A question for those in possession of the JSP Blind Blake 5-CD set. I have the complete Document Blakes which run to four CDs so never bothered with the JSP. The JSP set includes however a number of alternate takes that are not on the Document discs: extra takes of West Coast Blues (2 of them), Comes on Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around, Early Morning Blues, Dry Bone Shuffle, Diddie Wa Diddie etc. I'm wondering what these are like. How different are they from the other take, what is the condition of the record etc.
Next question is for those in possession of the Yazoo Best of Blind Blake disc (the more recent one, not Ragtime Guitar's Foremost Fingerpicker). How is the sound on this one? Any particular revelations, like Down the Dirt Road on the recent Patton disc or 'Lectric Chair Blues on the Lemon disc?
UB - I have both, and will try to answer your questions from memory. With the qualification that I haven't done a careful A/B listening. 1. JSP alternate takes - recordings are all about as good as you could expect - surprisingly clean; some of the alt takes (e.g. Diddie Wa Diddie) offer either slightly different lyrics or even different verses. 2. Yazoo disk was a bit of a disappointment. I didn't think the improvements in mastering were all that remarkable - mostly just removal of surface noise, with some reduction in vocal clarity as a result (to my ear). And you have probably noticed that 10 out of 23 tracks on the "Best of" release are new, with corresponding deletions from the line-up on the 1990 "Foremost Fingerpicker" release. But there are surprises - the two versions of Diddie Wa Diddie are quite different (i.e. the alternate take mentioned re: JSP above) - the old CD has a playing time of 2:56 and the new CD (Diddie Wa Diddie #2) has a playing time of 3:18 and features the "extra" verses but no instrumental chorus. I think Ari has used these same verses in his recording. The first take includes a nice instrumental verse, and the second just tells the story in lyrics - a whole lot more lyrics, and they make sense as a "story". He (or she) who has the most [country blues] CDs when he (or she) dies, wins!
A question for those in possession of the JSP Blind Blake 5-CD set. I have the complete Document Blakes which run to four CDs so never bothered with the JSP. The JSP set includes however a number of alternate takes that are not on the Document discs: extra takes of West Coast Blues (2 of them), Comes on Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around, Early Morning Blues, Dry Bone Shuffle, Diddie Wa Diddie etc. I'm wondering what these are like. How different are they from the other take, what is the condition of the record etc.
On the subject of the alternate takes, JSP would have lifted straight from the six Too Late, Too Late Document compilations. Collectors who had alternative takes of anything prewar weren't prepared to take the Parth "complete" philosophy seriously in its early days. However three years into the project when, by and large, all the major country blues artists such as Blake had been covered, it finally became clear to the skeptical that the venture was here to stay that offers of use of unissued or alternate material were forthcoming... hence the ironic series title, Too Late, Too Late.
The alternate takes are quite a bit different; on West Coast Blues, for example, Blake never plays it exactly the same. I don't like JSPs business model, but those alternate takes are definitely worth having if you love Blake.