your Dice Won't Pass", my favorite tune on the CD.? The vocal gets passed around on this one and it is fun and plenty sexy with some great singing by Sally and Smoky.? Otis Webster performs three songs in E standard, "The Farm Blues", "The Boss Man Blues" and "Boll Weevil Blues", and it is a treat to hear his unself-conscious, charismatic singing, which reminds me a bit of the late Lonnie Pitchford.? One distinctive aspect of Webster's sound is that he plays a B minor 7 for his V chord in E, a beautiful dark sound that Geeshie Wiley similarly used in "Last Kind Word".? Rebecca Smith, along with Tom and Ruth Miller, perform the rousing "I've Got Religion", Leon Strickland, Lucius Bridges and Leslie Anders combine on guitar in A and hand percussion for "I Won't Be Your Low-Down Dog No More".? The program rounds out with Ben Douglas (a pseudonym) performing "Foxhunt" on panpipe and vocal percussion, recorded at the state hospital.
?
Apart from the wonderful musical performances here, I think this CD stands as a tribute to Dr. Harry Oster.? When you consider that he first discovered and recorded Robert Pete Williams, Smoky Babe, Butch Cage, Willie B. Thomas, and did the great early acoustic recordings of Snooks Eaglin, it soon becomes apparent how much those of us who value this music owe him, for the fieldwork and recordings he did.? One thing I have noticed about recordings made by Dr. Oster, too, not only here but in his recordings of Robert Pete elsewhere, and Smoky Babe on his album "Hottest Brand Going":? The musicians recorded by Dr. Oster invariably sound relaxed, unself-conscious, loose, and confident.? It says something very nice about him that he had the capacity to get such natural renditions from the people he recorded; it makes you think they felt liked personally and supported in what they did.
I would recommend this CD very highly to people interested in the black string band tradition and its points of intersection with the white Old-Time tradition, but also to anyone who is interested in a musical snapshot of the music made by members of a community, a place where taking part in music-making was part of membership in the community.
All best,
Johnm?
? ?
This is a collection of Country dance music, blues and religious numbers that were recorded, in the main, by folklorist Dr. Harry Oster in Louisiana and Mississippi in 1959, 1960 and 1962 (the remaining 5 titles on the program were recorded by Chris Strachwitz and Paul Oliver in 1960).? In it's earliest incarnation, the first 14 tracks of the 25 title program were released on Dr. Oster's now-defunct Folk Lyric label, and then re-released on Arhoolie intact after Chris Strachwitz purchased the Folk Lyric catalog.? The remaining ten titles on the present CD version (running time of 76:55 minutes!) had not previously been released.
The keystone personalities on the CD are fiddler Butch Cage, born in 1894 near Meadville, MS, whom Dr. Oster describes aptly in the liner notes as "a great representative of the now virtually extinct 19th century black fiddle tradition", and Willie B. Thomas, born near Lobdell, LA in 1912.? The music that Butch and Willie played together had tremendous range, going from Blues originals and covers to religious songs, songs that sound rooted in the minstrel tradition, and dance tunes, many of which are commonly found in the white Old-Time fiddle tune tradition as well.? Butch and Willie have eleven tunes on the program, so you really have a chance to get a good taste of their music.? They open with "44 Blues", with Butch singing lead, switching to Willie on lead after about three verses, which allows Butch to give more attention to his fiddle with great results and some terrific fills.? "Who Broke The Lock" is a great and funny dance song with verses commonly encountered in the minstrel tradition, e.g.,
?"Some folks say that a preacher won't steal, but I caught two in my cornfield, etc."
"Jelly Roll", in A, works out to be a great tune for fiddle, and Willie B. sings a verse I always associate with "Keep It Clean".
"Up she jumped, down she fell, her mouth flew open like a mussel shell."
"Whoa Mule" is a great dance tune in G which Willie accompanies as a one-chorder, going the "boom-chang" back-up style one better by simply strumming full chords on the off-beats.? It really makes the time happen well.? "Dead And Gone" is another great dance tune in G, and a one-chorder, that bears a lot of resemblence to Clayton McMichen's "Cackling Hen And Rooster Too" and Burnett and Rutherford's "All Night Long".? "Called For You Yesterday" is an 8-bar blues in G, and they conclude the program with "Me And My Chaffeur" and Baby Please Don't Go".? Willie's accompaniment throughout his and Butch's portion of the program focuses more on laying down the rhythm and chords than playing nifty fills--he is a strong kind of "meat and potatoes" type of rhythm guitarist, generally flat-picking, I would say.
There is a lot of additional music in the program, too.? Robert Pete Williams, joined by Robert "Guitar" J. Welch, performs "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" in a nifty duo version with both instruments in Spanish tuning (this tune seems to have had really wide circulation--just last week I heard a recording of the Southwestern Virginia banjo player Josh Thomas doing it).? "Smokestack Lightning", "You Don't Love Me", "Stack O'Dollars" and "Thousand Miles From Nowhere" are performed by the grouping of Clarence and Cornelius Edwards and Butch Cage.? The liner notes provide almost no information on them, but Clarence Edwards comes across as a very strong player in E standard, and any one of these performances would be a great tune to figure out by ear, with memorable signature licks.? That great groover, Smoky Babe, does two solo numbers in Spanish, "Going Downtown Boogie" and "Cottonfield Blues" (on which he plays slide with a Chevrolet bushing), and is joined by Sally Dotson and Hillary Blunt on "Your Dice Won't Pass", my favorite tune on the CD.? The vocal gets passed around on this one and it is fun and plenty sexy with some great singing by Sally and Smoky.? Otis Webster performs three songs in E standard, "The Farm Blues", "The Boss Man Blues" and "Boll Weevil Blues", and it is a treat to hear his unself-conscious, charismatic singing, which reminds me a bit of the late Lonnie Pitchford.? One distinctive aspect of Webster's sound is that he plays a B minor 7 for his V chord in E, a beautiful dark sound that Geeshie Wiley similarly used in "Last Kind Word".? Rebecca Smith, along with Tom and Ruth Miller, perform the rousing "I've Got Religion", Leon Strickland, Lucius Bridges and Leslie Anders combine on guitar in A and hand percussion for "I Won't Be Your Low-Down Dog No More".? The program rounds out with Ben Douglas (a pseudonym) performing "Foxhunt" on panpipe and vocal percussion, recorded at the state hospital.
?
Apart from the wonderful musical performances here, I think this CD stands as a tribute to Dr. Harry Oster.? When you consider that he first discovered and recorded Robert Pete Williams, Smoky Babe, Butch Cage, Willie B. Thomas, and did the great early acoustic recordings of Snooks Eaglin, it soon becomes apparent how much those of us who value this music owe him, for the fieldwork and recordings he did.? One thing I have noticed about recordings made by Dr. Oster, too, not only here but in his recordings of Robert Pete elsewhere, and Smoky Babe on his album "Hottest Brand Going":? The musicians recorded by Dr. Oster invariably sound relaxed, unself-conscious, loose, and confident.? It says something very nice about him that he had the capacity to get such natural renditions from the people he recorded; it makes you think they felt liked personally and supported in what they did.
I would recommend this CD very highly to people interested in the black string band tradition and its points of intersection with the white Old-Time tradition, but also to anyone who is interested in a musical snapshot of the music made by members of a community, a place where taking part in music-making was part of membership in the community.
All best,
Johnm?