WeenieCampbell.com
Country Blues => Super Electrical Recordings! => Topic started by: Murphydog on January 10, 2005, 11:12:06 AM
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I'm really enjoying reading up on stuff in the forum, makes me realise just how much music is out there! And that brings me to a problem, there are many gaps in my collection but its often difficult to work out which release offers the best sound, selection etc. I would love some people to suggest the must haves of country blues, no artist too obvious! I'd like to try and build up a core collection covering a whole range of styles and I know you guys are just dying to help me out :D
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MD:
My suggestion as to a must have in your collection is all of Blind Blakes recordings, at minimum up to and including 1930. Not only is the guitar playing fantastic, but the listening is too.
I would also recommend a "greatest hits" of Blind Boy Fuller.
Best 'o luck,
Alex
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Off the top of my head:
- Blind Lemon Jefferson - Yazoo has the best sound, but get the complete recordings for maximum immersion (in my opinion)
- Rev. Gary Davis - Harlem Street Singer and Early Recordings on Yazoo
- Charlie Patton - Yazoo for best sound
- Ramblin' Thomas - I have him on Document, there's also a Catfish release out there
- Frank Stokes - Yazoo for best sound
- Mississippi Sheiks - Yazoo for best sound, Document for the whole shebang
- Leadbelly - Library of Congress recordings on Rounder or Last Sessions on Smithsonian/Folkways
- Clifford Gibson - Yazoo
- Furry Lewis - Yazoo
- Papa Charlie Jackson - only source is the three volumes on Document as far as I know
- Robert Wilkins - Yazoo
- Blind Boy Fuller - Yazoo has one CD, but the six volumes on Document give you a "fuller" picture - heh...
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Hi Murphydog,
In addition to the great stuff that Alex and Frank cited, I am really partial to some more Country Blues recorded in the 1960s or late 1950s:
* Mississippi John Hurt--Avalon Blues, on Rounder, his first post-rediscovery recordings
* Elizabeth Cotten--Smithsonian Folkways, can't remember the title, but has "Freight Train" and "Spanish Flangdang" on it
* Mance Lipscomb--any one of the great re-issue CDs on Arhoolie, or "Trouble In Mind" on Rhino
* Robert Pete Williams--"Poor Bob's Blues", a terrific two-CD set on Arhoolie.
All best,
Johnm
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A few years ago, we put together a rather extensive list of 'recommended' recordings, broken down into a half dozen categories. This thread may be lurking around in the Yahoo archives or perhaps from the list that preceeded our migration to Yahoo Groups. I clipped some of this info for future reference and have attached a Word document dating to October 2000. My recollection is that Rivers originated this thread and supplied much of the material included below, with edits/additions from some other members.
There have been numerous important realeases since then, and people's perspectives may have changed. But at least the categories we chose then still seem to make sense. Might an updated version of this be a good 'resource' to add to the website?
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?* Elizabeth Cotten--Smithsonian Folkways, can't remember the title, but has "Freight Train" and "Spanish Flangdang" on it
It's called "Freight Train and other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes".? A great record!
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You might want to look for a book entitled The New Blackwell Guide to Recorded Blues, edited by John Cowley and Paul Oliver. It came out in 1996 and is now out of print, but in the US it may be available through your local library or through inter-library loan. Each chapter contains an essay by an expert in the field listing 10 essential records in the chapter's genre and then short write-ups ups on 30 other records that the author considers "basic repertoire" in that style. Subjects and authors include Songsters and Proto-Blues by Paul Oliver, Early Deep South and Mississippi River Basin Blues by David Evans, and The East Coast and Texas by Bruce Bastin.
Admittedly, the book is almost 10 years out of date. To get an idea of what's currently available, check out the Roots & Rhythm website at www.rootsandrhythm.com (http://www.rootsandrhythm.com) for honest capsule reviews of blues CDs, including which ones sound best.
