Topic: Charley Patton 75 Year Anniversary Edition CD/DVD box set

[twangmeister]

Hi

Browsing on UK Amazon today I can across this Charley Patton package that I wasn't aware of.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Year-Anniversary-4CD-Charley-Patton/dp/B001URRY8I/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2QIAWRHZ0OM3V&colid=1TZ0K41WLXN79

It's got one 5 start review (no reviews yet on Amazon.com) and consists of three Cd's & one DVD.

The product description says in part;

"This 60 track set contains many of Patton?s best known songs as well as the sources for those songs and covers or variants by those artists that came after him. Also included is the DVD, ?Talkin? Patton?, that contains interviews with musicians, musicologists, blues scholars and Delta historians and contains brand new footage of Dockery?s, the legendary plantation where Patton was raised and where many people believe the Delta Blues truly blossomed as an art form"

I already have the JSP 5 CD set, but this looks interesting, particularly for the DVD. Has anyone already got this or have any thoughts on it?

[Stuart]

First I've heard of it. It's available on this side of the pond as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Years-Anniversary-Collection-Charley-Patton/dp/samples/B001URRY8I/ref=dp_tracks_all_1#disc_1

N.B. There's an earlier CD with the same title.

[Stumblin]

I'm kind of tempted by the DVD. Has anyone seen this? One is a tad skint lately...

[daddystovepipe]

Got it a few months ago.
The cd's are interesting; some unusual sources for Patton's songs.
The dvd is boring - all talk and no action apart from a few seconds of Bob Brozman showing some lapslide licks.
Don't buy this for the dvd only, you'll be dissapointed.

[Gumbo]

does anyone recognise the audio on this youtube of Patton's Spoonful?
It sounds way clearer than my JSP set

[misterjones]

I did an extensive Patton comparison last year.  I might be the only one, but I found the Revenant set to be disappointing.  (It's my understanding the JSP set is merely a copy of the Revenant set.)  Not surprisingly, Yazoo was the winner for the best sound beneath the decently reduced crackles and pops.  But I thought the Definitive set was a good choice for those who would rather not have to deal with the surface noise.  I put the Definitive set on when I'm in such a mood.

The Patton clip from Youtube sounds like it might be artificially enhanced a bit, which might indicate it's from the Pristine Classsical collection.  http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Jazz/PABL006.php  (Such enhancements don't bother me as much as they bother others.  I just see them as a different perspective on the music that supplements other CDs.)  I did not include the Pristine Classical version in my comparison.

I wonder if the 75th Anniversary set is just a copy of something already in curculation (e.g., the Document collections).

[Gumbo]

Hey misterjones. You know what's happening!

thanks for the insight. it's a strange thing listening to music and i'm sure it's been discussed a lot here, but i think i might be caught in the middle of sometimes surface noise sometimes clarity too, so it's good to have you point that out.

[Jonas A]

I got the Robert Johnson Pristine-cd's when they were released in Nov '07. The only RJ-collection I ever listen to. Really enjoy the Patton Revenant-box, but the Pristine-edition is what I listen to. And to anyone new to Pristine Records, I strongly recommend http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Jazz/PABB01.php

[Jonas A]

Any YT-clips from the 75-Charlie Patton dvd? My wish for 2011 would be a Bob Brozman-dvd w Charlie Patton-songs. I'm quite surprised that an entrepreneur like Bob, doesn't cash in on his Patton-skills and insights.

[modgar]

My apologies if this is a little off topic, but is the Revenant set worth it with the included John Fahey book on Patton?  How worthwhile is the Fahey book?

I find that I enjoy the Pristine classical recordings, also.

Thanks,
Gary

[slideaway]

My wish for 2011 would be a Bob Brozman-dvd w Charlie Patton-songs. I'm quite surprised that an entrepreneur like Bob, doesn't cash in on his Patton-skills and insights.

you are not alone in that thought, it has been suggested before elsewhere, and i'm positive he read those requests on another forum..  it is indeed a mystery to some of us! maybe the subject is just too sacred to him??? its not like he is averse to making/ and appearing in dvds is it! 

[dj]

My apologies if this is a little off topic, but is the Revenant set worth it with the included John Fahey book on Patton?  How worthwhile is the Fahey book?

The Fahey book was good for its time.  But when it was written there were still undiscovered Patton records out there, so there are holes in Fahey's discussion of Patton's music.  The book has largely been rendered obsolete by the other notes to the set:  David Evans' long biographical essay and shorter articles, lyric transcriptions, melodic motifs, etc. by other authors.  In my opinion, these notes are essential, while the Fahey book is a nice throw-in. 

[misterjones]

. . . thanks for the insight. it's a strange thing listening to music and i'm sure it's been discussed a lot here, but i think i might be caught in the middle of sometimes surface noise sometimes clarity too, so it's good to have you point that out.

I'm not saying anything new or profound here, but blues CDs seem to fall into three basic categories: (1) minimal noise reduction + vibrant sound (e.g., Yazoo); (2) lots of noise reduction + flat/muted sound (e.g., Sony Legacy); and (3) somewhere in between (e.g., the Definitive set I mentioned).  I fully understand where those who prefer (2) or (3) are coming from, especially those starting out listening to old recordings.  Yazoos used to drive me crazy.  Now I prefer them.  Classical and jazz have the same issues. 

[Parlor Picker]

It's generally 1) above for me. Worst of all are recordings treated with CEDAR which end up flat, lifeless and compressed.

[dj]

Worst of all are recordings treated with CEDAR which end up flat, lifeless and compressed.

That was certainly the case 20 years ago.  But I've been listening to some Archeophone releases, such as Real Ragtime, that were CEDARed more recently, and they sound pretty darned good (for old acoustic recordings).  I'm sure the technology has advanced, and I'm also sure that whoever is doing the mastering can adjust just how much filtering is done.  The Archeophone releases have changed my mind about CEDAR and software noise reduction in general, and I now think it can be used with good results.