Budget Box Sets - Newsletter 146 - Blues, Gospel, R&B and Doo-Wop

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NEWSLETTER #146
Budget Box Sets
Blues, Gospel, R&B & Doo-Wop

BIG BILL BROONZY
BLIND BOY FULLER
LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS
THE INK SPOTS

MEMPHIS MINNIE
VARIOUS ARTISTS
MUDDY WATERS

BIG BILL BROONZY	JSP JSPCD 7718	All the Classic Sides, 1928-1937	● CD $28.98
5 CDs, 127 tracks, highly recommended It is not just that he was in the top rank of pre war guitarists, or that he was a fine singer with a considerable facility as a songwriter - part of Big Bill's genius lay in a unique ability to convey in his work the warmth of his personality. Established as a star of the Chicago scene by the mid 1930s, he filled out his many recording sessions by adapting songs from common stock or other people's hits, but when inspired he could produce performances of breathtaking skill, and songs which were truly memorable and enduring. Among many examples of his best work in this excellent box set are driving, complex rags like Saturday Night Rub and Pig Meat Strut, flatpicking masterpieces such as Mistreatin' Mama and How You Want It Done, superb straight blues like Bull Cow Blues and the stunningly effective Southern Flood Blues, and the rollicking Good Liquor Gonna Carry Me Down. Suffice to say there is plenty here that is hugely enjoyable - we even get a version of C.C.Rider with Big Bill on violin! The present set ends about half way through his pre war output, but JSP are promising two more to complete the series. Aside from the many single disc compilations, all this material has of course been previously reissued on Document, principally on DOCD 5050/51/52, 5126, 5127 and the first four titles of 5128. Compared to the Document series five titles are missing, but as these are an accompaniment to the obscure Steele Smith, two gospel songs attributed to a Broonzy studio group and two by the State Street Boys on which Jazz Gillum takes vocal, the JSP set is stronger without them. In their place JSP have corrected the errors and omissions on the Document CDs (as reflected in Document's "Too Late, Too Late Blues " Volumes 1 and 4, DOCD 5150 and 5321) and added five extra tracks from Bill's work with the Famous Hokum Boys. Again the set benefits as a result, as it does from Neil Slaven's excellent notes. Detailed comparison with the Document reissues shows a significant improvement in sound quality, with noticeably less crackle and hiss. Having said that there is only so much that can be done with badly worn originals without compromising the music, and some titles are still pretty rough. Elsewhere sound is excellent, and when comparing tracks from compilations based on better condition sides, like Columbia's "Good Time Tonight" (Col 467247) the JSP set matches or improves upon the sound quality. In other words, unless a load of mint condition 78s turn up, this reissue is likely to be as good as it gets. With the amount of Big Bill material already issued it is difficult to call this an essential set - so let's just say it's an unmissable bargain. (DPR)

BLIND BOY FULLER	JSP JSPCD 7735	1935-1938 Remastered	● CD $28.98
4 CDs, 100 tracks, highly recommended It is amazing how fresh Blind Boy Fuller's work sounds after nearly seventy years. His strong voice and cleanly picked National guitar greet you like a firm handshake, and his combination of blues and faster pieces - rags and hokum like What's That Smells Like Fish (blindness must have sharpened his other senses!) provides plenty of variety. His guitar style was influenced by Gary Davis and Blind Blake, and although more workmanlike was still highly effective. He could also play excellent slide, as he shows on Homesick And Lonesome Blues (inspired by his first recording trip to New York). Fuller gathered much of his material from records, so that each of these discs is also a quiz for blues fans to spot the sources, but really the music is too enjoyable and Fuller's reworkings so complete as to make such considerations irrelevant. Among many highlights are the sessions for Decca that produced the lovely Weeping Willow, and the final session here which ends with Blacksnakin' Jiver, unfortunately damaged but which might almost be a Blind Blake recording. Fuller is supported by some great washboard playing from Bull City Red while the later sessions see the start of Sonny Terry's long recording career (on Fuller's recommendation). The 38 remaining tracks which will complete this chronological reissue are scheduled for release as part of an East Coast box in 2005. JSP have done another very thorough remastering job here, and apart from a handful of noticeably worn or damaged sides sound quality is very good throughout. There is very little to choose between the sound here and corresponding tracks on the best sounding single disc compilation (Columbia CK46777) except there is slightly less background hiss on some of the JSP transfers. Elsewhere sound is generally significantly better than on other reissues including the complete works on Document. It is particularly pleasing to hear previously noisy but important tracks like the autobiographical Big House Bound in reasonable quality. Neal Slaven, as is now customary with this series, provides detailed notes on Fuller's life and career, noting that, although Fuller was the much more popular in the 30s, his reputation "sheds a pale light compared with the mega-wattage [Robert] Johnson has had thrust upon him". No matter, Fulton Allen was an outstanding artist. Keep on truckin'. (DPR)

BLIND BOY FULLER	JSP JSPCD 7772	Volume 2 + Bull City Red, Cedar Creek Sheik & Others	● CD $28.98
4 CDs, 100 tracks, essential Blind Boy Fuller Volume 1 (JSP 7735) was excellent: this set completes his output and fills out a satisfying box with the work of other east coast artists. On the opening disc it is Fuller's March 1940 sessions which stand out - tracks like Shake It Baby and Somebody's Been Talkin' are among his best uptempo work, while the interesting structure of the eight bar Little Woman You're So Sweet adds further variety. Fuller also now started to record religious material. Whatever the motivation for the gospel sides though, it is difficult to think of him as anything other than a bluesman. Twelve Gates To The City may be brilliantly sung, but it is the embittered, weary opening verse of Crooked Woman Blues which follows that stays longer in the mind. Disc B begins with Fuller's last session and despite many fine performances like Thousand Woman Blues and Lost Lover Blues provides a chance to play the "you can tell he was ill" game. Neal Slaven nibbles at the subject in his very good booklet notes, but the much quoted "my left side jump, baby, and my flesh begin to crawl" line from Night Rambling Woman, his last recording, also appeared on Passenger Train Woman, an earlier version of the song. The rest of Disc B features the solo work of Bull City Red aka George Washington, Fuller's washboard player - fair enough as a guitarist and vocalist in the Fuller style, but whose best work was as a brilliant accompanist to the master. Disc C is a straight reissue of the tracks on Old Tramp OTCD OTCD-03, in the same order. Cedar Creek Sheik (who may have been white) and Roosevelt Antrim are both limited performers: the Sheik concentrates on novelty and hokum songs while Antrim essays three amateurish blues which share verses and are virtually one performance. Virgil Childers is much better, and you can imagine him as a true traveling man with his repertoire of minstrel show songs and blues. Sonny Jones, who closes the disc, was clearly influenced by Fuller and was a decent guitarist but a rather uninteresting singer. The final disc is a harder edged affair. The talented Floyd "Dipper Boy" Council usually only gets recognition nowadays as providing inspiration in the naming of Pink Floyd, but like the Trice brothers who also feature he knew Fuller and played in a similar style. Council was also clearly influenced by Blind Blake, as Lookin' For My Baby demonstrates. Frank Edwards' six titles are different - although an east coast bluesman he had a more Chicago style sound (his two 1949 sides not on Document DOCD 5426 are included). A nice bonus is the final four tracks by Denis McMillon. McMillon was a skilled guitarist and strong singer who could play nice slide as well as the infectious rhythms which propel Paper Wooden Daddy (appearing, to the best of my knowledge, for the first time on CD, and which may have been inspired by Fuller's I'm A Rattlesnakin' Daddy). It is a pity that space limitations prevented the reissue of the three alternate takes of McMillon's work. Sound quality of the Fuller and Washington titles is generally very good, providing worthwhile upgrades over previous reissues. Elsewhere the tracks which appeared on Old Tramp are better presented, with some sounding clearer as well as less noisy. Sound is also better than on the Floyd Council and Trice brothers' tracks which appeared on Document DOCD 5168. Altogether this is a very nice set which brings together some important performances in one neat package. (DPR) ROOSEVELT ANTRIM: Complaint To Make/ I Guess You�re Satisfied/ No Use Of Worryin�/ Station Boy Blues/ BULL CITY RED: Black Woman & Poison Blues/ Everybody Wants To Know How I Die/ Have You Decided (Which Way To Go)/ I Feel Like Shoutin�/ I Saw The Light/ I See The Sign Of Judgement/ I Won�t Be Dogged Around/ Jesus Touched Me/ Mississippi River/ Now I�m Talking About You/ Pick And Shovel Blues/ Richmond Blues/ Talkin� With Jesus/ CEDAR CREEK SHEIK: Buy It From A Poultry Man/ Don�t Credit My Stuff/ Don�t Use That Stuff/ Ford V-8/ I Believe Somebody�s Been Ridin� My Mule/ Jimmy Shut His Store Doors/ Mary Had A Little Lamb/ She�s Totin� Something Good/ Watch The Fords Go By/ What A Pity/ VIRGIL CHILDERS: Dago Blues/ Preacher And The Bear/ Red River Blues/ Somebody Stole My Jane/ Travelin� Man/ Who�s That Knockin� At My Door/ FLOYD "DIPPER BOY" COUNCIL: Don�t Want No Hungry Woman/ I�m Grievin� & I�m Worryin�/ Lookin� For My Baby/ Poor And Ain�t Got A Dime/ Runaway Man Blues/ Working Man Blues/ FRANK EDWARDS: Gotta Get Together/ Love My Baby/ Sweet Man Blues/ Terraplane Blues/ Three Women Blues/ We Got To Get Together/ BLIND BOY FULLER: Baby Quit Your Low Down Ways Tk 1/ Baby Quit Your Low Down Ways Tk 2/ Big Leg Woman Gets My Pay/ Black Bottom Blues/ Blue And Worried Man/ Bus Rider Blues/ Bye Bye Baby/ Crooked Woman Blues/ Good Feeling Blues/ I Crave My Pigmeat/ I Don�t Care How Long/ I Don�t Want No Skinny Woman/ I Want Some Of Your Pie/ It Doesn�t Matter Baby/ I�m A Stranger Here/ Jesus Is A Holy Man/ Jivin� Big Bill Blues/ Little Woman You�re So Sweet/ Lost Lover Blues/ Must Have Been My Jesus/ Night Rambling Woman/ No Stranger Now/ Passenger Train Woman/ Precious Lord/ Red�s Got The Piccolo Blues/ Shake It Baby/ Somebody�s Been Talkin�/ Step It Up And Go/ Thousand Woman Blues/ Three Ball Blues/ Twelve Gates To The City/ When You Are Gone/ Woman You Better Wake Up/ Worn Out Engine Blues/ You Can�t Hide From The Lord/ You Got To Have Your Dollar/ You�ve Got Something There/ LITTLE BOY FULLER (RICH TRICE): Bed Spring Blues/ Blood Red River Blues/ Come On Baby/ Down-Hearted Man/ Lazy Bug Blues/ Pack It Up And Go/ Shake Your Stuff/ Trembling Bed Springs/ SONNY JONES: Dough Roller/ I�m Pretty Good At It/ Love Me With A Feeling/ Won�t Somebody Pacify My Mind/ DENNIS MCMILLON: Goin� Back Home/ Paper Wooden Daddy/ Poor Little Angel Girl/ Woke Up One Morning/ WELLY TRICE: Come On In Here Mama/ Let Her Go God Bless Her

LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS	JSP JSPCD 7705	All The Classics, 1946-1951	● CD $28.98
5 CDs, 126 tracks, essential This set covers the first five years of Lightnin's recording career, a time when he was at his creative peak. A variety of companies have previously re-issued some of these sides, notably EMI ["The Complete Aladdin Sessions") and Arhoolie ("The Gold Star Sessions Volumes 1 & 2"). All the Aladdin tracks are here apart from four with pianist Thunder Smith where Smith took the vocal, and all the Arhoolie/Gold Star material is included. The remaining titles cover 1950/1 when Hopkins recorded for the Sittin' In With, Jax and Mercury labels. By the time of his recording debut Hopkins had nearly twenty years' experience as a performer and all the elements of his style were firmly established. Transforming traditional blues themes into songs uniquely his own, his world weary vocal style was perfectly balanced by evocative, free flowing guitar phrases. Katy Mae/ Someday Baby/ Short Haired Woman/ Picture On The Wall/ Shotgun/ Fast Mail Rambler, many tracks here really are classics, and although his inspiration may have faltered on some of the early 50s cuts, the overall standard is excellent. Unfortunately these records were made for small town labels and often poorly produced. As a result at times they tend to have a slightly flat sound and occasionally suffer from acoustic problems. JSP have a good reputation for their remastering but on comparing these transfers with the EMI and Arhoolie reissues mentioned above I could detect no appreciable difference in sound quality. The sound improves on the later titles but by this time Lightnin' is saddled with a solitary bass player who plods along behind him and becomes pretty irritating. Still, Hopkins is in fine voice on these later sides, and there is much to enjoy on tracks like Give Me Central 209 or the Hooker-inspired Freight Train Blues. Altogether this is a very worthwhile package and is supported by notes from Neil Slaven which give fascinating insights into Lightnin's life and personality. As is often the case with small post war labels, discographical information is vague and unreliable, and even titles appear uncertain: at any rate there are a number of discrepancies in the titles used here compared with earlier reissues. Having said that it is great to have all this important music in one set at a bargain price. JSP have again delivered the goods. (DPR) LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS: Abilene/ Ain't It A Shame/ Airplane Blues/ All I Got Is Gone/ Appetite Blues/ Automobile/ Automobile Blues/ Baby Child/ Baby Please Don't Go/ Baby, You're Not Going To Make A Fool Out Of Me/ Bad Luck And Trouble/ Bald Headed Woman/ Beggin' You To Stay/ Big Mama Jump/ Black Cat Bone/ Bluebird Blues/ Broken Hearted Blues/ Can't Get That Woman Off My Mind/ Changing Weather Blues/ Coffee Blues/ Come Back Baby/ Contrary Mary/ Coolin' Board Blues/ Daddy Will Be Home One Day/ Dark And Cloudy/ Death Bells/ Dirty House/ Don't Think I'm Crazy/ Down Baby/ Down To The River/ European Blues/ Everybody's Down On Me/ Everything Happens To Me/ Fast Life/ Fast Mail Rambler/ Feel So Bad/ Freight Train Blues/ Give Me Central 209/ Goin' Back And Talk To Mama/ Gone With The Wind/ Good-bye Blues/ Gotta Move/ Grievance Blues/ Grosebeck Blues/ Have To Let You Go/ Henny Penny Blues/ Honey Honey Blues/ Howling Wolf Blues/ I Just Don't Care/ I Wonder Why/ I'm Begging You/ I've Been A Bad Man/ Ida Mae/ Jackstropper Blues/ Jail House Blues/ Katie Mae Blues/ Let Me Fly Your Kite/ Let Me Play With Your Poodle/ Lighting Blues/ Lightnin's Boogie/ Lightnin's Boogie/ Lightnin's Gone Again/ Lonesome Home/ Long Way From Texas/ Loretta Blues/ Mad With You/ Mercy/ Miss Loretta/ Miss Me Blues/ Mistreater Blues/ Moonrise Blues/ Morning Blues/ My California/ New Short Haired Woman/ New York Boogie/ Nightmare Blues/ No Good Woman/ No Mail Blues/ Old Woman Blues/ One Kind Of Flavor/ Organ Boogie/ Papa Bones Boogie/ Picture On The Wall/ Praying Ground Blues/ Racetrack Blues/ Rocky Mountain Blues/ Rollin' Blues/ Rollin' Woman Blues/ Sad News From Korea/ See See Rider/ Seems Funny Baby/ She's Almost Dead/ Shining Moon/ Short Haired Woman/ Shotgun/ So Long/ Somebody's Got To Go/ Someday Baby/ Sugar Mama/ T-Model Blues/ Tell It Like It Is/ Tell Me Boogie/ That Mean Old Twister/ Thinkin' And Worryin'/ Tim Moore's Farm/ Traveler's Blues/ Treat Me Kind/ Trying To Find A Friend/ Unkind Blues/ Unsuccessful Blues/ Untrue Blues/ Walking Blues/ What Can It Be/ Whiskey Blues/ Whiskey Headed Woman/ Why Did You Get Mad At Me/ Woman Woman/ Worried Life Blues/ You Caused My Heart To Weep/ You Don't Know/ Zologo

THE INK SPOTS	Jasmine 6-4	The Golden Age Of The Ink Spots	● CD $29.98
Four CD, 101 tracks, essential The most comprehensive reissue of this immensely popular and influential vocal group featuring recordings made between 1935 and 1950. Initially featuring the lead of Jerry Daniels he was replaced in 1936 by high tenor Bill Kenny who was to be the distinctive lead voice of the group through to 1952. Kenny was joined by bass singer Orville "Hoppy" Jones plus Charlie Fuqua and Ivory "Deek" Watson. Their style was to provide the template for the doo-wop groups that started emerging in the 40s and early 50s. This set includes all their most popular ballads and jump songs as well as all seven duets they did with Ella Fitzgerald. Their earlier sides were a mix of ballads and jazzy jump tunes and achieved only modest popularity but when they recorded the ballad If I Didn't Care they hit it big and future recordings were to be dominated by ballads, often with the immediately recognizable guitar intro by Fuqua and the bass vocal bridge of "Hoppy" Jones. From here This set includes most their most popular sides (several of them topping the charts) including If I Didn't Care/ Address Unknown/ My Prayer (the Platters' 1956 hit version of the song is closely patterned on the Ink Spots version)/ Maybe/ We Three/ Do I Worry/ I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire/ Don't Get Around Much Anymore/ Cow Cow Boogie (with Ella Fitzgerald)/ Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall/ The Gypsy/ To each His Own and many more. Excellent sound and 12 page booklet with notes by Geoff Milne. (FS) THE INK SPOTS: 'tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do/ A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening/ Address Unknown/ Alabama Barbecue/ Always/ As You Desire Me/ Bewildered/ Bless You/ Brown Gal/ Christopher Columbus/ Coquette/ Cow-cow Boogie (with Ella Fitzgerald)/ Do I Worry?/ Don' Get Around Much Any More/ Don't Ever Break A Promise/ Don't Let Old Age Creep Upon You/ Driftwood/ Ev'ry Night About This Time/ Foo-gee/ Give Her My Love/ Hey Doc!/ Home Is Where The Heart Is/ I Cover The Waterfront/ I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire/ I Get The Blues When It Rains/ I Still Feel The Same About You (with Ella Fitzgerald)/ I Wish You The Best Of Everything/ I'd Climb The Highest Mountain/ I'll Get By/ I'll Make Up For Everything/ I'll Never Smile Again Until I Smile At You/ I'm Beginning To See The Light (with Ella Fitzgerald)/ I'm Gonna Turn Off The Teardrops/ I'm Making Believe (with Ella Fitzgerald)/ I'm Still Without A Sweetheart ('cause I'm Still In Love With You)/ I'm Through/ I've Got A Bone To Pick With You/ If I Didn't Care/ Information Please/ Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall (with Ella Fitzgerald)/ It's A Sin To Tell A Lie/ It's All Over But The Crying/ It's Funny To Everyone But Me/ Java Jive/ Just For Me/ Keep Away From My Doorstep/ Keep Cool, Fool/ Knock-kneed Sal (on The Mourner's Bench)/ Let's Call The Whole Thing Off/ Little Small Town Girl (with Ella Fitzgerald)/ Maybe/ Memories Of You/ Mine, All Mine My, My/ My Greatest Mistake/ My Prayer/ No Orchids For My Lady/ Nothing'/ Oh! Red/ Old Joe's Hittin' The Jug/ Please Take A Letter, Miss Brown/ Pork Chops And Gravy/ Prisoner Of Love/ Puttin' And Takin'/ Ring, Telephone, Ring/ Shout, Brother, Shout/ Sincerely Yours/ Slap That Bass/ So Sorry/ Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat/ Stompin' At The Savoy/ Stop Pretending/ Street Of Dreams/ Swing High, Swing Low/ That Cat Is High/ That's The Way It Is (with Ella Fitzgerald)/ That's When Your Heartaches Begin/ That's Where I Came In/ The Best Things In Life Are Free/ The Gipsy/ The Sweetest Dream/ This Is Worth Fighting For/ Thoughtless/ To Each His Own/ To Remind Me Of You/ Until The Real Thing Comes Along/ We Three (my Echo, My Shadow And Me)/ What Can I Do?/ What Good Would It Do?/ When The Sun Goes Down/ When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano/ Whispering Grass (don't Tell The Trees)/ Who Wouldn't Love You?/ Whoa, Babe!/ With Plenty Of Money And You/ Yes, Suh!/ Can You Look Me In The Eyes?/ You Breaking My Heart All Over Again/ You Bring Me Down/ You Were Only Fooling (while I Was Falling In Love)/ You're Breaking My Heart/ Your Feet's Too Big