Finally, please allow me to put in a good word for one of my favorites: Buddy Moss. He was an excellent singer and guitar player in the style of Blind Boy Fuller. Or, more accurately, Fuller played in Moss's style, as Moss was on the scene several years ealrier than Fuller. I think the only Buddy Moss still available is the Document 3 CD set. The first volume is mostly Moss with either Curley Weaver or Fred McMullen on second guitar, the second volume is mostly Moss playing solo, and the third volume is Moss playing duets with Josh White or in a small group with Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry, and a washboard player. I think the solo stuff is Moss at his best, with lots of variety, very free and expressive singing, and excellent guitar arrangements (with a right thumb to die for!). All three volumes are on the Juke, so check out Tricks Ain't Walkin' No More and Oh Lordy Mama to see what I mean.
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Blind Lemon Jefferson - Yazoo has the best sound, but get the complete recordings for maximum immersion (in my opinion)
Get both. :D I'm serious...
Charlie Patton - Yazoo for best sound
And if you have the dough for all the new notes, the book, the stickers, and the complete recordings, the Revenant set. Otherwise, the JSP.
Clifford Gibson - Yazoo
Is this still in print? Otherwise, the Document.
[li]Furry Lewis - Yazoo[/li]
[li]Papa Charlie Jackson - only source is the three volumes on Document as far as I know[/li]
[li]Robert Wilkins - Yazoo[/li]
[li]Blind Boy Fuller - Yazoo has one CD, but the six volumes on Document give you a "fuller" picture - heh...[/li]
[/list]
Re. Wilkins, Furry Lewis, and Frank Stokes. JSP has their complete recordings as part of the Masters of Memphis Blues box. This gives you the complete recordings, but I have been rather disappointed by the sound of this set and am happy to have the Yazoos for cleaner versions.
Re. Fuller, again, JSP has a box but I haven't heard it since I have all the Documents. It is fewer discs than the 6 Documents as well. Is it complete? The Yazoo disc is great.
Re. Blake. Yazoo has a Best of disc I haven't heard but if it's anything like their Patton, Lemon, and McTell discs, it's a sure bet. Otherwise, JSP has a box, ripped off from the Documents.
Blind Willie McTell. Yazoo Best of, JSP has a box of all the early stuff and the Library of Congress recordings.
Memphis Jug Band. The best of the jug bands IMO, great material, great variety. Yazoo or Documents.
Henry Thomas on Yazoo.
Gotta have some St. Louis guys: Henry Townsend, Charley Jordan, Teddy Darby, Henry Spaulding et al. Yazoo had two discs, don't know if they're still in print. Otherwise there's stuff available on Document and/or Wolf.
Little Hat Jones: probably best off buying the Texas JSP set and getting Little Hat, Henry Thomas, Oscar Woods, Willie Reed and Co. Especially since I think some of the Documents are out of stock and the Yazoo Texas disc is out of print.
Charlie McCoy: highly underrated, great mando, fun tunes, Document Complete recordings.
Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe: at least vol 1 and 2 on Document. I don't like the JSP set of Minnie much since they left off some of the best material with Kansas Joe.
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Forgot Tampa Red. The Yazoo is good and Indigo also has a good compilation.
Scrapper Blackwell on Yazoo.
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Thaks everybody, just what I'd hoped for and I'm looking out for a fingerstyle guitar too!
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MD
You'll need some money for this lot :-X
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First batch of yazoos ordered What is it about the Jsp boxes that people don't like? They seem to be very good value for money.
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The earliest JSP sets were remastered by John R. T. Davies, and sounded great. I think, for example, that their Blind Lemon Jefferson set is the best-sounding version of Blind Lemon's work. But their more recent stuff, like their Memphis Blues box, has been less carefully mastered, and the sound is less than stellar. In some cases, like their recent Hawaiian box, they seem to have just compiled existing CDs on other labels, rearranging the tracks a bit.
Also, the JSP sets are inexpensive, and this shows in their packaging. Liner notes are limited to 2 pages per disk, master numbers and release numbers are not present, and while recording place and date and personnel information is present, I've found a lot of errors in it. You get much better notes from Yazoo and much better discographical information from Document.
I think the main complaint about the Memphis Minnie set was JSPs decision not to include the Memphis Minnie/Kansas Joe duets where Joe is the lead vocalist. The Document disks include these tracks, and in my opinion they make for a much better musical program.
