Topic: Sam Collins--Jailhouse Blues Yazoo 1079

[Johnm]

PROGRAM:  Devil In The Lion's Den; Slow Mama Slow; The Jailhouse Blues; Riverside Blues; New Salty Dog; Yellow Dog Blues; Pork Chop Blues; Dark Cloudy Blues; Hesitation Blues; It Won't Be Long; Do That Thing; I Want To Be Like Jesus In My Heart; Loving Lady Blues; Midnight Special Blues; Lead Me All The Way; Graveyard Digger's Blues

This is not a new CD, but it is a great one, collecting most of the strongest titles of the under-appreciated Mississippi singer and guitarist, Sam Collins, in one place.  According to the CD's liner notes, Sam Collins was born in 1887 in Louisiana, but raised across the border in McComb, Mississippi.  This is in the southern portion of the state, in an area that did not produce many Country Blues musicians who were recorded in the first wave of Country Blues, in the 20s and 30s.  If Sam was indeed born at the time reported, he would be placed in the company of such relative oldsters as Frank Stokes, Henry Thomas, and Gus Cannon, all of whom appear to have been in at least their forties when first recorded.

As represented in this CD's program, Sam's music appears to have had two primary strains:  slide blues and sacred numbers played in Vastapol tuning and raggy and pre-blues numbers played in C, standard tuning.  Whether playing in Vastapol or C, though, Sam Collins's magnificent vocals grab your attention and won't let go.  Sam had an incredibly good voice, really one of the most beautiful in the history of the Blues.  He knew what to do with it, too; sometimes his vocal rendition out-does the expressive content of the lyric.  In "Dark Cloudy Blues" when he sings the line, "I'd rather be in Atlanta than any place I know", he delivers it so wrenchingly I find myself thinking, "Man, he REALLY wants to be in Atlanta!"

Sam's approach as a slide player kind of sneaks up on you.  He seems a good candidate for having played slide in the lap position, because when he goes to a IV chord he gets the full barre all the way across the neck at the fifth fret and hits the low root of the IV chord on the sixth string, a move that is much more easily accessible in lap position than with the guitar held conventionally.  Moreover, with one exception, he plays none of the two or three-finger fretted chords commonly played at the base of the neck by slide players working in Vastapol.  Sam's approach to slide playing is much more melodic than chordal.  He most often treats what the guitar is playing as another voice, hitting reponse lines to his vocals.  And when playing fills or response lines, he keeps playing until he has said what he has to say.  As a result, he is quite often "long" in his phrasing.  His tone, and inflection and accuracy of pitch in his playing are outstanding.  Like Blind Willie Johnson, Sam particularly favored dramatic register changes in his phrases--he might start a phrase between the 7th and 12th frets on the first string and conclude it coming down from the third fret of the 6th string to the open sixth string.  He plays IV chords sporadically on the songs that have them and never plays a V chord.  It may be said that while Sam's pitch on the notes he plays with his slide is exemplary, he has more of a problem with tuning open strings; on several of the songs played here, the pitch on the open third and fourth strings is a bit out.  With repeated listenings, though, any sense I might have of "wrongness" around that begins to recede, and I find myself just easing back into his sound.

Sam's picking in C has an altogether different sound.  It has some similarities with Lemon Jefferson's playing in C, though it doesn't really sound derivative of him.  Sam sounds as though he had a heavy reliance on a thumbpick for his work in C.  He favors a lot of syncopated bass runs, and has an unusual mannerism of phrasing melody in the bass right under the vocal, hitting the same notes at the same time in the voice and guitar, with the emphasis matched up to a T.  I do not recall having heard any other musician in the genre do this the way Sam does it.  His raggy playing is rough in the best possible way--he would never be accused of being slick, but in fact, a lot of what he is doing is really difficult and he hits some extreme bends at high speed that would be very tough to equal, let alone surpass.  He is a great riffer, too.  His kind of hot wildness on this kind of material is unfortunately nowhere to be found nowadays--as I get older I find it more and more appealing than a slick "every note in its place" approach. 