MEMPHIS MINNIE	JSP JSPCD 7741	Queen Of The Delta Blues, Volume 2 : 1937-1953	● CD $28.98
5 CDs, 121 tracks, essential Memphis Minnie Volume 1 (JSP 7716 - $28.98) was one of the best reissues of 2004, and this second set, covering the rest of the great singer guitarist's career, provides plenty more to enjoy. Compared to corresponding reissues on Wolf, JSP have restricted the sometimes numerous alternate takes of Minnie's later recordings, which makes the set a good deal easier to listen to. A less understandable omission is the exclusion of four songs she recorded for Chess in 1952 (they were reissued on Wolf WBCD -010). Sides where Minnie is supporting husband Ernest Lawlars (Little Son Joe) are included. The first disc picks up the story in 1937, by which time Minnie was recording with small groups which included talented pianist Blind John Davis. With titles like Keep On Sailing/ Keep On Eating and Keep On Walking, there is something of a production line feel to these early sides (although the first is a droll reworking of Bumble Bee Slim's Sail On, Sail On Blues), but they are lifted out of the ordinary by Minnie's fine singing and forceful personality, and nice touches like Charlie McCoy's mandolin. The next four sessions which make up disc two are among the high points of Minnie's career. Tracks like Nothing In Rambling/ Ma Rainey/ In My Girlish Days and of course Me and My Chauffeur Blues are rightly regarded as classics, but the overall standard is superb. Call The Fire Wagon is a delightful echo of her early guitar style, while the evocative Lonesome Shack Blues highlights Minnie's gift for projecting a fantasy - in this case having a shack to escape to from an abusive relationship. Disc three, which opens with Minnie's last pre war session, starts promisingly with I'm Not A Bad Girl, and includes Looking The World Over, a song she reputedly sung to win one of her famous blues contests against Big Bill. The rest of this disc and the first session on disc four though represent a difficult transitional period. After a three year break from recording Minnie was trying to update her sound but the results were disappointing, with some mediocre material, an unbalanced sound on some sessions and Minnie's voice (a shade heavier and sounding almost like her husband's) straining against electric guitars or being worn out by repeated takes. Thankfully by her last 1946 session she is singing and playing much better, and new songs like Daybreak Blues from the following year represent an emphatic return to form. The final disc may give a flavour of Minnie's nightclub act, a mixture of popular songs and blues. The popular songs are not really suited to her style or personality, but the Chicago style blues are often very good, even if Sweet Man and Kidman Blues look back to Bumble Bee and Mr.Tango from 1930. World Of Trouble is also Minnie in top form, only the overcooked Night Watchman Blues jarring a little. The set ends with Little Son Joe, whose best moment was Black Rat Swing, trying to sound like Robert Nighthawk: a sign of the times. Minnie's last two private recordings from 1959 have never been found. Sound quality is generally very good with only a handful of tracks having any appreciable noise and even here listening is always comfortable. Compared to previous reissues sound is as good as on compilations from Columbia, Indigo and Charly, and the noisier tracks are better presented than on Blues Document. Neal Slaven again delivers some nicely judged and informative notes, having space to discuss the music as well as providing biography. Although Volume 2 is a little more uneven than its predecessor, it still contains a lot of wonderful, timeless performances. Listen to Volume 1 as well and you just might suspect that in her time Memphis Minnie made more outstanding records than any other blues singer. (DPR) LITTLE SON JOE: A Little Too Late/ A.b.c. Blues/ Black Rat Swing/ Bone Yard Blues/ Diggin' My Potatoes/ Ethel Bea/ I'd Write A Letter/ Just Had To Holler/ Key To The World/ My Black Buffalo/ Tuff Luck Blues/ MEMPHIS MINNIE: (i Hope) Luck Will Change Some Day (take 2)/ (i Hope) Luck Will Change Some Day (take 3)/ (oh) Believe Me/ As Long As I Can See You Smile/ Bad Outside Friends/ Black Widow Stinger/ Blues Everywhere/ Boy Friend Blues/ Call The Fire Wagon/ Can't Afford To Lose My Man/ Daybreak Blues (blue Monday Blues) (take 3)/ Daybreak Blues (take 2)/ Don't Lead My Baby Wrong/ Don't Turn The Card/ Down By The Riverside/ Down Home Girl/ Down In The Alley (take 1)/ Down In The Alley (take 2)/ Fashion Plate Daddy/ Finger Print Blues/ Fish Man Blues (take 2)/ Fish Man Blues (take 3)/ Good Biscuits/ Good Soppin' (take 3)/ Got To Leave You (no. 1) (take 1)/ Got To Leave You (no. 1) (take 4)/ Got To Leave You (no. 2) (take 1)/ Got To Leave You (no. 2) (take 2)/ Has Anyone Seen My Man/ Hold Me Blues (no. 2)/ Hold Me Blues (take 1)/ Hold Me Blues (take 2)/ Hold Me Blues (take 3)/ Hold Me Blues (take 4)/ I Am Sailin'/ I Got To Make A Change Blues/ I Hate To See The Sun Go Down/ I'd Rather See Him Dead/ I'm Going Don't You Know/ I'm Not A Bad Girl/ I'm So Glad/ I've Been Treated Wrong/ In Love Again/ In My Girlish Days/ It Was You Baby/ It's Hard To Please My Man/ Jump Little Rabbit/ Keep On Eating/ Keep On Sailing/ Keep On Walking/ Keep Your Big Mouth Closed/ Kidman Blues (take 1)/ Kidman Blues (take 2)/ Killer Diller (take 1)/ Killer Diller Blues (no. 2)/ Killer Diller From The South (take 4)/ Kissing In The Dark/ Lean Meat Won't Fry (take 1)/ Lean Meat Won't Fry (take 3)/ Lonesome Shack Blues/ Looking The World Over/ Love Come And Go/ Low Down Man Blues/ Ma Rainey/ Me An My Chauffeur Blues/ Mean Mistreater Blues/ Million Dollar Blues/ Moaning Blues (no. 1) (take 1)/ Moaning Blues (no. 1) (take 3)/ Moaning Blues (no. 1) (take 4)/ Moaning Blues (no. 2)/ My Baby Don't Want Me No More (take 1)/ My Baby Don't Want Me No More (take 2/ My Gage Is Going Up/ My Man Is Gone Again (take 1)/ My Man Is Gone Again (take 3)/ New Caught Me Wrong Again/ Night Watchman Blues/ Night Watchman Blues/ Nothing In Rambling/ Pig Meat On The Line/ Please Don't Stop Him/ Please Set A Date/ Poor And Wandering Woman Blues/ Remember Me Blues/ Running And Dodging Blues (take 1)/ Running And Dodging Blues (take 2)/ Shout The Boogie (take 3)/ Shout The Boogie (take 4)/ Stop Lying On Me/ Sweet Man/ Tears On My Pillow/ The Man I Love (take 3)/ The Man I Love (take 4)/ The Man I Love (take 5)/ This Is Your Last Chance/ Three Times Seven Blues/ Tonight I Smile With You/ True Love/ Walking And Crying Blues/ Wants Cake When I'm Hungry/ Western Union/ What A Night/ When My Man Comes Home/ When You Love Me/ Why Did I Make You Cry/ World Of Trouble/ Worried Baby Blues/ You Got To Get Out Of Here/ You Need A Friend

VARIOUS ARTISTS	Boulevard Vintage 1006	The R&B Years - 1950	● CD $24.98
Four CD set with 100 great blues and R&B titles that were popular in 1950. Like the previous volumes there is some duplication with the similarly themed Indigo titles but with 100 tracks here there's a lot of stuff not on Indigo. ARCHIBALD: Stack-A-Lee Part 1./ Stack-A-Lee Part 2./ DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Ain't Gonna Do It/ Country Boy/ CALVIN BOZE: Safronia B/ Waiting And Drinking/ TINY BRADSHAW: Breaking Up The House/ I'm Going Have To Myself A Ball/ Well Oh Well/ CHARLES BROWN: My Baby's Gone/ Repentance Blues/ CLARENCE "GATEMOUTH" BROWN: Boogie Rambler/ GATEMOUTH BROWN: She Walks Right In/ ROY BROWN: Cadillac Blues/ Hard Luck Blues/ Love Don't Love Nobody/ RUTH BROWN: Teardrops From My Eyes/ WALTER BROWN: New Style Baby/ HAROLD BURRAGE: Hi Yo Silver/ ROY BYRD: Bald Head/ Mardi Gras In New Orleans/ GOREE CARTER: Come On, Let's Boogie/ RAY CHARLES: Late In The Evening Blues/ PEE WEE CRAYTON: Louella Brown/ FRANK CULLEY: Waxie Maxie Boogie/ LARRY DARNELL: I Love My Baby/ FLOYD DIXON: Girl Fifteen/ FATS DOMINO: Little Bee/ The Fat Man/ TOMMY DOUGLAS: Lights Out/ LOWELL FULSON: Blue Shadows/ Every Day I Have The Blues/ CLARENCE GARLOW: Bon Ton Roula/ LLOYD GLENN: Old Time Shuffle Blues/ BIG JOHN GREER: Rocking Jenny Jones/ LIONEL HAMPTON & THE HAMPTONS: Rag Mop/ WYNONIE HARRIS: Good Morning Judge/ Mr Blues Is Coming To Town/ Rock Mr Blues/ Sittin' On It All The Time/ ROY HAWKINS: My Temper Is Rising/ Why Do Things Happen To Me/ SMOKEY HOGG: Little School Girl/ HELEN HUMES: Million Dollar Secret/ IVORY JOE HUNTER: I Almost Lost My Mind/ BUDDY & ELLA JOHNSON: I'm Tired Crying Over You/ LOUIS JORDAN: Blue Light Boogie (Parts 1 & 2)/ School Days/ JEWEL KING: 3x7=21/ ANNIE LAURIE & PAUL GAYTEN: I Ain't Gonna Let You In/ JULIE LEE: My Man Stands Out/ JIMMY LEWIS: Getting Old/ SMILEY LEWIS: Growing Old/ Tee-Nah-Nah/ JIMMY LIGGINS: Saturday Night Boogie Woogie/ JOE LIGGINS: Pink Champagne/ LITTLE ESTHER & MEL WALKER: Cupid's Boogie/ LITTLE ESTHER & THE ROBINS: Double Crossing Blues/ LITTLE ESTHER & MEL WALKER: Mistrustin' Blues/ LITTLE WILLIE LITTLEFIELD: Happy Pay Day/ Rockin' Chair Mama/ NELLIE LUTCHER & NAT KING COLE: For You My Love/ EDDIE MACK: Gonna Hoot and Holler Saturday Night/ PERCY MAYFIELD: Please Send Me Someone To Love/ BIG JAY MCNEELY: Jay's Frantic/ MEMPHIS SLIM: Slim's Blues/ AMOS MILBURN: Bad Bad Whiskey/ I'm Just A Fool In Love/ Sax Shack Boogie/ Walking Blues/ LUCKY MILLINDER & JOHN GREER: Let It Roll Again/ ROY MILTON: Information Blues/ Junior Jives/ Playboy Blues/ FREDDIE MITCHELL: Fish Market Boogie/ JOE MORRIS WITH LAURIE TATE: Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere/ CHUBBY NEWSOME: You Better Find A Job/ CECIL PAYNE: Ham Hocks/ KING PERRY: Everything's Gonna Be Alright/ GENE PHILIPS: Slippin' And Slidin'/ PIANO RED: Rockin' With Red/ JIMMY PRESTON: Oh Babe!/ THE RAVENS: I Don't Have To Ride No More/ THE RAY-O-VACS: Besame Mucho/ THE ROBINS: If It's So Baby/ MARYLYN SCOTT: Beer Bottle Boogie/ HAL SINGER: Rock Around The Clock/ BOBBY SMITH: After Hours/ R.B. THIBADEAUX: R.B. Boogie/ JOE THOMAS: Wham-A-Lam/ JOE TURNER: Feelin' Happy/ EDDIE VINSON: Queen Bee Blues/ MEL WALKER: Rockin' Blues/ T-BONE WALKER: Glamour Girl/ You Don't Love Me/ CROWN PRINCE WATERFORD: Time To Blow/ LESTER WILLIAMS: Dowling Street Hop/ I'm So Happy I Could Jump and Shout/ PAUL WILLIAMS: Rye Boogie/ JIMMY WITHERSPOON: Failing By Degrees/ BILLY WRIGHT: Man's Brand Boogie