Having said all this, I must say that I've bought quite a few of the JSP boxes, both because the corresponding Document releases are currently out of print and because the price is very attractive.
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DJ summed up my feelings about JSP pretty much. You can find better sound elsewhere for many of the artists. I think the Blind Lemon set is essential, although I was not aware that Davies remastered it and don't hear it to tell the truth. Sound is pretty much the same as the Documents to my ear and non-audiophile sound system. Sound on the Yazoo Best Of edition is quite superior. Alas it's only one CD.
The packaging can be shoddy: inaccurate notes, even missing text.
JSP also seem to be basing some of their releases on other people's work (see, for instance, the Bear Family lawsuit over the Carter Family set). Others have said the Patton set is the Revenant set with slightly different EQ. So possible dubious practices there. Especially if it were to eventually lead to those people discontinuing their restoration work. Bad news for us.
That said, I too have quite a few JSP sets. The Lemon set, as mentioned, is indispensable. The Paramount Masters is just a tremendous compilation. The Memphis set less so. Sound is noticably better on even the older Yazoos. The Minnie set even less so (omitting Kansas Joe is a crime). I just got the Texas set and it's great. While Henry Thomas is available on Yazoo, the sound is very good on the JSP and it has his complete works, with several tunes left off the Yazoo disc that are great. It has the complete (and stupendous) Rambling Thomas and I think I like the sound on this better then the Catfish release. It has the complete Little Hat Jones, who's a freakin' genius. Plus Oscar Woods, Willie Reed, and then some lesser folks like Coley Jones, Pete Harris, and Smith Casey. It's really a tremendous set and if you don't have a lot of this material,it's a no brainer.
The rate at which Document CDs are going out of stock is alarming. I can't see them coming back out with them very quickly either, which is a shame. And it also provides an opportunity for JSP to fill the gap, less carefully than Yazoo or Document, but at a much better price.
So basically, people have mixed feelings about JSP for numerous reasons.
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Speaking of gaps and Documents going out of print, it's amazing to me to see all the kerfuffle about Document's Ragtime Blues Guitar, with a copy going for nearly $50 on eBay. This fuss is mainly, I presume, to get the Willie Walker and the William Moore tracks (surely not the Chicken Wilson and Skeeter Hinton tracks!). I doubt it's for Bayless Rose, though I think Rose is hugely fun and overlooked. Anyway, for those who desperately need at least some of this, you might want to investigate the Indigo release Raggin' the Blues: Essential East Coast Blues (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000083Q1/102-7682776-4380968?v=glance&s=music&vi=samples#disc_1). This has 3 of the 8 Moore tracks and 2 of the 3 Walker tracks (erroneously labelled on the Amazon link above as by Sam Brooks), the third being a 2nd take of South Carolina Rag. It also has both Tarter and Gay tracks. No Bayless Rose unfortunately. No Chicken and Skeeter either, but you're not missing much. It does have 4 great Carl Martin tracks (erroneously labelled on the Amazon link as by Roland Armstrong), 3 Luke Jordan, some Josh White that's not boring (Good Gal, Red River), 2 Gary Davis blues, and Julius Daniels 99 Year Blues (also mislabelled at Amazon), and some early Brownie. It's a great compilation and usually cheap as dirt.
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Speaking of Document titles going out of print, I just noticed this on the Document website:
>Document customers will be pleased to know that many out of stock items are now available as limited editions. They will be priced at ?14.99 and will have the >full cover details and a unique disc image.? Please contact sales@document-records.com for prices and availability.
?15 is a little over $28 at the current exchange rate.? But it's better than spending $50 at eBay.
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This is a really helpful thread. I wonder if it might be worth starting a database of people's views on the various issues of the key pre war artists?
Anyway- I am looking at some JSP sets- I note that the consensus on Blind Lemon is very favourable- but how about the McTell and the Blake?
I have the 'document' vols 1 and 2 of blake and am looking to complete the collection. Teh cheapest way seems to be the JSP- but I dont know anything about the sound and remastering quality.
Thanks.
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as if this thread isn't costing me enough already :D I was wondering about your favourite regional compilations.It seems to me that some of the most interesting players only got to record a few tracks and that a well chosen selection from a particular area or style can help a lot to put things in context.
