Topic: Post-Rediscovery Additions to Skip James' Repertoire-The Vanguard Albums

[Johnm]

Hi all,
As has been alluded to in the "Skip James Lyrics" thread, at the time that Skip's Vanguard albums, "Skip James - Today" and "Devil Got My Woman", were released, there was some feeling expressed that they represented little more than some kind of musical afterthoughts to his Paramount recordings.  Listening to these Vanguard albums more recently, I've been struck by how much they added to Skip's recorded repertoire, and the extent to which they widened the scope of his sound as a singer and player.  I thought to take a look at the two albums' programs, and see the extent to which they consisted of re-recordings of songs he did for Paramount vs. previously unrecorded material for Skip.
Skip James - Today
1) Hard Time Killing Floor, cross-note, re-recorded
2) Crow Jane, E position, standard tuning, first time recording
3) Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues, cross-note, first time recording.  This is a fascinating 8-bar blues in the "Sitting On Top of the World" mold, with a haunting refrain--"He knew I was a good man, but I was a poor man, you can understand"
4) Special Rider Blues, spanish tuning, re-recorded
5) Drunken Spree, A position, standard tuning, re-recorded
6) Cherry Ball, cross-note, re-recorded
7) How Long, piano, re-recording of "How Long, Buck"
8 ) All Night Long, piano, re-recording of "If You Haven't Any Hay, Get On Down the Road".  In the course of the Vanguard rendition, Skip sings both "If you ain't got no hay, better be on your way" and "Get your habit in your hand, get on down the road".
9) Cypress Grove, cross-note, re-recorded
10) Look Down The Road, E position, standard tuning, first time recording.  Fascinating blues with short first line.
11) My Gal, E position, standard tuning, first time recording, Skip's re-working of Joe Pullum's "Black Gal"
12) I'm So Glad, cross-note, re-recorded

Skip James - Devil Got My Woman
1) Good Road Camp Blues, cross-note, first time recording
2) Little Cow, Little Calf Blues, piano, re-working of "Little Cow and Calf's Gonna Die Blues"
3) Devil Got My Woman, cross-note, re-recorded
4) Look At The People Standing At The Judgement, E position, standard tuning, first time recording of this very strong Gospel number
5) Worried Blues, E position, standard tuning, first time recording
6) 22.20 Blues, piano, re-recorded
7) Mistreating Child Blues, piano, first time recording
8 ) Sickbed Blues, cross-note, new but previously recorded live at the Newport Folk Festival
9) Catfish Blues, E position, standard tuning, first time recording, a sensational version of this standard
10) Lorenzo Blues, E position, standard tuning, first time recording of this beautiful slow blues
11) Careless Love, piano, first time recording of this standard, Skip plays it very sprightly
12) Illinois Blues, cross-note, re-recorded

Some of the songs I characterize as first-time recordings for Skip may have been on his first release after having been re-discovered, on the Melodeon label.  I will check and make any necessary corrections.  [NOTE:  The Melodeon album's program did include "Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues" and "Worried Blues", which it had as "Skip's Worried Blues".]  It is interesting to see how many new songs Skip did, though, on these records and also, how many were played in E position in standard tuning.  I've not heard the previously unreleased material that Vanguard has put out on CD, but judging from the titles, there is even more previously unrecorded material there, including a piano version of Hoagy Carmichael's "Lazybones".  I look forward to hearing those recordings as well.  It becomes apparent that Skip's music had a much wider range than might have been thought from only listening to his Paramount recordings.  It should be conceded, too, that he very well may have broadened that range in the intervening years between making those initial recordings and his rediscovery in 1964.  He was a fascinating musician, and I really recommend seeking out these Vanguard recordings if you've not heard them.
All best,
Johnm
 

[Slack]

Hi Johnm, I'm glad you reviewed these albums and could not agree with you more - they are great!  Not only because of the modern recording technology - so nice to have relatively clear recordings, but the new songs.  And I think Hospital Blues is my favorite - it is so strong.