VARIOUS ARTISTS	Boulevard 1011	The R&B Years - 1954	● CD $24.98
Another great collection featuring 100 blues, R&B and doo-wop titles issued in 1954 including hits and lesser known sides. About 25% of the tracks are duplicated on Indigo 2565. JOHNNY ACE: Never Let Me Go/ FAYE ADAMS: It Hurts Me To My Heart/ LAVERN BAKER: Tweedle Dee/ DAVE BARTHOLOMEW: Jump Children/ JIMMY BINKLEY: Wine, Wine, Wine/ OTIS BLACKWELL: Oh! What A Babe!/ TINY BRADSHAW: Overflow/ CHARLES BROWN: I Want To Fool Around With You/ CLARENCE "GATEMOUTH" BROWN: Midnight Hour/ Okie Dokie Stomp/ NAPPY BROWN: That Man/ ROY BROWN: Black Diamond/ Bootleggin' Baby/ RUTH BROWN: Love Contest/ Mambo Baby/ Oh What A Dream/ RAY CHARLES: Don't You Know/ It Should've Been Me/ THE CHARMS: Hearts Of Stone/ THE CHORDS: Sh-boom (life Could Be A Dream)/ THE CLOVERS: I've Got My Eyes On You/ Little Mama/ Lovey Dovey/ Your Cash Ain't Nothing But Trash/ SUGAR BOY CRAWFORD: Jock-a-mo/ PEE WEE CRAYTON: Do Unto Others/ You Know Yeah/ EARL CURRY: One Whole Year Baby/ LARRY DALE: You Better Heed My Warning/ MARGIE DAY: Take Out Your False Teeth Baby/ VARETTA DILLARD: Send Me Some Money/ FATS DOMINO: Something's Wrong/ You Done Me Wrong/ THE DOMINOES: My Baby's 3-d/ CHAMPION JACK DUPREE: Rub A Little Boogie/ Shim Sham Shimmy/ THE EAGLES: Trying To Get To You/ WILLIE EGANS: It's A Shame/ BILLY EMERSON: The Woodchuck/ THE FIVE ROYALES: Cry Some More/ THE FLAIRS: Love Me Girl/ JOHNNY FULLER: Hard Times/ LOWELL FULSON: Reconsider Baby/ MIKE GORDON: Why Don't You Do Right?/ You Got To Give/ BIG JOHN GREER: Bottle It Up And Go/ TINY GRIMES: Juicy Fruit/ GUITAR SLIM: Later For You Baby/ The Story Of My Life/ The Things That I Used To Do/ ARTHUR GUNTER: Baby Let's Play House/ SHIRLEY GUNTER: Oop Shoop/ WYNONIE HARRIS: Keep-a-'talkin/ JOE HOUSTON: All Night Long/ ELMORE JAMES: Make My Dreams Come True/ BUDDY JOHNSON: I'm Just Your Fool/ A Pretty Girl (a Cadillac And Some Money)/ LITTLE JOHNNIE JONES: Hoy Hoy/ B.B. KING: Bye! Bye! Baby/ Everything I Do Is Wrong/ You Upset Me Baby/ EARL KING: A Mother's Love/ J.B. LENORE: Eisenhower Blues/ SMILEY LEWIS: Blue Monday/ Down The Road/ LITTLE MILTON: Beggin' My Baby/ WILLIE MABON: Poison Ivy/ Would You Baby/ PERCY MAYFIELD: I Need Love So Bad/ JIMMY MCCRACKLIN: Blues Blasters Boogie/ CLYDE MCPHATER & THE DRIFTERS: Honey Love/ CLYDE MCPHATTER & THE DRIFTERS: Such A Night/ THE MEDALLIONS: Buick '59/ MEMPHIS SLIM: Call Before You Go/ THE MIDNIGHTERS: Annie Had A Baby/ Sexy Ways/ AMOS MILBURN: Baby You Thrill Me/ Good, Good Whiskey/ Milk And Water/ THE MOONGLOWS: Sincerely/ THE PENGUINS: Earth Angel (will You Be Mine)/ PROFESSOR LONGHAIR: Tipitina/ RED PRYSOCK: Jump Red Jump/ LULA REED: Watch Dog/ LITTLE RICHARD WITH THE TEMPO TOPPERS: Rice, Red Beans And Turnip Greens/ TOMMY RIDGLEY: Jam Up/ THE ROBINS: Riot In Cell Block No.9/ THE ROYALS: Work With Me Annie/ BIG MAMA THORNTON: I Smell A Rat/ THE TRENIERS: Rock A Beatin' Boogie/ JOE TURNER: Shake Rattle And Roll/ Tv Mama/ Well, All Right/ T-BONE WALKER: Love Is Just A Gamble/ Pony Tail/ DINAH WASHINGTON: Big Long Slidin' Thing/ YOUNG JOHN WATSON: Space Guitar/ CHUCK WILLIS: I Feel So Bad/ You're Still My Baby/ JIMMY WITHERSPOON: I Can Make It With You (big Daddy)

VARIOUS ARTISTS	Boulevard Vintage 1012	Down Home Blues Classics, Texas 1946-1954	● CD $24.98
Four CDs, 100 tracks, essential Sensational collection of 100 Texas country and down home blues tracks including one whole CD devoted to the King - Lightnin' Hopkins. A good proportion of these have been out on CD before though some of the previous releases are no longer available and there are some real gems that have never been on CD before. The music here is consistently superb and among the previously unreissued highlights are several by the incredible "Stick Horse" Hammond (who was born in Texas but spent most of his life in Louisiana) including his great Alberta on which he sounds like a cross between Charlie Patton and Tommy McClennan! This track alone is worth the price of the set. There are also seven tracks by the brilliant singer/ guitarist Ernest Lewis including his incredible rare first recording for the Pelican label. The set also includes Texas Alexander, Perry Cain, Rattlesnake Cooper, Mercy Dee Walton, Clarence Garlow, John Hogg, Wright Holmes, Soldier Boy (aka Lawyer) Houston, Leroy "Country" Johnson, Willie Lane, David "Pete" McKinley (another Louisianan), Monister Parker, Miss Country Slim (accompanied by Ernest Lewis on a cover of Memphis Minnie's In My Girlish Days), Thunder Smith (a truly brilliant singer and piano player), The Sugarman, Big Son Tillis, D.C. Washington and others. There's not a bad track in sight and although the sound quality is not always as good as it could be (a little too much digital noise reduction and compression on some tracks) the music more than compensates and there are informative notes by Neil Slaven. (FS) TEXAS ALEXANDER: Crossroads/ JOHNNY BECK: You Gotta Lay Down Mama/ PERRY CAIN: A\|l The Way From Texas/ BUDDY CHILES: Jet Black Woman/ RATTLESNAKE COOPER: Lost Woman Blues/ COUNTRY SLIM: What Wrong Have I Done/ SONNY BOY DAVIS: I Don't Live Here No More/ Rhythm Blues/ LEROY ERVIN: Blue, Black and Evil/ CLARENCE GARLOW: Bon Ton Roula/ I'm In A Boogie Mood/ STICK HORSE HAMMOND: Alberta/ Gamblin' Man/ Highway 51/ Truck 'Em On Down/ JOHN HOGG: Black Snake Blues/ Worrying Blues/ SMOKEY HOGG: Misery Blues/ Worried Blues/ WRIGHT HOLMES: Drove From Home Blues/ Good Road Blues/ LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS: Abilene/ Automobile/ Dirty House/ Don't Think 'Cause You're Pretty/ Feel So Bad/ Freight Train Blues/ Gone With The Wind/ Gotta Move/ Had A Gal Called Sal/ Jake Head Boogie/ Katie Mae Blues/ Let Me Play With Your Poodle/ Lightnin's Boogie/ Lonesome Home/ Long Way From Texas/ One Kind Favor/ Picture On The Wall/ Sad News From Korea/ Short Haired Woman/ Shotgun/ Sick Feeling Blues/ Sittin' Down Thinkin'/ Someday Baby/ Sugar Mama/ Tim Moore's Farm/ SOLDIER BOY HOUSTON: Dallas Be Bop Blues/ Hug Me Baby/ Lawyer Houston Blues/ LIL' SON JACKSON: Bad Whiskey, Bad Woman/ Cairo Blues/ Freedom Train Blues/ Roberta Blues/ SUNNY JAMES: Excuse Me Baby/ Please Mam Forgive Me/ LEROY "COUNTRY" JOHNSON: Log House On The Hill/ WILLIE LANE: Black Cat Rag/ Howlin' Wolf/ Prowlin' Ground Hog/ ERNEST LEWIS: No More Lovin'/ Rosa Lee/ Shake 'Em On Down/ West Coast Blues/ DAVID PETE MCKINLEY: Shreveport Blues/ PETE MCKINLEY: Mean Black Snake/ MISS COUNTRY SLIM: In My Girlish Days/ MANNY NICHOLS: Forgive Me/ No One To Love Me/ Tall Skinny Mama Blues/ Walking Talking Blues/ Worried Life/ MONISTER PARKER: You Gonna Need Me/ BILL SIMPSON: Jelly Roll Man/ FRANKIE LEE SIMS: Home Again Blues/ Lucy Mae Blues/ Single Man Blues/ THUNDER SMITH: Big Stars Are Falling/ Cruel Hearted Woman/ Low Down Dirty Ways/ Santa Fe Blues/ LUTHER STONEHAM: January 11, 1949 Blues/ THE SUGARMAN: She's Gone With The Wind/ Which Woman Do I Love/ ANDREW THOMAS: Chicago Blues/ I Love My Baby/ ANDY THOMAS: My Baby Quit Me Blues/ BIG SON TILLIS: Rocks Is My Pillow/ BIG SON & LILLIAN TILLIS: Ten Long Years/ BIG SON TILLIS: Zetela Blues/ JAMES TISDOM: Last Affair Blues/ Throw This Poor Dog A Bone/ MERCY DEE WALTON: Ba-Ba-Du-Lay Blues (G.I. Fever)/ Evil And Hanky/ Lonesome Cabin Blues/ D.C. WASHINGTON: Happy Home Blues/ WEST TEXAS SLIM: Little Mae Belle/ Loudella/ L.C. WILLIAMS: Black Woman/ Boogie All The Time/ Strike Blues