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as if this thread isn't costing me enough already :D I was wondering about your favourite regional compilations.It seems to me that some of the most interesting players only got to record a few tracks and that a well chosen selection from a particular area or style can help a lot to put things in context.
Two faves from Yazoo that are still available (a number of their excellent regional compilations went out of print - the Texas one, the two St Louis, the Georgia one, the Alabama one, the East Coast one. Some great collections if you can find them used) Masters of the Delta Blues: the Friends of Charley Patton is great if you're not buying the Revenant or JSP sets. Mississippi Masters has the wonderful Garfield Akers and Joe Callicott stuff, and some of the Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas tunes, plus William Harris, Mattie Delaney. A good 'un. Memphis Masters has Will Batts, Tom Dickson, Hattie Hart...
The new Yazoo compilations like Times Ain't Like They Used to Be seemed to have replaced the regional collections. I don't have any of those new ones but people here have spoken highly of them. I'd look through the track lists and see what grabs you. Or just buy them randomly and surprise yourself. ;)
I'm really enjoying the Texas JSP set. Not as many artists as one might find on true compilations, but really good stuff.
I like a number of the Indigo compilations: Raggin the Blues: East Coast Blues; Sweet Petunia: Georgia Blues.
The Catfish East Coast Blues 2-disc set has a great variety of material as well, some of which doesn't show up much elsewhere.
Edited to add: you have to find a way to get some St Louis stuff. Wolf has a compilation with Henry Spaulding, Henry Townsend, and most of the solo Charley Jordan material that looks good.
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One of my favorites is Document 5110, Georgia Blues, 1928 - 1933. The bulk of it is a fantastic session cut in New York in June of 1929 for Q.R.S. Curley Weaver, Eddie Mapp (the only recordings of this great Atlanta harmonica player), James Moore (another harmonica player), and Guy Lumpkin, plus an apparently white guitarist/singer named Slim Barton. It's one of those sessions where you wish you could have been a fly on the wall - they just sound like they were having a great time. Everybody plays in various combinations, including a harmonica solo and a harmonica duet accompanied by guitar. As an added bonus, the last 7 cuts are the complete recorded works of Fred McMullen. He's a total enigma in blues history, but he was a fine picker and singer. In fact, if you put this disk together with Document's Curley Weaver disk and their first volume of Buddy Moss, you've got everything still in existence from another fine session, for ARC in January of 1933.
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Forgot to mention that for a compilation that includes a lot of lesser known players who didn't record much, you can't go wrong with the Paramount Masters set from JSP.
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Hi everyone. this is my first post here. I'm really glad i stumbled across it. It's amazing how you can think you know all there is on the net when,wham!, something new comes along.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had some recommendations of some multi-disk collections of country blues/slide guitar. which ones seem to have the best audio quality, rarities, diversity, etc.
Thanks a lot. Glad to be here.
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Welcome mojohand!
I know no multidisk collections of slide guitar. There are a number of multi-disk collections of CB - JSP label has some very good deals - I'd check those out.
Cheers,
slack
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Welcome, Mojohand. As a basic CB collection, I know the Woody Mann set, the title of which escapes me, is well recommended. I believe Pyrochlore likes this one and may pipe up with the title. The JSP set Broke, Black and Blue gives you quite a bit of variety with some more obscure material.
It depends on what you have or not.
Re Slide compilations, The possibly defunct Catfish label has 2 volumes (not a set) that have some great stuff. Roots and Rhythm may have those on sale as they seemed to have a fair amount of Catfish stuff on sale. Check
http://www.rootsandrhythm.com/roots/rr_bargains.htm
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...greetings, mojohand ... welcome ... are you looking for slide compilations or compilations of country blues and slide?
The Slide Guitar Bottles, Knives & Steel on Columbia is a slide compilation, as is Country Blues Bottleneck Guitar Classics 1926-37 on Yazoo and are essential if you have a serious interest in pre-war country blues slide guitar ... these aren't really multi disc, but if you buy both I guess you could call it 'multi-disc' of sorts ;) for single slide artists, Son House, Blind Willie Johnson, Bukka White, Charlie Patton, BBQ Bob ...can't go wrong on any of these...check out the Juke box section of this site to listen ... I'm sure others will chime in on this topic..
