Topic: Building a Country Blues CD collection

[dj]

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.

[Norfolk Slim]

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.

[Murphydog]

as if this thread isn't costing me enough already 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.

[uncle bud]

as if this thread isn't costing me enough already 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.

[dj]

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.
       

[uncle bud]

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.

[mojohand]

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.

[Slack]

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

[uncle bud]

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

[onewent]

...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..

[boots]

Onewent neglected to mention - Mississippi Fred McDowell.

Boots

[GhostRider]

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

[uncle bud]

Yazoo also has a new-ish, general CB CD called The Best There Ever Was. http://yazoorecords.com/3002.htm

[dj]

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.)

[lebordo]

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. :-) ]