VARIOUS ARTISTS	JSP JSPCD 7719	Big Joe Williams & The Stars Of Mississippi Blues	● CD $28.98
5 CDs, 126 tracks, highly recommended Charlie Patton may have died in 1934, but the six hours of often intense blues here show his spirit remained very much alive. Big Joe, whose 1935-51 work accounts for the first two discs, incorporated some of Patton's guitar style in his bass slapping and high treble notes, but his insistent rhythms were all his own. The unrestrained music of his 1935 sessions includes some of Joe's best work, although his vocals sound a little tight. His third session two years later sees Joe's voice more open and relaxed, and the start of a long association with the brilliant Sonny Boy (John Lee) Williamson. There are several versions of Joe's signature piece Baby Please Don't Go, autobiographical material like Mean Step Father Blues and adaptations from Patton, Jefferson, Estes and other luminaries. Nearly all this material was previously reissued on Blues Documents 6003/4, but the generally very good sound quality of those discs has been improved upon here, and an alternate take omitted from BDCD6004 is included. Six additional tracks from 1951 find Joe continuing to move closer to mainstream Chicago blues. For the third disc, crank up the volume and enjoy the powerful, impassioned vocals and emphatic guitar style of Tommy McClennan. Tommy's limitations as a guitarist only add to the tension of his performances, and he manages the trick (he only had one, but it's a good one) of being exciting and amusing at the same time. Patton had a reputation for clowning during his live performances and on this disc McClennan delivers virtually a live performance in the studio, with self mocking injunctions to "play it right", teasing pauses before returning to his trademark rhythms and occasional laughter at the end of songs. The original engineers did a great job on these recordings and the remastering here matches the gold standard set by RCA's McClennan reissue (67430 - now deleted) Disc four continues Mr McClennan's assault, and includes an alternate take of Bluebird Blues omitted from the RCA compilation. On his last recording, Boogie Woogie Woman, he is joined by playing partner Robert Petway who had a similar (if less frenetic) style and who was a better guitarist. Petway's complete works take up the rest of this disc and the start of disc five - he is mainly remembered for his composition Catfish Blues, his first recording, which became a blues standard. His work has previously been reissued on Document (DOCD 5671) and Wolf (WBCD 005) but the sound quality here is better. Next up on the final disc is Dave "Honeyboy" Edwards, lighter voiced and the most accomplished guitarist on this set. Twelve of Edwards' 1942 Library of Congress recordings are here, in much less blurry sound than the five previously released on Travelin' Man TM CD 07. The highlight is Water Coast Blues, a near six minute performance which "virtually summarized what Delta musicianship of the decade had to offer." Honeyboy knew Williams, McClennan and Petway and his recollections form the main source for Neil Slaven's excellent booklet notes, but little is known about Willie "Poor Boy" Lofton, another interesting performer who concludes this set. One of his most memorable efforts is Jake Leg Blues, a worthy contribution to the group of songs dealing with the evils of 1930s Jamaica Ginger. Sound is less noisy than on the Document reissue of Lofton's work (DOCD 5158), if a little restrained. All round an excellent set, very well presented. (DPR) DAVID EDWARDS: Army Blues/ Hellatakin' Blues/ Just A Spoonful/ Roamin' And Ramblin' Blues/ Spread My Raincoat Down/ Stagolee/ Tear It Down Rag/ Water Coast Blues/ Wind Howlin' Blues/ Worried Life Blues/ You Got To Roll/ You Got To Roll (levee Camp Song)/ WILLIE LOFTON: Beer Garden Blues/ Dark Road Blues/ Dirty Mistreater/ It's Killin' Me/ Jake Leg Blues/ My Mean Baby Blues/ Poor Boy Blues/ Rainy Day Blues/ TOMMY MCCLENNAN: . It's Hard To Be Lonesome/ Baby Don't You Want To Go/ Baby, Please Don't Tell On Me/ Black Minnie/ Blue As I Can Be/ Bluebird Blues/ Bluebird Blues (take 2)/ Blues Trip Me This Morning/ Boogie Woogie Woman/ Bottle It Up And Go/ Brown Skin Girl/ Classy Mae Blues/ Cotton Patch Blues/ Cross Cut Saw Blues (take 1)/ Cross Cut Saw Blues (take 2)/ Deep Blue Sea Blues/ Des'e My Blues/ Down To Skin And Bones Blues/ Drop Down Mama/ Elsie Blues/ I Love My Baby/ I'm A Guitar King/ I'm Going Don't You Know/ It's A Crying Pity/ Katy Mae Blues/ Love With A Feeling/ Mozelle Blues/ Mr. So And So Blues/ My Baby's Doggin' Me/ My Baby's Gone/ My Little Girl/ New "shake 'em On Down"/ New Highway 51/ New Sugar Mama/ Roll Me, Baby/ Shake It Up And Go/ She's A Good Looking Mama/ She's Just Good Huggin' Size/ Travelin' Highway Man/ Whiskey Head Man/ Whiskey Head Woman/ You Can Mistreat Me Here/ You Can't Read My Mind/ ROBERT PETWAY: Bertha Lee Blues/ Catfish Blues/ Cotton Pickin' Blues/ Don't Go Down Baby/ Hollow Log Blues/ In The Evening/ Left My Baby Crying/ Let Me Be Your Boss/ My Baby Left Me/ My Little Girl/ Ride 'em On Down/ Rockin' Chair Blues/ Sleepy Woman Blues/ BIG JOE WILLIAMS: 49 Highway Blues/ Baby Please Don't Go/ Baby Please Don't Go/ Baby Please Don't Go (alternate Take)/ Bad And Weakhearted Blues/ Bad Heart Blues/ Banta Rooster Blues/ Break 'em On Down/ Brother James/ Crawlin' King Snake/ Delta Blues/ Don't You Leave Me Here/ Drop Down Blues/ Highway 49/ His Spirit Lives On/ House Lady Blues/ I Know You Gonna Miss Me/ I Won't Be In Hard Luck No More/ I'm A Highway Man/ I'm Getting Wild About Her/ Jivin' Woman/ King Biscuit Stomp/ Little Leg Woman/ Mama Don't Allow Me/ Mean Stepfather Blues/ Meet Me Around The Corner/ Mellow Apples/ My Grey Pony/ North Wind Blues/ Overhauling Blues/ P Vine Blues/ Peach Orchard Mama/ Please Don't Go/ Providence Help The Poor People/ Rootin' Ground Hog/ She Left Me A Mule/ She's A Married Woman/ Somebody's Been Borrowing That Stuff/ Somebody's Been Worryin'/ Someday Baby/ Stack Of Dollars/ Stack Of Dollars/ Stepfather Blues/ Throw A Boogie Woogie/ Vitamin A/ Wanita/ Whistling Pines/ Wild Cow Blues/ Wild Cow Moan/ Worried Man Blues