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Onewent neglected to mention - Mississippi Fred McDowell.
Boots
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Hi Mojohand:
The compilation that Unkie Bud was refering to? is titled "The Essential Country Guitar Collection" and it is the best collection of guitar-centric country blues out there. $55 US for 4 CD's. It can be purchased at www.woodymann.com. Great audio quality and diversity and a must for anyones collection. Mostly non-slide tunes
I also like very much the "Mama, Let Me Lay It on You" collection by Yazoo. Only one CD though.
Yazoo's "Country Blues, the Essentials" collection ( (2 CD's) is very good and very inexpensive. May be out of print though
Slide some jelly to who you see,
Alex
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Yazoo also has a new-ish, general CB CD called The Best There Ever Was. http://yazoorecords.com/3002.htm
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I'm not sure from your post if you're a country blues newbie or someone looking to improve the quality of your CD collection, so I'll give you two answers.
If you're a newbie, there is simply no boxed CD set with the breadth and depth of the Weenie Juke. The drawback to using the Juke as a learning tool is that there's no background information on the artists and styles, no dates, no personnel listings for bands. To remedy this "defect", I'd recommend that you obtain a copy of The New Blackwell Guide to Recorded Blues, edited by John Cowley and Paul Oliver. I think it's no longer in print, but look for it used or you might be able to borrow a copy from your local library through interlibrary loan. The book consists of chapters on different areas/periods of the blues written by experts in each area (Songsters and Proto-Blues by Paul Oliver, Early Deep South and Mississippi Blues by David Evans, Texas and the East Coast by Bruce Bastin, etc.). In each chapter, the author picks ten essential CDs and writes an essay on each, then choses another 30 recommended recordings and writes a brief paragraph on each. Read a chapter, then request tracks on the Juke to see what the artist sounds like. And don't forget Tuesdays (2) and Thursdays (3) you get extra tracks by the artist with each request. Also, Richard has recorded a few thematic shows, on Memphis Minnie, Jug Bands, and Female Singers. These are well done and well worth listening to, whether you're already familiar with the material or not. Don't miss them..
If you're familiar with the basic styles and artists of country blues and looking to improve your CD collection, a great resource is the capsule reviews on the Roots and Rhythm web site: www.rootsandrhythm.com. If there are several CDs available of a similar repertoire, these reviews will often include a word about sound quality, liner notes, and how well the collection fits together. If you're in a buying mood and aren't sure what to buy, call Roots and Rhythm, talk to Frank, and ask for recommendations. He's heard everything, he has a great memory, and he loves the music, so he can tell you what's the best sounding version of Son House's Paramount recordings or what's the best collection of Pre-War East Coast Blues for a neophyte. (I'm not affiliated with Roots & Rhythm in any way except as a customer.)
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The JSP set Broke, Black and Blue gives you quite a bit of variety with some more obscure material.
Broke, Black and Blue is actually a PROPER Records set, not JSP -- at least my set is :-). Funny, when I bought it on ebay, I was thinking it was a JSP set too. Wasn't until it arrived that I noticed it was actually PROPER.
But I agree with Uncle Bud that it has good variety and includes some nice, rather obscure selections.
JSP's "The Paramount Masters" set also has a nice variety with some fairly obscure selections.
Both "Broke Black and Blue" and "The Paramount Masters" are on the Weenie Juke, so mojohand and others can listen to selections before they decide to buy.
[ Just noticed the new "Spell Check" option at the bottom of the Reply screen -- nice touch. Works well, too. Wish it had a "Add to Dictionary" option so "words" like JSP could be added. :-) ]
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Slack may possibly be able to add to the dictionary, but this would be a mamoth task, ;D
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Slack may possibly be able to add to the dictionary, but this would be a mamoth task, ;D
You guys are dreaming! - but I'll check anyway. BTW, "mamoth" is mispelled. :P
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Thanks for everyone's replies.