I have not heard the unreleased Vanguard songs either but "Lazy Bones" is on youtube.

[Slack]

And Elijah Wald's comment on Amazon is well worth reading, as always.

http://www.amazon.com/Vanguard-Sessions-Blues-From-Delta/dp/B000009NLQ

[jpeters609]

Hi John,
Even earlier than these Vanguard sessions were the recordings made by Skip for Gene Rosenthal's  Adelphi label (which were not issued until the 1990's, on his Genes imprint). The Adelphi recordings were made in 1964, very soon after his rediscovery -- even predating (by several months) the Melodeon sessions.

There are two CD's worth of material. The first, "She Lyin'" (apparently a misapprehension of "See The Line" or perhaps "Sea Lion") is all guitar, and includes the following tracks:

1. All Night Long
2. Broke & Hungry
3. I'm So Glad
4. Bad Whiskey
5. Cypress Grove Blues
6. Catfish
7. Goin' Away to Stay
8. Crow Jane
9. Devil Got My Woman
10. She Lyin'
11. Drunken Spree
12. Black Gal
13. Illinois Blues
14. Worried Blues
15. Look Down the Road


The second, "Skip's Piano Blues," is just that (and it is this CD that includes "Lazy Bones" -- I don't believe the track actually appears on the Vanguard collection):

     1. All Night Long   
     2. Rock Island Blues   
     3. Little Boy, How Old Are You   
     4. Four O'clock Blues   
     5. Black Gal   
     6. Little Cow And Calf   
     7. How Long Blues   
     8. Vicksburg Blues
     9. Lazy Bones   
   10. Walking The Sea   
   11. 22-20 Blues
   12. Special Rider Blues

P.S. -- I believe it was the "She Lyin'" CD that Stephen Calt favored over the Vanguard releases, indicating that, essentially, Skip was still trying to play as he did in 1930 on these early Adelphi sessions but had given up and simplified his approach for the later Vanguard recordings. I may not have his critique exactly right, but I think that was the gist of his opinion.

[Johnm]

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the track listings on the Gene's CDs.  According to the track listing at Amazon, Lazy Bones is on the "Studio Sessions--Rare and Unreleased" Vanguard release, along with a host of other cuts I'll retrieve and list here soon.  Have to work now.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Here is the track listing for the Vanguard CD of Skip James, "Studio Sessions--Rare and Unreleased".  As you can see, it is pretty much all stuff he did not record for Paramount.

1. Backwater Blues
2. Everybody Ought to Live Right
3. I Want to Be More Like Jesus
4. Jack of Diamonds
5. My Last Boogie
6. Lazy Bones
7. Let My Jesus Lead You
8. My Own Blues
9. Oh, Mary Don't You Weep
10. Omaha Blues
11. Bumble Bee
12. One Dime Was All I Had
13. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning
14. Somebody Gonna Wish They Had Religion
15. Somebody Loves You
16. Sorry for to Leave You
17. Sporting Life Blues
18. They Are Waiting for Me
19. Walking the Sea

As a point of interest, here is the track listing for Skip's Melodeon album, which was the first recorded and released in his post-rediscovery period.

1. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
2. Sick Bed Blues
3. Washington HC Hospital Center Blues
4. Devil Got My Woman
5. Skip's Worried Blues
6. Illinois Blues
7. I Don't Want A Woman To Stay Up All Night Long
8. Cherry Ball Blues
9. All Night Long
10. Motherless & Fatherless

From this listing, we can see that the Vanguard albums were not the first recorded appearances of "Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues" or "Skip's Worried Blues" (called simply "Worried Blues" on the Vanguard release).  Since the Vanguard albums were released prior to the Gene's CDs, I think we would have to concede first appearance of many songs on both sets of recordings to Vanguard, because despite having been recorded after the Gene's CDs, they were released decades earlier.

