Topic: "Every Day Seem Like Murder Here--Hayes McMullan"--It's out!

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I was so excited to receive in the mail today the long-awaited recordings of Hayes McMullan, "Every Day Seem Like Murder Here", recorded by Gayle Dean Wardlow in 1967--1968.  A number of you heard a couple of tracks of these recordings three years ago at Port Townsend, when Gayle Dean presented them.  Since that time, a number of events have conspired to slow down the release, but it is finally out, put out by Light in The Attic Records and Distribution, LLC.  P.O. Box 31970, Seattle, WA 98103, USA, www.lightintheattic.net.  The recordings are available in both a CD and LP format, beautifully done, with the LP version being a double album (!), complete with a booklet with extensive biographical and musical notes, photos, and spoken words tracks where Hayes talks about Charlie Patton and other topics related to the music and how he learned it.

I won't pretend to be dispassionate about Hayes McMullan and his music.  Gayle Dean enlisted me to write the music notes for the recordings, which I was happy to do.  My only experience with Hayes' music at that point was the single track of his, "Look-A-Here Woman", which is included on the disc that accompanies Gayle Dean's book, "Chasing The Devil's Music".  I knew, solely on the basis of that track, that Hayes was a major discovery and a Mississippi bluesman that compared favorably with anybody, and I mean anybody, from any era.  Exposure to the rest of the recordings Gayle Dean made of Hayes only served to corroborate that early high opinion of his musical gifts.  Hayes had a very wide expressive range, sang and played with tremendous dynamics and was notable for the extent to which his playing in Spanish tuning was not influenced by Charlie Patton.

The program of the recording is generous, with 23 music tracks and 8 interview segments.  Hayes comes across as a very decent and thoughtful man.  I'm so happy that people will now be able to hear what he was able to express in the music he played and sang.  It's very difficult to fathom how well he could sing and play when he made these recordings, after not having picked up a guitar in 30 years!  I'm happy at the prospect of Hayes finally receiving some recognition, albeit posthumously, and also happy for Gayle Dean, whom I know at many points almost certainly assumed these recordings would never be available to the public.  Well, they are now, and if you're serious in your love for this music, you need to get these recordings--it's as simple as that. 

All best,
Johnm 

[Stuart]

Nice job of promotion and salesmanship, John. Order placed. See you tomorrow night.

[eric]

Some great playing and singing, like John says.   You can hear some clips on the link.

[Prof Scratchy]

Excellent CD. He puts down some wonderful right hand rhythms. Great singing voice too.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[jaycee]

Ordered mine a few weeks ago just waiting for it to drop through my letterbox, strangely enough it's cost more to ship the cd to the u.k. Than what I actually paid for the cd.

[banjochris]

Waiting for mine as well! Looking forward to it!
Chris

[eric]

There?s a lot here for folks that love Mississippi Blues.  Hayes is a fine player in the Delta tradition, definitely no mere imitator.  Just for example, Look-a Here Woman is a Delta classic in Spanish tuning, reminiscent of Tommy Johnson?s Canned Heat Blues, but with plenty of original guitar ideas and really powerful singing.  There are also tunes in Cross-Note, and A, E and G Standard tuning.  For blues history buffs, there are Gayle Dean Wardlow?s interviews with Mr. McMullan, who knew and played with Charley Patton.  Gayle is a masterful storyteller and the conversations included on the CD give new insight into the world of Charley Patton?s Delta.  The CD package also includes notes and great photos by Gayle, and detailed analysis of the tunes for guitar players by this forum?s John Miller.  My favorite aspect of this CD is hearing Hayes? voice.  It?s deep, and powerful with a great range of tone and expression.  Great stuff, the best I?ve heard in a while.  You should get it.

http://lightintheattic.net/releases/2868-everyday-seem-like-murder-here

[Stuart]

I received my copy last week and I second everything eric said. Great stuff. Get it.

[Old Man Ned]

My copy arrived last week and it is a wonderful record.  I'm amazed how these recordings came about... following a chance meeting.  How lucky was that. 

[oddenda]

Ned -

          Serendipity was always a factor back in the day - as with comedy, good timing is important at all times in the research. I try not to get too hung up on those I "missed" in my decade in the field and later on. That leads to insanity! Gayle can probably support me on that!!

pbl

[Rivers]

I've had the Hayes CD for several weeks now and have held back from doing a review since this is not a trivial record and for a long time I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. The emotions I felt at first were similar to an anxiety attack. So this will be a stream of consciousness scattergun review since I can't slot it into any of my usual structural cliches. But I will try!

If there's anything it comes close to it's Garfield Akers and his four recorded sides. These hover ghost like in the background every time I listen to it. This was disconcerting at first but I'm getting used to it, figuring it's a nice problem to have.

The right hand rhythms, or polyrhythms, and timing of vocal lines set Hayes's playing apart. I have no conception of how to play or sing like Hayes, or Garfield Akers either for that matter. Most of the recordings I listen to I aspire to try and play. Not this one, it's too anchored to a time and place I've never really been.

Hayes is a natural, this is not copped from Akers or anyone else. He does do a good Tommy Johnson though. I was listening to it again tonight and started wondering how far he could have gone if he'd recorded back in his youth. I mean, Gayle turns up, hands him an unfamiliar guitar and he produces this amazing music after decades of not playing. The discipline of making records might have been good, or bad, for him. We'll never know.

I think this is an important, scary and exciting record and am very glad it is finally available to a wider audience. It's a slow burn, but so are a lot of the good things in life.

I had to scan the liner notes and blow them up to be able to read them, this was well worth doing. Gayle describes how it all went down back then, and JohnM provides the lyrics, tunings and other musical analysis.

***** <- five stars

[oddenda]

Proof, if needed, that being recorded was (and is) a product of sheer accidental serendipitous dumb luck. Talent is often no guarantee of success, and often gets in the way... especially where production is concerned. Been there, done that! We are fortunate that ANY of the music was preserved in some form or another. It's sti;; the proverbial iceberg tip.

pbl 

[Norfolk Slim]

I've just bought the MP3 download and may update this post to add my thoughts once its had a few rotations in the car...

It is a shame that the postage is so prohibitively expensive for the LP- $24 for the LP(s) and $36 for shipping makes for a $60 LP which is just too much to justify, though I would have liked it.  Also a shame that Light in the Attic don't appear to do higher quality electronic copies (FLAC etc) rather than just MP3s.  I'm not really a chronic audiophile but...

CD is out of stock at present it seems.  That must be a positive thing because it suggests good sales!.

[jostber]

In UK you should be able to get the album from Juno:

http://www.juno.co.uk/products/hayes-mcmullan-everyday-seem-like-murder-here/636961-01/

[Norfolk Slim]

Thanks- I'll investigate.