VARIOUS ARTISTS	JSP JSPCD 7723	The Paramount Masters	● CD $28.98
4 CDs, 100 tracks, recommended In recent times Paramount has acquired a glamour completely at odds with the company's reputation in the twenties. The widely reproduced Chicago Defender ads with their superb artwork and comically na�ve and patronizing copy have helped, but the label's main appeal lies, despite its shoddy production methods, in the variety of wonderful music it captured. Don't be mislead by the title of this compilation though - it is not produced from master discs [if only!] and the true "masters" of the label - Jefferson, Blind Blake, Ma Rainey and Charlie Patton - muster only two tracks between them. Instead each of these discs contains a mixture of often outstanding country blues from artists such as Bo Weavil Jackson, Ed Bell and King Solomon Hill, great piano pieces like Wesley Wallace's No.29, and contributions from interesting female singers such as Alice Moore ["I'm black and I'm evil, and I did not make myself"]. Partly because of Paramount's distribution problems and a worsening economic climate few of these records were commercially successful, but some are high points in pre war recording. Thoroughly enjoyable in its own terms, this "best of" compilation is a departure from the "complete recordings" approach previously adopted in this series of box sets. The content here is also circumscribed by JSP not wanting to duplicate the many Paramount recordings on their previous releases. (The one Patton track is the slower alternate take of I Shall Not Be Moved omitted from JSP 7702.) We can only assume, and hope, that it also constrained by planned future releases. The sound quality here is pretty good for Paramounts, and, as might be expected, generally better than on the corresponding reissues on Document. The degree of improvement varies however, and comparing a sample of these tracks against the Document counterparts revealed one where the Document transfer was clearly superior. Neil Slaven's notes for each disc give useful background on some of the artists and the often eccentric workings of Paramount, although it appears they were written before the tracklisting was finalized. Still, the sequencing of tracks works very well, and makes this introduction to some of blues' more obscure performers consistently engaging. (DPR) RAYMOND BARROW: Walking Blues/ LOTTIE BEAMAN: Honey Blues/ Red River Blues/ ED BELL: Hambone Blues/ Mamlish Blues/ FREDDIE BROWN: Raised In The Alley Blues/ HENRY BROWN: Deep Morgan Blues/ Eastern Chimes Blues/ BUMBLE BEE SLIM: Rough Rugged Road Blues/ JOHN BYRD: Billy Goat Blues/ Old Timbrook Blues/ LONNIE CLARK: Broke Down Engine/ Down In Tennessee/ BOGUS BEN COVINGTON: I Heard The Voice Of A Pork Chop/ BEN CURRY: Boodle De Bum Bum/ The New Dirty Dozen/ TEDDY DARBY: Lawdy Lawdy Worried Blues/ My Laona Blues/ SIDE WHEEL SALLY DUFFIE: Bunker Hill Blues/ MOANIN' BERNICE EDWARDS: Jack Of All Trades/ PIANO KID EDWARDS: Give Us Another Jug/ Piano Kid Special/ THE FAMOUS HOKUM BOYS: Where Did You Stay Last Night/ BOBBY GRANT: Lonesome Atlanta Blues/ Nappy Head Blues/ BLIND ROOSEVELT GRAVES: Guitar Boogie/ New York Blues/ GEORGE HANNAH: Freakish Man Blues/ The Boy In The Boat/ THE HARUM SCARUMS: Come On In (Ain't Nobody Here But Me)/ BUDDY BOY HAWKINS: Nuber Three Blues/ KING SOLOMON HILL: Down On My Bended Knee/ The Gone Dead Train/ Whoopee Blues/ JACK O'DIAMONDS: Smiling Blues/ The Ducks Yas Yas/ BO WEEVIL JACKSON: Pistol Blues/ Some Scream High Yellow/ You Can't Keep No Brown/ PAPA CHARLIE JACKSON: Gay Cattin'/ Mama, Don't You Think I Know/ MARY JOHNSON: Barrel House Flat Blues/ Key To The Mountain Blues/ RUBE LACY: Ham Hound Crave/ Mississippi Jail House Groan/ MEADE LUX LEWIS: Honky Tonk Train Blues/ LITTLE BROTHER MONTGOMERY: Vicksburg Blues/ LITTLE BROTHER MONTOGOMERY: No Special Rider Blues/ ALICE MOORE: Black And Evil Blues/ Prison Blues/ WILLIAM MOORE: Old Country Rock/ Raggin' The Blues/ CHARLIE 'DAD' NELSON: Cotton Field Blues/ Red River Blues/ MARSHALL OWENS: Texas Blues/ Try Me One More Time/ CHARLEY PATTON: I Shall Not Be Moved (Alt. Tk)/ RUBY PAUL: Last Farewell Blues/ Red Letter Blues/ ALICE PEARSON: Water Bound Blues/ ROBERT PEEPLES: Fat Greasy Baby/ Wicked Devil's Blues/ MA RAINEY: Traveling Blues/ BLIND JOE REYNOLDS: Nehi Blues/ Ninety Nine Blues/ Outside Woman Blues/ BOB ROBINSON: The Preacher Must Get Some Sometime/ J.D. SHORT: Lonesome Swamp Rattlesnake/ Telephone Arguin' Blues/ CHARLIE SPAND: Back To The Woods Blues/ Fetch Your Water/ Soon This Morning Blues/ FREDDIE SPRUELL: Low-Down Mississippi Bottom Man/ Tom Cat Blues/ SWEET PAPA STOVEPIPE: All Birds Look Like Chickens To Me/ Mama's Angel Child/ ROOSEVELT SYKES: Conjur Man Blues/ Fire Detective Blues/ Three, Six And Nine/ ELVIE THOMAS: Motherless Child Blues/ Over To My House/ EDWARD THOMPSON: Seven Sister Blues/ Up On The Hill Blues/ HENRY TOWNSEND: Doctor, Oh Doctor/ Jack Of Diamons Georgia Rub/ WESLEY WALLACE: Fanny Lee Blues/ No. 29/ WASHBOARD WALTER: Narrow Face Blues/ WASHBOARD WALTER: Wasn't It Sad About Lemon/ BARREL HOUSE WELCH: Dying Pickpocket Blues/ BARRELHOUSE WELCH: Larceny Woman Blues/ JAMES 'BOODLE IT' WIGGINS: Evil Woman Blues/ JAMES WIGGINS: Gotta Shave 'Em Dry/ JAMES 'BOODLE IT' WIGGINS: Keep A-Knockin'/ GEECHIE WILEY: Eagles On A Half/ Pick Poor Robin Clean/ GEORGE 'BULLET' WILLIAMS: Frisco Leaving Birmingham/ Touch Me Light Mama/ JABO WILLIAMS: Jab Blues/ Pratt City Blues

VARIOUS ARTISTS	JSP JSPCD 7737	Blind Willie Johnson & The Guitar Evangelists	● CD $28.98
4 CDs, 96 tracks, highly recommended It is over ten years since the issue of The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (Columbia 52835 - $19.98). For this chronological reissue of the work of the greatest of all pre war gospel artists JSP have adopted a different format, breaking up Blind Willie's sessions with sessions by some of his contemporaries, in the final disc adding performances which show his influence on the post war gospel scene. It is a format which works very well, even while it illustrates the gulf which separates the other practitioners from Mr Johnson. These are complete recordings except in the case of A.C and Mamie Forehand and Reverend Edward W Clayborn, where because of space limitations alternate takes previously issued on Document are omitted. Clayborn, dubbed The Guitar Evangelist, opens the set, and he is an effective performer, although his fondness for a two beat rhythm on the bass strings can become a bit tedious. Elsewhere the single session of husband and wife A.C and Mamie Forehand has a sedate charm, Blind Willie Harris who opens the third disc is almost certainly Richard "Rabbit" Brown in religious mode, and the final disc offers some fun in the form of the Reverends Utah Smith and Anderson Johnson. Utah Smith, who has something of Blind Willie's vocal power, is a showman, hurling notes from his heavily amplified guitar. Reverend Johnson, until sadly tamed by an A&R man, is also willing to test the sonic boundaries as his first version of God Don't Like It demonstrates. Their material draws on pre war sources and this sense of continuity gives the compilation a satisfying cohesiveness. There is though only one star, one utterly compelling performer. Blind Willie's magnificent first session which closes disc one combines the power of tracks like I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole and If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down with the meditative slide masterpiece Dark Was The Night - Cold Was The Ground, later to become the become the stuff of soundtracks and the "Sounds Of The Earth" discs carried by the Voyager satellites. This pattern - a class act blowing away all that has gone before - repeats itself on the subsequent discs. Discographical information is limited to a list of recording dates, and as is often the case with this series there is a disconnection between the notes for each CD and the artists on it. The notes themselves, by Keith Briggs, are also hampered by the fact that very little is known about most of these performers. Sound quality is very good throughout, allowing for the usual acoustic vagaries of some of the post war recordings. The only tracks with significant noise are those by A.C and Mamie Forehand, where sound is very similar to that on the remastered version of Document DOCD 5054. The most important comparison though is with the Blind Willie reissue on Columbia, and here JSP is the clear winner. The hiss on the Columbia transfers is significantly reduced, the vocal attack seems even stronger and the guitar is beautifully presented, a credit to the original recording engineers as well as an excellent remastering job. There may still be a couple of copies of Dark Was The Night in interstellar space, but I bet they don't sound this good. (DPR) REV. EDWARD W. CLAYBORN: A Letter From Father/ Bye and Bye When The Morning Comes/ Come And Go With Me To My Father's House/ Death Is Only A Dream/ Everybody Ought To Treat Their Mother Right/ God's Riding Through The Land/ I Have A Home In The Sky/ I Heard The Angels Singing/ I Shall Not Be Moved/ If My Saviour Holds My Hand I Will Go/ In Time Of Trouble Jesus Will Never Say Goodbye/ Jesus Is Sweeter Than Honey In The Comb/ Jesus Went On Man's Bond/ Jesus Will Make It Alright/ Just Beyond The Jordan River/ Let Jesus Lead You/ Let that Lie Alone/ Men Don't Forget Your Wives For Sweethearts/ O Lord I'm In Your Care/ The Gospel Train Is Coming/ The Wrong Way To Celebrate Christmas/ Then We'll Need That True Religion/ There'll Be Glory/ This Time Another Year You May Be Gone/ When I Lay My Burden Down/ Where Shall I Be When The First Trumpet Sounds?/ With My Saviour I Shall Be/ You Never Will Know Who Is Your Friend/ Your Enemy Cannot Harm You/ Your True Friends/ DENNIS CRUMPTON & ROBERT SUMMERS: Everybody Ought To Pray Some Time/ Go I'll Send Thee/ A.C. & BLIND MAMIE FOREHAND: Honey In The Rock/ I'm So Glad Today/ Mothers Prayer/ Wouldn't Mind Dying If Dying Was All/ BLIND WILLIE HARRIS: Does Jesus Care?/ Where He Leads Me I Will Follow/ BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON: Bye And Bye I'm Goin' To See The King/ Can't Nobody Hide From God/ Church, I'm Fully Saved Today/ Dark Was The Night - Cold Was The Ground/ Everybody Ought To Treat A Stranger Right/ Go With Me To The Land/ God Don't Never Change/ God Moves On The Water/ I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole/ I'm Gonna Run To The City Of Refuge/ If I Had My Way I'd Tear This Building Down/ If It Had Not Been For Jesus/ It's Nobody's Fault But Mine/ Jesus Is Coming Soon/ Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed/ John The Revelator/ Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning/ Let Your Light Shine On Me/ Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Crying/ Mother's Children Have A Hard Time/ Praise God I'm Satisfied/ Sweeter As The Years Roll By/ Take Your Burden To The Lord And Leave It There/ Take Your Stand/ The Rain Don't Fall On Me/ The Soul Of A Man/ Trouble Will Soon Be Over/ When The War Was On/ You'll Need Somebody On Your Bond/ You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond/ REV. A. JOHNSON: Death In The Morning/ Do You Call That Religion?/ God Don't Like It/ God Don't Like It (alt.)/ I Don't Know How To Get Along Without The Lord/ I'm Gonna Do My Best/ If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again/ Jesus Loves Us All/ Let That Liar Pass On By/ Lord Will Make A Way/ Run Children Run/ The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow/ LONNIE MCINTORSH: Arise And Shine/ How Much I Owe/ Sleep On Mother Sleep On/ The Lion And The Tribes Of Judah/ BLIND BENNY PARIS: Hide Me In The Blood Of Jesus/ I'm Gonna Live So God Can Use Me/ REV. UTAH SMITH: Glory To Jesus, I'm Free/ God's Mighty Hand/ I Got Two Wings/ I Want Two Wings/ Take A Trip/ Two Wings/ REV. I. B. WARE WITH WIFE & SON: I Wouldn't Mind Dying (But I Gotta Go By Myself)/ You Better Quit Drinking Shine/ WILLIE MAE WILLIAMS: Don't Want To Go There/ Where The Sun Never Goes Down