What of the songs themselves?  "Devil In the Lion's Den", in Vastapol, shows all the characteristics discussed above, whereas "Slow Mama Slow" sounds more close to the style of Sam's neighbor, Joe Holmes, who recorded as King Solomon Hill.  "Jailhouse Blues", similarly in Vastapol, has a line where Sam says he is going to "take morphine and die", a line later used by Leadbelly in "Irene, Goodnight".  "Riverside Blues" is arguably Sam's hottest number in C, with enough musical ideas for three or four normal songs--it's also vaguely reminiscent of the work of fellow Mississippian Jimmie Rodgers.  "New Salty Dog" is what I would characterize as great hot Ragtime, really wild, and with unusually racy lyrics.  "Yellow Dog Blues" is one of Sam's most freely phrased numbers in Vastapol; the lyrics sound like he is making them up as he goes along, and sometimes he will begin a new verse in the middle of the form.  It's almost as though he is not settled on his own understanding of the form yet, and it is really Country-sounding.  "Pork Chop Blues", in C, sounds like it had its roots in minstrelsy or the Pop music of the turn of the century.  "Dark Cloudy Blues", in C, has a tremendous signature lick that starts in the bass and is answered in the treble.  "Hesitation Blues" showcases Sam's jumpy touch in C, and shares its melody with Charlie Poole's "If the River Was Whiskey" rather than Rev. Gary Davis's version of "Hesitation Blues".  "It Won't Be Long" is a real oddity.  It has a weird "interior monologue" sort of quality to it, and on a couple of occasions Sam sounds like he is grinding to a halt, only to start up again.  He hits some supernatural, eerie notes in the vocal, too.  "Do That Thing" is probably his quickest number in Vastapol--at times it almost has the sound of Kokomo Arnold.  "I Want To Be Like Jesus In My Heart" is just beautiful, and on it, Sam uses the register-changing device he so often employs on the guitar in his vocal.  "Loving Lady Blues" fits Sam's mold in Vastapol.  His recording of "Midnight Special Blues" is the earliest of that song, and on it he engages in some unusual harmonization of the melody.  For more discussion of it visit the Hearing Chord Changes thread in the Main Forum.  "Lead Me All The Way" is a sacred number in which the melody as played dovetails with the sung melody much more closely than usual.  The program concludes with "Graveyard Digger's Blues", a real odd man out, for it is played in A standard tuning.  It is quite similar to Blind Boy Fuller's later-recorded "Lost Lover Blues", and Sam does a nifty job of it, with some interesting harmonization, not at all giving you the feeling that he was working in an unfamiliar position.

Sam Collins unfortunately had a large number of titles recorded that were never released, 14 from one session alone!  I suppose we should be thankful for what we do have, though.  It is enough to put together a pretty rich aural picture of one of the greatest blues singers and exciting guitarists in the style.  Thanks to Yazoo for making this music available.
All best,
Johnm

[KC King]

John M. -
   
Unfortunately ? I think it?s out of print  ? I tried to order it through Yazoo Blues (when it was still going) and they couldn?t ship it. Then I went to Amazon and tried and they didn?t have any. Now there is someone selling a used copy for $64.99 at Amazon . I love Sam Collins, but not that much. This and Document?s Songster Tradition; two CDs I really wish I had that are both unavailable. Sam Collins and Luke Jordan;I like those Tenor Blues Singers. - Great pick

[uncle bud]

I'll have more to say about Sam Collins and John's review in another post when I have more time, but suffice to say I like Sam Collins enough to try ordering the Document even though it includes only 2 or 3 extra tracks plus a couple John Fox tracks that were available on Yazoo's Mississippi Masters CD I believe (another tremendous disc). It wasn't in stock last time I tried, but I notice on the Document website today it seems to be currently available. A shame that the Yazoo has gone out of print if true, since this is a great CD, one of my favorites. Collins is one of those players who should be more celebrated IMO. As a singer, certainly, he is among the best.

[uncle bud]

If anyone feels like calling and asking, Yazoo has a 1-800 number for ordering and the Sam Collins disc is still listed on their site. 1-800-497-1043.

[uncle bud]

You know, UB, you're only really provocative when you're wearing Bermuda shorts.-G-

I don't know that I actually own any Bermuda shorts but I'm sure I'd be provocative in them.

But to be more serious  , where did I read that Sam Collins' Yellow Dog Blues may have been the song famously heard by WC Handy when he first heard that young man (but not Collins) playing at the train station? I don't think it's in the liner notes (don't have them handy, he-he). Perhaps Tony Russell's book Blacks, Whites and Blues?

[Major Morgan]

I ordered the Document Sam Collins CD on the strength of John's review and took delivery of it last week. It is fantastic stuff. I'm particularly impressed with how he gets his slide playing in tune whilst his guitar is so out of tune!

[Rivers]

HeHe!

[frankie]

Been listening to this CD a bit lately...  with some players, it's the simple things that get me - ferinstance, nobody strums an E chord and makes it sounds as cool as Charlie Patton...  in the same vein, nobody but *nobody* (okay, maybe Tommy McClellan - sometimes!) plays as tough-sounding a C chord as Sam Collins!  The way he hammers that chord in Hesitation Blues just knocks me out!

admittedly easily amused...