John D., if you'd like to use the initial post for the front page, it's fine with me.  I'll make the note about the two cuts occurring on the Melodeon release, which is still available on vinyl from Amazon, by the way.

All best,
Johnm

[wreid75]

This is good stuff.  I wish someone else would write a Skip James book.  The Calt book had lots of facts but was caustic.  The man had to have his good points.  No one that could write music that good could be that horrible. 

[Stuart]

The two Vanguard LPs are some of my favorite music--been listening to them for 40+ years now. I also have a Biograph LP (12016) that was recorded in 1964. Here's Stefan's page:

http://www.wirz.de/music/jamesfrm.htm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Pan has brought to my attention that Cecil Gant's 1948 song, "I was A Good Man, But A Poor Man" used essentially the same refrain that Skip used for "Washington D. C. Hospital Center Blues", though in listening to Gant's recording, the effect was very different.  Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry used a very similar refrain in their 1958 recording of "I've Been Treated Wrong", too.  A case of "It ain't what you do, but how you do it.", I suppose.
All best,
Johnm

[Prof Scratchy]

Brownie did a lovely solo version of this song with piano accompaniment, available on his solo Xtra LP.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 4

[Bunker Hill]

Brownie did a lovely solo version of this song with piano accompaniment, available on his solo Xtra LP.

Prof I don't know how to tell you this but I?m A Good Man, But A Poor Man and So Long Mister Blues on that LP are sung and played by pianist Lee Roy Little.

This came to light when McGhee was in the UK in 1977. Those two songs on the Xtra LP were played to him from a cassette copy. He said it wasn't him but his one time pianist, Leroy Little (sic). Comparison of those two songs with Little's own recordings seemed to clinch it.

[Prof Scratchy]

I'm devastated BH! Will now have to reconstruct the past 45  years of my life! So how did they get on the Brownie solo LP? Still a great performance though IMO. I' m now away to track down the rest of Lee Roy's recordings!

By the way, since posting the above I've tracked down a version on Spotify of Lee Roy doing 'I'm a good man'. It sounds nothing like the version on the Brownie LP, either vocally or in respect of the piano style. Hmmmm?

Further addendum: Chris Smith writes: "Yes, Lee Roy Little it is. How? The content was licensed from Folkways; Moe Asch was, putting it mildly, not the world's most organised archivist, and evidently XTRA weren't bothered about checking what they'd received - and probably didn't have the knowledge with which to make such a check. There are also two tracks on the LP from the 'Sonny Terry's Washboard Band' session, at which McGhee was not present".

I must've bought that LP in 1967 or thereabouts. Must go back to the record shop and demand a refund!

[CF]

Wonderful John, I've always thought Skip's 1960s recordings were strong efforts. Calt's misguided critiques of this stuff seems to have coloured many others' opinions over the years, even the otherwise sound PENGUIN GUIDE TO BLUES RECORDINGS has Tony Russell rating the Vanguard releases very low (uniformly 2 stars out of a possible 5). Russell calls them '. . . uneven, and when set against earlier versions, technically flawed.'

[Bunker Hill]

This is good stuff.  I wish someone else would write a Skip James book.  The Calt book had lots of facts but was caustic.  The man had to have his good points.  No one that could write music that good could be that horrible. 

Here's the first published review of the James book from 1994.

http://www.kenficara.com/writing.php?article=skip

[Mr.OMuck]

Its been my heretical view for years that James' 60's work is actually superior to his earlier recordings. Other than athletics and dance, I don't know another field where people don't produce better, more interesting work as they get older. Well some people think theoretical physicists are all done by thirty..but painters, composers, writers mostly get deeper and more profound. I think that's what occurred with many of the early players who recorded again in the 60's.

[wreid75]

"I don't know another field where people don't produce better, more interesting work as they get older. "

I feel the same way about Son House and Mississippi John Hurt as well as others.  Sons hands may have been giving him trouble later in life but his voice was amazing.  I wish I could play as smoothly, crisp, and cleanly as Hurt now.  The crying/moaning quality to Skips voice only became more heartbreaking by the 60s.