VARIOUS ARTISTS	JSP JSPCD 7747	Hey! Piano Man: Selected Boogie Woogie Sides Remastered	● CD $28.98
4 CDs, 88 tracks. 305 minutes, highly recommended "Hey! Piano Man" centers its attentions on barrelhouse stylists Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, Meade Lux Lewis, and Jimmy Yancey over four discs logging in an impressive five-plus hours of music. The Chicago barrelhouse, or rent party school, of boogie woogie piano hails back to the years when the instrument was considered a tool of the trade in St. Louis, Chicago, and other locales. Apartment dwellers would offer food, drink, and a full night of entertainment for a small fee, and when daylight broke the following day, those hiring the piano grinders would hopefully have made enough money to cover their monthly rent bill. Disc one delivers 25 sides of solo piano prowess by Jimmy Yancey; seventeen from April of 1939, six from October of the same year, and two titles dating to February of 1940. A Chicago native, born in 1898, Yancey found fame and increasing popularity on the rent party circuit in the Windy City from the 1920s on although music wasn't his main source of income. A twenty-five year career as a groundskeeper for the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park remained his regular job, and though highly skilled, his recording career didn't begin until 1939 with his death coming in 1951. Yancey shows an endless flow of creativity while varying his tempos and themes from the rumbling Rollin' The Stone and La Salle Street Breakdown, with incredible left hand bass figures and delicate upper register work, to the slow and seemingly effortless Bear Trap Blues/ Jimmy's Stuff, or Lean Bacon. There's plenty more in the form of Yancey Stomp/ The Fives/ Tell 'Em About Me/ Big Bear Train, and State Street Special plus another fifteen titles. Disc two goes to Meade Lux Lewis spanning a half-dozen dates recorded between November of 1935 and February of 1939. Chicago-born in 1905, Lewis was heavily influenced by Pinetop Smith and Jimmy Yancey and began recording in 1927 with his Honky Tonk Train Blues becoming his signature piece following its issue two years later (in 1929) by Paramount. He made his living for a time as a cab driver but was another highly creative player who hammered out driving grooves with his left hand while his right offered stunning high points. Lewis' Honky Tonk Train Blues (a close relative of Pinetop's Boogie Woogie from Smith) is here in two forms, one from late 1935 with the other coming a year-and-a-half later in March of 1937. Both are wonderful barrelhouse examples but Meade wasn't afraid to step into rarely charted territory as Celeste Blues/ I'm In The Mood For Love and Mr. Freddie Blues amply display his command on a smaller cousin of the piano. His stone-solid chops are shown in great detail through the five separate and remarkable parts of The Blues, recorded in January of 1939, and Lewis pulls out all the stops on Twos And Fews plus a thrilling Nagasaki played at breakneck speed. Disc three's focus is on Pete Johnson who was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1904, and became widely recognized through his association with vocalist Big Joe Turner. Their appearance at Carnegie Hall for John Hammond's Spirituals To Swing concert helped respark interest in boogie woogie piano. Of the 22 tracks featuring Johnson, all were recorded between December of 1938 and December of the next year. While Boo Hoo and Home James were issued as by Harry James And The Boogie Woogie Trio and feature the stellar trumpet of James, the underpinning from Johnson's piano (with bass and drum accompaniment) delivers a bigger kick. Sadly, Johnson's signature Roll 'Em Pete is missing but there's plenty to delve into on 19 solo tracks plus a small handful where Johnson is ably backed with Abe Bolar's string bass and guitar from Ulysses Livingston. Pete's Blues/ Shuffle Boogie/ Let 'Em Jump and Climbin' And Screamin' all show his skillfully figured right hand playing over driving basses, and Roll 'Em, from 1938, is a very close relative of the piece he was most noted for. Highlighted on disc four is Albert Ammons, another Chicago native (born in 1907) who was a close friend and counterpart of the other stylists here. Like his friend Meade Lux Lewis, he drove a cab, and the pair even shared a Chicago apartment with Pinetop Smith for a time. These 20 tracks, recorded over a handful of studio dates between February of 1936 and April of 1939 are equally split with half showing his work in larger bands, including those of trumpeter Harry James and trombonist J.C. Higginbotham, while the balance is devoted to his highly entertaining solo efforts. Chicago In Mind, another close relative of Pinetop's Boogie Woogie, shows Ammons as one more player with a driving left hand with the right putting forth flourishes of brilliance, and his Boogie Woogie Stomp along with Suitcase Blues show his proficiency for excellence. Bass Goin' Crazy and Changes In Boogie Woogie cement his placement as another integral piano figure of more than a half-century ago. Complete session details are included along with liner notes from Keith Briggs that lightly cover the four artists featured. Most of the 88 sides have solid sound quality but there are a few that seem to be well beyond cleaning of the hiss and pops from badly damaged source material. The five hours of listening time is completely enjoyable for the most part, and with JSP's budget pricing, there may not be a better or more affordable way to introduce yourself to these greats from the past, or to fill the gaps in your boogie woogie collection. (CR) ALBERT AMMONS: Backwater Blues/ Bass Goin' Crazy/ Boogie Woogie Blues/ Boogie Woogie Stomp/ Change In Boogie Woogie/ Chicago In Mind/ Easy Rider Blues/ Shout For Joy/ Suitcase Blues/ Untitled Ammons Original/ Boogie Woogie/ Early Mornin' Blues/ Mile-Or-Mo Bird Rag/ Nagasaki/ J.C. HIGGINBOTHAM QUINTET: Weary Land Blues/ HARRY JAMES AND THE BOOGIE WOOGIE TRIO: Boo Woo/ Home James/ Jesse/ Woo Woo/ PETE JOHNSON: B&O Blues/ Boogie Woogie/ Buss Robinson Blues/ Buss Robinson Blues/ Climbin' And Screamin'/ Dying Mother Blues/ Fo' O'Clock Blues/ How Long How Long/ Let 'Em Jump/ Lone Star Blues/ Pete's Blues/ Pete's Blues No. 2/ Roll 'Em/ Shuffle Boogie/ Barrelhouse Breakdown/ Holler Stomp/ Kansas City Farewell/ Some Day Blues/ Vine Street Bustle/ You Don't Know My Mind/ MEADE LUX LEWIS: Bear Cat Crawl/ Blues De 'Lux'/ Celeste Blues/ Deep Fives/ Honky Tonk Train Blues/ Honky Tonk Train Blues/ I'm In The Mood For Love/ Melancholy Blues/ Messin' Around/ Mr. Freddie Blues/ Nagasaki/ Solitude Blues/ The Blues Part 1/ The Blues Part 2/ The Blues Part 3/ The Blues Part 4/ The Blues Part 5/ Twos And Fews/ Untitled Original/ Whistlin' Blues/ Yancey Special/ PORT OF HARLEM JAZZMEN: Mighty Blues/ Port Of Harlem Blues/ Rocking The Blues/ JIMMY YANCEY: Bear Trap Blues/ Beezum Blues/ Big Bear Train/ Five O'Clock Bluesl/ How Long Blues/ How Long Blues No. 2/ Janie's Joys/ Jimmy's Stuff/ La Salle Street Breakdown/ Lean Bacon/ Lucille's Lament/ Old Quaker Blues/ P.L.K. Special/ Rollin' The Stone/ Slow And Easy/ South Side Stuff/ State Street Special/ Steady Rock Blues/ Tell 'Em About Me/ The Fives/ The Mellow Blues/ Two O'Clock Blues/ Yancey Limited/ Yancey Stomp/ Yancey Stomp

VARIOUS ARTISTS	JSP JSPCD 7752	Memphis Shakedown - More Jug Band Classics	● CD $28.98
4 CDs, 99 tracks, essential JSP 7745 featured the 1927-30 recordings of the Memphis Jug Band: this companion compilation is essential because it contains, at last, their later recordings in decent sound quality. Elsewhere the set is wide ranging but uneven, with only about half the tracks actually featuring a jug. Disc A offers the complete works of Jack Kelly including the alternate take of Ko-Ko-Mo Blues issued on Document's "Too Late, Too Late Blues Volume 6" (DOCD 5461). Unlike other jug bands Kelly concentrated on blues, and had support from guitarist Dan Sane and violinist Will Batts, both of whom recorded with Frank Stokes. Kelly himself was a fine singer, but the reputation of these sides has probably suffered from the fact that most of the blues are based around the tune and arrangement of Highway No. 61 Blues, the group's best seller and signature piece. Get past the similarities however and there are variations, as well as a few uptempo pieces, while Batts' violin with its sustained vibrato is distinctive and enjoyable. The second disc, featuring the Memphis Jug Band, starts with their 1932 session as the Picaninny Jug Band which sounds thin compared with their other recordings, probably because of budget label production values. Fortunately things improved considerably two years later. While their material hadn't changed much - tracks like She Done Sold It Out could have come from their Victor days - elsewhere Charlie Pierce's energetic fiddling brought a new dimension to their sound. He was much in evidence on Tear It Down, which showed the band had lost none of its gift for flirting with chaos. Highlights include the joyous Jazzbo Stomp and Jug Band Quartette, the latter a celebration of jug band music and a perfect finale. The closing tracks by Kaiser Clifton are superfluous. Disc C starts with the solo career of Noah Lewis, key member of Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, and features some wonderfully evocative harmonica including the train piece Chickasaw Special and an accompaniment to the magnificently named and magnificent Mrs Van Zula Carter Hunt on Selling The Jelly. By comparison Jed Davenport's harmonica on the following sides sounds like a novelty instrument, for all the energy and imagination in his blues interpretations. (Two Davenport accompaniments to Joe Williams on Blues Documents BDCD 6028 are omitted, but curiously two MJB accompaniments to Memphis Minnie already issued on previous box sets are repeated here.) Finally The Delta Boys offer some lighthearted, kazoo riddled efforts - fair enough but not exactly the best work of John Estes and Son Bonds. The final disc features Charlie Burse (from MJB) and his Memphis Mudcats, and gives a flavour of the music which followed the jug bands (the three titles issued on Too Late, Too Late Volume 6 are included). In place of the jug were alto sax, bass and piano, and an end product which was pretty dull dance music - although an energetic percussionist with ideas of his own did his best to liven things up. Neal Slaven, who as usual provides the booklet notes, seems surprisingly keen on this stuff, having been dismissive of Jack Kelly's "less than spectacular career"! Relief comes with the bombastic hokum of Minnie Wallace, another MJB associate, and the likes of her Field Mouse Stomp end the compilation on a positive note. Sound quality, apart from the Picaninny Jug Band sides, is generally very good, all these recordings sounding better and significantly less noisy than their Document /Blues Document /Old Tramp counterparts. JSP seem determined to play havoc with our record collections, but this is one series that is difficult to ignore. (DPR) THE BEALE STREET ROUNDERS: I'm Sittin' On Top Of The World/ Talkin' 'bout Yo-yo/ CHARLIE BURSE & HIS MEMPHIS MUDCATS: Ain't Gonna Be No Doggone Afterwhile/ Baby, You Win/ Beale Street Holiday/ Brand New Day Blues/ Dawn Of Day Blues/ Goldie May/ Good Potatoes On The Hill/ Hell's Highway/ I'm In Buddy's Wagon/ It Makes No Difference Now/ It's Against The Rule/ Magic Spell Blues/ Memphis Highway Stomp/ Oil It Up And Go/ Radio Blues/ Scared To Death/ Too Much Beef/ Weed Smoking Mama/ What's The Matter With The Well/ You Better Watch Out/ KAISER CLIFTON: Cash Money Blues/ Forth Worth & Denver Blues/ She'll Be Back Someday/ Teach Me Right From Wrong/ JED DAVENPORT: Beale Street Breakdown/ Cow Cow Blues/ How Long How Long Blues/ Jug Blues/ Piccolo Blues/ Save Me Some/ The Dirty Dozen/ You Ought To Move Out Of Town/ THE DELTA BOYS: Black Gal Swing/ Don't You Want To Know/ Every Time My Heart Beats/ Get Up And Go/ When The Saints Go Marching In/ You Shouldn't Do That/ JACK KELLY & HIS SOUTH MEMPHIS JUG BAND: Believe I'll Go Back Home/ Betty Sue Blues/ Cadillac Baby/ Cheatin' Woman/ Cold Iron Bed/ Country Woman/ Diamond Buyer Blues/ Doctor Medicine/ Flower Blues/ Heck Bone Blues/ High Behind Blues/ Highway No. 61 Blues/ Highway No. 61 Blues/ Highway No. 61 Blues No. 2/ Joe Louis Special/ Ko-ko-mo Blues (take 1)/ Ko-ko-mo Blues (take 2)/ Lightnin' Blues/ Men Fooler Blues/ Policy Rag/ President Blues/ R.f.c. Blues/ Red Ripe Tomatoes/ World Wandering Blues/ You Done Believe It/ NOAH LEWIS: Chickasaw Special/ Devil Inthe Woodpile/ Like I Want To Be/ Bad Luck's My Buddy/ New Minglewood Blues/ Selling The Jelly/ Ticket Agent Blues/ THE MEMPHIS JUG BAND: Boodie Bum Bum/ Bottle It Up And Go/ Fishin; In The Dark/ Gator Wobble/ Insane Crazy Blues/ Jazzbo Stomp/ Jug Band Quartette/ Little Green Slippers/ Mary Ann Cut Off/ Memphis Shakedown/ My Business Ain't Right/ My Love Is Cold/ Rukus Juice And Chittlin'/ She Done Sold It Out/ Take Your Finger Off It/ Tear It Down, Bed Slats And All/ MEMPHIS MINNIE: Bumble Bee Blues/ Meningitis Blues/ THE PICANINNY JUG BAND: Bottle It Up And Go/ Come Along Little Children/ I Got Good Taters/ Tappin' That Thing/ You Gotta Have That Thing/ MINNIE WALLACE & HE NIGHT HAWKS: Field Mouse Stomp/ Let's All Do That Thing/ Pick 'em Up And Put 'em Down/ The Cockeyed World