Yes, I am a "newbie" to country blues. Like many of you, no doubt, my musical interests started with Rock (I was a big heavy metal fan in the 80's). But as I traced the roots of this back, my love affair with the blues began. Started with SRV, he lead to Buddy Guy, then Muddy Waters, then Robert Johnson, etc. with many wonderful side trails along the way.
This is why I was specifically interested in multi-disc sets, to gain a better appreciation of the diversity before delving in to the individual artists works. I also love to listen to and play slide guitar, and so these recomendations are also appreciated (not necessarly in the same discs)
Anyway, thanks again for all your help. I look forward to more discussions.
MH
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Any chance of claiming this as a typo Slack. ;)
MH - glad the cure worked. :)
Boots
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I'd recommend that you obtain a copy of The New Blackwell Guide to Recorded Blues, edited by John Cowley and Paul Oliver. I think it's no longer in print, but look for it used or you might be able to borrow a copy from your local library through interlibrary loan. The book consists of chapters on different areas/periods of the blues written by experts in each area (Songsters and Proto-Blues by Paul Oliver, Early Deep South and Mississippi Blues by David Evans, Texas and the East Coast by Bruce Bastin, etc.). In each chapter, the author picks ten essential CDs and writes an essay on each, then choses another 30 recommended recordings and writes a brief paragraph on each. Read a chapter, then request tracks on the Juke to see what the artist sounds like.
I'm going to enthusiastically second this recommendation from dj. This book is worth seeking out no matter what your expertise (OK, if you have 1000 country blues discs you may not need the advice, but there's still great info from the authors). It is hardcore, recommending recordings that no one with only a passing interest in Country Blues would be caught dead with. :) I acted on its advice today in fact, picking up Altamont:Black String Bands on Rounder (freakin' great banjo/fiddle stuff, absolutely wonderful, though be warned the sound is quite rough). This is a great book, and a better resource for spending wildly on CB CDs I can't imagine.
That said, it is, if not out of print, most definitely out of date. Numerous recommendations are themselves out of print (many of the Yazoos, for instance) or currently out of stock indefinitely. But there are workarounds to some of these (JSP) or newer editions (Yazoo's Frank Stokes).
There are a few inevitable quibbles - I'm a little stunned Bruce Bastin, THE authority on East Coast Blues, would recommend Blind Boy Fuller - East Coast Piedmont Style on Columbia, which is probably the worst Fuller compilation out there (buy the Yazoo, or the Indigo, or the weirdly incomplete JSP, or the Documents). There is also a fair amount of UK-centric recommendations for Flyright and Travelin' Man discs (ducking to avoid pelting with now outdated Charles-Camilla souvenirs by our UK friends) that are often very hard to get in North America and if available, hugely expensive. But overall, this is a great, essential book.
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UB, do you mean to say that something is dearer in the States than the UK. This is truly amazing.
Boots
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ducking to avoid pelting with now outdated Charles-Camilla souvenirs by our UK friends
Yes, you should watch out as they do fly well since they were originally designed as a Frisbie to keep the Royal's suitably entertained.. :D
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What are Chuck & Milly doing on the Forum ???
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UB, do you mean to say that something is dearer in the States than the UK. This is truly amazing.
No, I was probably being North American-centric. :)? You guys are gouged. Our CDs are cheaper no doubt, just that relative to those CDs on Travellin' Man etc. one generally has to pay a lot less for things on, say, Yazoo, even Document, so recommendations for other UK discs are to be taken with a grain of salt IMO, if you can find the material on another label. I think this has more to do with the rarity of Flyright and Travellin' Man discs over here than anything else. And Travellin' Man is probably the more disputable recommendation, since as far as I know, Flyright tends to focus more on stuff that isn't available elsewhere (lots of East Coast stuff post 1940 etc).
BTW, I'm in Canada, so Camilla will be my queen too. ;)? (And actually, I say good on 'em, Baby It Must Be Love and all of that.)
Edited to add: just checking amazon.ca and www.mymusic.ca,? I notice my opinion might be out of date as Flyright titles are not extortionate - on the very high end but not as bad as I recall.
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'Backwoods Blues' on Document records. Plenty of tasty slide.