[uncle bud]

Its been my heretical view for years that James' 60's work is actually superior to his earlier recordings. Other than athletics and dance, I don't know another field where people don't produce better, more interesting work as they get older. Well some people think theoretical physicists are all done by thirty..but painters, composers, writers mostly get deeper and more profound. I think that's what occurred with many of the early players who recorded again in the 60's.

I agree overall (there are some sublime moments in Skip's 1930s recordings of course). Those who disparage his rediscovery recordings are displaying a lack of musical judgement, whether temporary or otherwise.

Just putting a word in for the Studio Sessions - Rare and Unreleased CD. I really like this disc, and it's especially interesting if you are looking for additions to his repertoire, you can't go wrong. A mix of guitar and piano recordings, about 65% split. Lazy Bones is real nice too, with upright bass accompaniment. If you're thinking these are scraping the bottom type of recordings, they're not.

[Johnm]

It's good to hear that about "The Studio Sessions-Rare and Unreleased", uncle bud.  Looking at the track list, I saw some real warhorses that it would never have occurred to me that Skip played, like "Jack of Diamonds", "One Dime Blues" and "Bumble Bee".  I think it is particularly interesting to hear especially distinctive musicians like Skip play commonly played tunes, just because they often bring something so particular and different to the tunes.  I remember a number of years ago a duo recording of Brad Leftwich and Dan Gellert playing, almost exclusively, real Old-Time chestnuts, tunes that had just been run into the ground, and it was fantastic, just because Brad and Dan are such strong musicians and brought their own hearing and ideas to the tunes.  Maybe it's the same sort of thing with Skip and tunes like "Backwater Blues".
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Since last posting to this thread I picked up the Vanguard CD, "Skip James-Studio Sessions-Rare and Unreleased".  The track breakdown is as follows:

1) Backwater Blues-piano, not recorded for Paramount
2) Everybody Out to Live Right-E position, standard tuning, not recorded for Paramount
3) I Want to Be More Like Jesus-E position, standard tuning, not recorded for Paramount
4) Jack of Diamonds-cross-note, not recorded for Paramount
5) My Last Boogie-Cross-note, not recorded for Paramount
6) Lazy Bones-Piano, not recorded for Paramount
7) Let My Jesus Lead You-E position, standard tuning, not recorded for Paramount
8 ) My Own Blues-piano, not recorded for Paramount
9) Oh Mary Don't You Weep, E position, standard tuning, not recorded for Paramount
10) Omaha Blues-piano, not recorded for Paramount
11) Bumble Bee-E position, standard tuning, not recorded for Paramount
12) One Dime Was All I Had-cross-note, not recorded for Paramount
13) Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning-E position, standard tuning, not recorded for Paramount
14) Somebody Gonna Wish They Had Religion-E position, standard tuning, not recorded for Paramount
15) Somebody Loves You-piano, not recorded for Paramount
16) Sorry For To Leave You-piano, not recorded for Paramount
17) Sporting Life Blues-E position, standard tuning, not recorded for Paramount
18 ) They Are Waiting For Me-E position, standard tuning, not recorded for Paramount
19) Walking the Sea-piano, not recorded for Paramount