[Johnm]

I know what you mean, Frank, I feel the same way about how Woody Guthrie sounded a G chord in standard tuning.  It just sounded so definitive.  I'm not sure that I understand why that was so.
All best,
Johnm

[unezrider]

hello friend,
thanks for the detailed description of this disc john! i just downloaded the album off of amazon the other day, & not having the liner notes sucks. but your description was appreciated.
i have had two songs of his on yazoo's 'lonesome road blues' disc, but i can't believe i haven't searched this guy out earlier. a very good musician with a very haunting, powerful vocal.
as a side note, i'm not a fan of downloading music this way. i'd rather have the hard copy in my hand. but for $40 for a used copy, & $100 for a new, $7.99 to download sounded about right to me 
chris

[Parlor Picker]

I'd better pull this one down off the shelf and revisit it!

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Isn't it crazy that not enough people are interested in purchasing a CD like this to justify keeping it in the Yazoo catalog, but it commands a used price of $40.00 and an unopened price of $100.00?  I find the economics of the re-issue market completely mystifying.  I'm not looking for an explanation and I don't know if there is one. 
For the time being at least, especially if you don't care for downloads, it would seem that the Document Sam Collins CD, DOCD-5034, is the best option.  If you believe in what Document is doing and has done in the past, I know they would appreciate any and all support.
all best,
Johnm

[Stuart]

I agree 100%, John. I don't really don't have any inside info either, and speculation won't bring it back into print. I agree that in the absence of the Yazoo CD, Document is the way to go. Allegro Music in Portland, OR distributes Document in the U.S.:

http://www.allegro-music.com/search_form.asp

If money is tight and/or you want to put the CD together using downloads, first check "Blues & Gospel from the 1920s & 1930s (1,600 Tracks!!)" at http://juneberry78s.com/ 

http://juneberry78s.com/sounds/index.htm

You'll first have to get a password from Norm, but once you're in, you'll have access to almost all of the tracks on the Yazoo "Crying Sam Collins" CD.

[LD50]

If anyone feels like calling and asking, Yazoo has a 1-800 number for ordering and the Sam Collins disc is still listed on their site. 1-800-497-1043.

I couldn't find it on their site (which hasn't been changed in any way in 2-3 years).

So someone still answers the phone when one calls Yazoo's number?

Needless to say the sound on the Yazoo is better than the Document, tho it should be admitted that the Sam Collins was one of Yazoo's earliest releases (1991) from when they abruptly went CD-only. 10-15 years later, Yazoo was putting out CD's with noticeably better sound. The prime example of this for Collins is Graveyard Digger's Blues; there's a noisy mastering of this on Jailhouse Blues, but it was also chosen as the Collins cut on The Best There Ever Was: The Legendary Early Blues Performers, where it sounds *much* better. (They might well have found a better copy of the 78 in the meantime.) Likewise, Collins' I Want To Be Like Jesus In My Heart sounds better on How Can I Keep From Singing Vol. 2: Early American Religious Music and Song than it does on the Collins CD.

As mentioned, Jailhouse Blues is missing four of Collins' 20 surviving cuts: I'm Still Sitting on Top of the World, My Road Is Rough & Rocky, Lonesome Road Blues and Signifying Blues, all from his 1931 ARC session. I have no idea why Yazoo chose to omit those, since CDs can certainly hold 20 3-minute songs, plus all 4 are great songs (esp. the beautiful My Road Is Rough & Rocky and Lonesome Road Blues, IMO). All 4 are of course on the Document, but Lonesome Road Blues sounds noticeably better on Yazoo's Before The Blues Vol. 1. Also, I burned an MP3 of My Road Is Rough & Rocky off my old copy of the Yazoo Lonesome Road Blues LP, and that MP3 sounds substantially better than the version on the Document CD (which was presumably taken off the Yazoo LP).

Fortunately I bought the Yazoo Collins CD before it went out of print, but if I had to build a Collins library now (and didn't want to drop the money for a used copy of the Yazoo CD), I'd download the Yazoo for $7.99 ($11.99 on iTunes), then buy MP3s of the stray remaining cuts off the Yazoo and Documents.

Incidentally, I can't listen to 78's on that Juneberry site -- trying to do so promptly kicks me out of Safari. Does anyone else have that experience?

[uncle bud]

My post was from May 2005, so I'm sure the info is outdated. I think Yazoo stopped doing business through their site quite some time ago.

I agree, the songs missing from the Yazoo are all worth seeking out, especially My Road is Rough and Rocky and Lonesome Road Blues. Two of my favorites of Collins' material. Though I have a lot of those.