Topic: Tunes You're Listening To

[Bunker Hill]

Anyone know who's really playing here? He's got the Carl Martin thing going pretty good.

I think I read in the notes to Yazoo's "Guitar Wizards" that the guitarist was believed to be Carl Martin.  It doesn't sound like him to me...  much more like the guitar player on The Two Poor Boys "My Baby's Got A Yo-Yo" - Joe Evans.  It was discussed in this thread.  It's possible that the "Crow Jane" accompaniment we associate with Carl Martin may really have originated with Evans.

Well remembered Frankie, here's the quote but don't know which of the quartet of authors penned this:

"Billy Bird's Mill Man Blues assumes the key of E and may feature the accompaniment of Martin, whose slower Crow Jane (Yazoo L-1013) it greatly resembles. Both twelve bar works convey a remarkable similarity of guitar "touch", and use the same trill in effecting an E chord (in D position up two frets). At the beginning of each second four bar segment, both blues utilize the same progression twice: E-A-C9-E-G.

The rapidity and deliberateness of picking evinced on Mill Man Blues would almost seem to preclude the accompanist from bringing Bird's vocal nuances into play. That such nuances exist, but are not coincidental with those of the guitar, argues for the presence of a silent accompanist. Being somewhat slower, Martin's Crow Jane is the more ideally suited for self-accompaniment".

On a historical note I'd only point out that each edition of B&GR since 1964 have consistently given "vcl., own gtr" for Bird's session.

[uncle bud]

Latest song to catch my ear is "Lady Quit Her Husband Onexpectinly" by the Tub Jug Washboard Band, available on the Document CD Stovepipe No. 1 and David Crockett Complete Recorded Works. If you can get past the awful recording quality and surface noise, this is a fun ragtime pop tune of the Right Key in the Wrong Hole variety. An abundance of kazoos and other cheap mouth instruments. Multiple kazoo solos. Not for the faint of heart...

[Bunker Hill]

Latest song to catch my ear is "Lady Quit Her Husband Onexpectinly" by the Tub Jug Washboard Band..

Former member Carl Reid had a few interesting things to say about this aggregation when interviewed by Fred Cox in 70s. I'll see if I can locate which issue of Storyville magazine it was published in.

[uncle bud]

Latest song to catch my ear is "Lady Quit Her Husband Onexpectinly" by the Tub Jug Washboard Band..

Former member Carl Reid had a few interesting things to say about this aggregation when interviewed by Fred Cox in 70s. I'll see if I can locate which issue of Storyville magazine it was published in.

Be interested in seeing that. They are quite sophisticated in their playing, like jazz players slumming it in a medicine show. 

[Rivers]

Alabama Blues, Three stripped Gears. This turned up on the ipod when I had it in shuffle mode in the car the other day. What a very tight little string band those guys were. It's on The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, check it out.

[uncle bud]

Listening over and over to Jesse "Babyface" Thomas playing Blue Goose Blues. My copy is on the Texas Early Blues Masters boxed set from JSP. What a great tune. Very Blind Blake but in his own style, really impressive playing. If you have it and haven't listened to it closely, give it a shot. The four tracks on the JSP set from Thomas (brother Willard "Ramblin'" Thomas feautures more prominently) are all really interesting. "My Heart's a Rolling Stone" is particularly great as well.

[Bunker Hill]

Listening over and over to Jesse "Babyface" Thomas playing Blue Goose Blues. My copy is on the Texas Early Blues Masters boxed set from JSP. What a great tune. Very Blind Blake but in his own style, really impressive playing. If you have it and haven't listened to it closely, give it a shot. The four tracks on the JSP set from Thomas (brother Willard "Ramblin'" Thomas feautures more prominently) are all really interesting. "My Heart's a Rolling Stone" is particularly great as well.

When Guido van Rijn interviewed Thomas in November 1990 he was told by Thomas that his main influences came from listening to records and that his "main guy" was Lonnie Johnson along with Blind Blake but also liked the "smooth sound and good lyrics" of Leroy Carr. (Blues & Rhythm 58, Feb. 1991 p. 16)

[blueshome]

Just catching on to Virgil Childer's "Dago Blues" on the Document "..Same Bee..." collection. It's a nice arrangement that I've more or less got down now. Have to do something about the 1st verse though.

[CF]

King Solomon Hill's 'My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon' has been in my CD player for a while . . . what an outstanding performance.

[Ormus]

Hi there!

Another country-blues addict! I'm a (relatively  ) young blues freak from Germany... I switched from electric guitar to acoustic last year, playing mostly country- and delta-blues by now.

My mediaplayer just started playing "High Water pt. 2"... I was always wonderin' about transcriptions I found on the net and even the Revenant set regarding the 12th stanza where everybody seems to hear "airplanes all around"... to me, it clearly sounds like "earthquakes"... but on the other hand, English isn't my native language.

Just wonderin'!

Regards Oliver

[Bricktown Bob]

Hi, Oliver.  I'm kinda new here myself, but welcome!

For what it's worth, I hear "airplanes."  And there were definitely airplanes in the actual event.  On the other hand, "earthquakes" would increase the whole end-of-the-world feel to the piece.  So I think you should feel free to hear and sing "earthquakes" if you want.

[uncle bud]

Listening to Texas Alexander's "St. Louis Fair Blues", accompanied by Lonnie Johnson. Boy, is it a beauty. And Texas doesn't even screw up until the second to last verse...  Particularly gorgeous accompaniment by Lonnie.

edited to add: And it ain't Lonnie. Just went and checked the session info. It's actually Eddie Lang. This makes more sense to me. I assumed Lonnie but thought he was playing rather differently. Still sounds like something he might do, but somewhat jazzier and sentimental than the stuff I know from him accompanying Texas A. so far.

[NevadaPic]

Yeah.  I can't get enough of "Poor Boy" by Gus Cannon and Blind Blake.  Something about that slide playing...

Pic

[GhostRider]

Hi all:

I've been in a Memphis Minnie phase for a couple of months now, along with Paul Rishell.

Memphis Minnie: Call the Fire Wagon, Ain't No Use Tryin' to Tell On Me, Ice Man, Joliet Bound.

Paul Rishell: Kansas City Blues, Hunkie Tunkie Blues.

Alex

[waxwing]

Alex, I still think the front guitar on Joliet Bound is Kansas Joe.-G-

All for now.
John C.