Notes:
   * Out of a 19 song program, only three of the songs were played by Skip out of cross-note tuning.  Despite the small percentage they comprise of the tunes, they are in no way weak sisters in comparison to the rest of the tunes (or Skip's cross-note performances on his two earlier Vanguard albums).  "My Last Boogie", in particular, is spectacular, and would have compared favorably to any of the cross-note tunes he recorded for Paramount.  "One Dime Was All I Had" employs Lemon's "One Dime Blues" lyrics, for the most part, but musically utilizes the same melody and accompaniment that Skip used for his "Sick Bed Blues".  It is very fine.  "Jack of Diamonds" is also a strong and distinctive version of that standard.
   * Seven of the songs in the program are religious numbers played out of E position in standard tuning.  E was Lemon's favorite playing position for religious numbers, too, and hearing Skip play these songs, one begins to develop the suspicion that Skip, like John Hurt and Charley Patton, could play hymns for as long as people could ask for another.  Skip also plays two blues, "Bumble Bee" and "Sporting Life Blues" out of E position in standard tuning, and of the two, "Bumble Bee" is by far the more distinctive, by no means a straight cover of that blues standard.  The heavy emphasis on pieces in E position in standard tuning makes one wonder whether at this stage of his playing, Skip had not perhaps shifted his primary allegiance to E position in standard tuning over cross-note, as had his contemporary Henry Townsend, who started out playing in cross-note, but by the post-60s period was playing just about everything he did on guitar out of E in standard tuning.
   * Skip's piano playing here has a lovely languid quality for the most part, eschewing the frenetic feel of such early performances as "Little Cow and Calf Gonna Die Blues".  "Walking The Sea" is unusual for Skip, both in being a religious tune that he chose to accompany on piano, and in being in 6/8, a very rarely encountered meter in this music.  He is joined by a female vocalist on "Walking The Sea" who is inexplicably not identified in the liner notes.
   * The impression I've gotten thus far in listening to these recordings, along with the earlier released "Skip James-Today" and "Skip James-Devil Got My Woman", is that Skip was closer to the musical mainstream (or had the capacity to be so) than an exposure to only his Paramount recordings would lead one to believe.  At the same, time, paradoxically, however close Skip ended up coming to the musical mainstream, he was still utterly distinctive and not like anyone else, something he was aware of, and proud of, I think.

All best,
Johnm

[Slack]

Great review Johnm, I now need to go pick buy this cd.  Very interesting observation about playing in E in later life.  Do you suppose it's easier to remember than cross note? Lost patience on retuning the guitar ?  Eg do you have any theories?

I mean you're around 60, playing more in E standard these days?  Haha...

[Johnm]

Thanks, John D.  As for theories as to why Skip or Henry may have shifted from cross-note to E standard, I would guess at 2 primary reasons:
   * First, and by far most important, E position in standard tuning gives you an easily accessible low-pitched, open string root for your IV chord.  The lack of a low root for the IV chord is the most significant weakness or limiting factor of the sound of cross-note tuning.  Think of Skip's most famous and emblematic tunes in cross-note--Devil Got My Woman, Hard Time Killing Floor, Cherry Ball, Cypress Grove, Illinois Blues--not a one of them has a IV chord.  Skip evidently decided it was better to avoid the IV chord in cross-note than to voice it with something other than its root in the bass.  You do actually have a low root for the IV chord in cross-note, but it's in a very inconvenient and user-unfriendly place, the fifth fret of the sixth string.  Who cares if you have it there?  You can't do anything with it anyway.  For a music that usually relies so heavily on the IV chord, specializing in cross-note and having to pretty much give it up the IV chord may have become tiresome.  Cross-note can have a strikingly distinctive sound, as both Skip and Henry Townsend demonstrated, but it is much less versatile than standard tuning in E.  For that matter, the EAEGBE tuning is more versatile than cross-note.
   * A much weaker reason for preferring E position in standard tuning to cross-note has to do with the fact that in cross-note you have a V note on the fifth string and a I note on the fourth string.  In E standard, you can walk up to that V note on the fifth string, and can similarly walk up to the I note on the fourth string.  In cross-note they are both givens, open strings that cannot be inflected.  This makes for a more flat timbre and monochromatic sound in cross-note.

Those are reasons why, in an ongoing way, I might prefer E in standard tuning to cross-note.  I can only guess as to whether or why Skip James or Henry Townsend might arrive at the same conclusion.  And even if they did arrive at that conclusion, it would still be subject to being over-turned on a case-by-case basis, depending on what particular song you might be talking about, especially in Skip's case.
All best,
Johnm