VARIOUS ARTISTS	JSP JSPCD 7753	Shake That Thing! East Coast Blues, 1935-1953	● CD $28.98
Four CDs, 105 tracks, essential The complete recordings of three fine, individual but obscure East Coast country bluesman. There are 41 tracks by Gabriel Brown, a brilliant and original singer/ guitarist from Florida who came up with some unique lyrics. It includes 10 tracks recorded for the Library Of Congresss in Florida in 1935 which is mostly traditional material - often featuring slide. The remaining tracks were recorded for New York entrepreneur Joe Davis between 1942 and 1952 and includes quite a few titles that were not originally issued. There are 19 tracks recorded for Gotham in 1949 by the utterly magnificent Dan Pickett whose background is a total mystery. Although quite a few of Pickett's songs were drawn from the repertoire of other bluesman his expressive vocals and stunning guitar (often using slide) turned them into individualistic gems. The set is rounded out with 46 tracks by Ralph Willis - another biographical mystery who is thought to be from Alabama and later moved North Carolina where he met up with Buddy Moss, Blind Boy Fuller and Sonny & Brownie and his music shows their influences. There are a dozen gorgeous solo sides by him revealing him to be a superb guitarist. The remaining tracks feature his with small groups - sometimes just bass or washboard, other times with guitar, bass & drums - the other guitarist usually being Brownie McGhee and on one sessions they are joined by Sonny Terry. Sound is excellent and there are informative notes from Neil Slaven. A beautiful collection of country blues. (FS) GABRIEL BROWN: A Dream Of Mine/ Baby, Boy, Baby/ Bad Love/ Black Jack Blues/ Blues/ Careless Love/ Cold Love/ Cold Mama/ Doing My Best/ Don't Worry About It/ Down In The Bottom/ Education Blues/ Going My Way/ Good-Time Papa/ Got No Money Blues/ Hold Me Baby/ I Am Just Hard Luck/ I Am Playing The Game/ I Get Evil When My Love Comes Down/ I Had My Hands On It/ I'm Gonna Take It Easy/ I'm Just Crazy/ I've Done Stopped Gamblin'/ I've Got To Stop Drinkin'/ It's Getting Soft/ It's Time To Move/ John Henry (Instrumental)/ John Henry (Vocal)/ Mean Old Blues/ Motherless Child/ Nobody Loves Me Like My Little Girl/ Not Now, I'll Tell You When/ Po' Boy, Long Way From Home/ Stick With Me/ Talking In Sebastopol/ That's Alright/ The Jinx Is On Me/ Tone The Bell Easy/ You Ain't No Good/ You Have To Be Different/ Youngster's Blues/ DAN PICKETT: 99 1/2 Won't Do/ Baby Don't You Want To Go/ Baby How Long/ Chicago Blues/ Decoration Day/ Drivin' That Thing/ Drivin' That Thing (Alt)/ Early One Morning/ I Can Shake It/ Laughing Blues/ Laughing Rag/ Lemon Man/ Number Writer/ Number Writer Take 1/ Ride To A Funeral In A V-8/ Something's Gone Wrong/ That's Grieving Me/ You Got To Do Better/ RALPH WILLIS: Amen/ Amen Blues/ Bed Tick Blues/ Black And Tan/ Blues, Blues, Blues/ Boar Hog Blues/ Christmas Blues/ Church Bell Blues/ Church Bells/ Cold Chills/ Cold Chills/ Comb Your Kitty Kat/ Cool That Thing/ Do Right/ Door Bell Blues/ Eloise/ Everyday I Weep And Moan/ Goin' To Chattanooga/ Goin' To Viriginia/ Gonna Hop On Down The Line/ Goodbye Blues/ Hoodoo Man/ I Got A Letter, Too Late To Scream And Shout/ I Will Never Love Again/ I'm Gonna Rock/ I've Been A Fool/ Income Tax Blues/ Just A Note/ Lazy Woman Blues/ Mama, Mama Blues/ Neighborhood Blues/ New Goin' Down Slow/ Old Home Blues/ Salty Dog/ Shake That Thing/ So Many Days/ Somebody Is Got To Go/ Sportin' Life/ Steel Mill Blues/ Tell Me Pretty Baby/ Tell Me Pretty Baby/ That Gal's No Good/ Trouble Don't Last/ Why'd You Do It/ Worried Blues

VARIOUS ARTISTS	JSP JSPCD 7754	Atlanta Blues - Big City Blues From The Heartland	● CD $28.98
4 CDs, 101 tracks, essential Not sure about the subtitle though. What about the pre-blues, country dance tunes, gospel songs, old time medleys, vaudeville songs? Still, there are also some excellent blues, such as My Mamma Was A Sailor by Julius Daniels, which opens this set. Daniels was a fine singer and guitarist who must have had an amazing repertoire, judging from the few titles he recorded. He certainly leaves you wishing he'd recorded more. Someone who did was Curley Weaver, and here are his complete pre war recordings, plus six tracks from 1949. [Contrary to the impression given in Neal Slaven's otherwise informative booklet notes, Weaver did make some further recordings in the company of Blind Willie McTell. These were reissued, in superlative sound, on Blind Willie McTell / Pig 'n Whistle Red, Biograph 30171 Weaver was a talented if not particularly distinctive performer whose first session produced No No Blues, a very effective song with a driving guitar part and on which he sounds remarkably like Barbecue Bob. By the time though you have heard another three versions plus two with different lyrics you will probably have had enough of it. Unfortunately appreciation of his pre war work is hampered in many cases by poor sound quality. There are no such problems with discs three and four. The third features Peg Leg Howell, whose recordings blues historian Paul Oliver rates "among the most important documentations of the early blues". Fair comment, but it is odd that, apart from the complete works on Matchbox (MBCD 2004/5), Howell has been largely neglected by other reissue companies, at least in recent times. He had a gift for refashioning songs he had learned in rural Georgia (including white country music) as well as for original compositions like the excellent Low Down Rounder's Blues. On such solo sides his fingerpicking was varied, and his heavy voice with its lugubrious tone was well suited to his blues. Elsewhere he was supported by his "gang" of street musicians including the rough "alley fiddle" of his friend Eddie Anthony. Some of Howell's best work has few equivalents in pre war blues, like Coal Man Blues with its street vendors' cries or Please Ma'am, an "over and over" song pleading against rejection, where the repetition of a few phrases becomes like some kind of extended mantra. There is plenty to enjoy in all these tracks, from Beaver Slide Rag, a perfect country dance tune, to the acknowledged masterpiece of Skin Game Blues. The final disc concludes Peg Leg's legacy and presents other recordings by members of his gang. Highlights include Georgia Crawl by Henry Williams and Eddie Anthony and the second session of Anthony (recording as Macon Ed) with guitarist Tampa Joe, which culminates with Warm Wipe Stomp (worth having just for the title!). Vaudeville singer "Sloppy" Henry provides variety and a memorable Canned Heat Blues before songster Lil McClintock delivers Furniture Man and Don't Think I'm Santa Claus. McClintock's performances were representative of an older style in 1930 but still sound wonderfully fresh today (an alternate take of Furniture Man, omitted here, was on Document DOCD 5160. "Sloppy" Henry's other sessions were on Document DOCD 5380 and 5482). Sound quality shows a worthwhile improvement on corresponding Document/Matchbox reissues, and is generally very good apart from some worn Curley Weaver sides. The sound of two postwar Weaver tracks duplicated on Biograph 30171 is however slightly better on the Biograph reissue. Finally, the format of discs three and four here represents an improvement over the Matchbox discs, in that all the Peg Leg Howell sides are presented together rather than being split up by recordings of his associates. Altogether this is another important set, full of fascinating and unique recordings. (DPR) JULIUS DANIELS: Can't Put The Bridle On The Mule This Morning (Take 1)/ Can't Put The Bridle On The Mule This Morning (Take 2)/ Crow Jane Blues/ I'm Goin' To Tell God How You Doin'/ My Mamma Was A Sailor/ Ninety-Nine Year Blues (Take 1)/ Ninety-Nine Year Blues (Take 2)/ Richmond Blues (Take 1)/ Richmond Blues (Take 2)/ Slippin' And Slidin' Up The Golden Street (Tak 3)/ Slippin' And Slidin' Up The Golden Street (Take 2)