2 comments about Rev. Gary Davis and the Guitar Evangelists, Vol. 2.

1. The other reviewer on this page just didn't get what he was expecting.
   This compilation is exactly what it says. "Rev. Gary Davis and the Guitar Evangelists" is a heritage of American country blues. The recordings are a wonderful gathering of vintage gospel blues. The remastering by JSP is up to the state of the art. But they are old records, make no mistake.
   
   I also have to say that the other reviewer obviously doesn't play guitar. An attempt to master this style of guitar, one will find that these guys sat on street corners day after day and played all day, every day, for pennies. They got to a level of playing that is accomplished only by doing this. It is deceptively difficult to play like this.
   
   So don't let the other reviewer deter you from buying this or other JSP products. They are well researched, remastered to the highest level and portray a love of the music and the desire to make recordings available that the major labels couldn't care less about.
   
   But they are exactly what you're looking for (if it's what you're looking for) ...an incredible representation of another ignored American artform.



2. Don't be fooled by the three misleading marketing come-ons. Those are: (1) guitar (2) evangelists, and(3) Rev Gary Davis. Here's what I mean regarding each.
   (1) "Guitar." I expected some good blues guitar on this album. Instead I heard one-and-two chord thumpety-thumps that are not just bad, but worse, boring. I used to think that John Lee Hooker was the worst over-rated blues guitarist. This album hosts a bevy of bad guitar-players, each one worse than the next.
   (2) "Evangelists." I hoped to also hear some good gospel tunes on these discs. As it turns out, the song list covers a variety of topics, with only a few hymns included. No to worry though, because the lyrics are unitelligible. (Which leads to another problem--the recording quality sounds like this album was produced on a cheap tape recorder in somebody's kitchen.)
   (3) "Rev Gary Davis." This isn't primarily an album by Rev Gary Davis. It features a number of other musicians and singers, all just as painful to listen to as Davis.
   The Morale of the Story: Now in my 50's, I don't buy much music anymore. But every now and then something interests me enough that I overcome my refusal to pay outrageous sums of money for products that take pennies to produce. In this case I fell victim to slick packaging and my own trendy ego. This album is an absolute rip-off. If you really want to hear it, you can buy my copy on e-bay.

2 comments about All the Classic Sides 1928-1937.

1. With this box you get the pre-war sides of the Chicago Gentleman of the blues. Broonzy was interesting in that, at least to me, he seems rather emotionally detatched, vocally, much of the time. Particularly in comparison to many of his contemporaries. Whereas Skip James can make you feel like you just heard a ghost crying on the wind, Broonzy kinda sounds like a stately, distinguished gentleman. Certainly a feat, considering how sexually explicit some of his lyrics are.
   
   I think the idea of a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is ridiculous to begin with, but if Broonzy isn't in it (maybe he is, I don't know), then it's even more ridiculous than I thought. Broonzy had a much larger stylistic impact upon rock & roll than did, say, Robert Johnson, who I would imagine is probably already in there for no other reason than Clapton and Keith Richards can't seem to ever shut up about him. Detach yourself from the hype and actually just listen to the musics of Broonzy and Johnson. There is nothing of Johnson's sound or style that widely found its way into rock & roll. Now listen to quite alot of Broonzy's music. Much of Broonzy's music isn't even so much blues as it is rhythm & blues... the very foundation of the later Chicago blues sound, and early R&R sounds. Water down the lyrics, add some horns or an electric guitar, speed it up a bit, make it 25 years later and some of Big Bill's music is 1950s rock & roll.
   
   Not that I give or take two doo-doos of merit to something because it did or did not influence rock, but seeing as how so many classic-rock fans are always regurgitating the same stuff they've read in 50 Clapton interviews, it annoys me how many blues-rock fans will go on and on about how Robert Johnson was the greatest blues musician ever, as well as some sort of genius proto-architect of rock, when this guy (Broonzy) that most of those same people have never heard, clearly, at times, sounds like a main influence for everyone from Little Richard to Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two. I'm not slighting Robert's music here, just saying that if you believe the hype, he seemed to do everything but create the earth and sky.
   
   As for Broonzy's music itself, this is a blessing and a curse. Sometimes he does indeed fall into many of the repetitious and bland pitfalls that became the hallmark of the famed post-war "Chicago Blues sound" that oftentimes bores me to tears. That is certainly not all the music in this great box, though. And of course some of his music does dig deep. It's not all just sex and fun.
   
   I feel special mention must be made of Black Bob, Broonzy's longtime pianist. He is as much the star of this box as is Broonzy himself.
   
   As for JSP's work on this box, it is lovely as usual. This is the best sounding Big Bill I have heard. My 3.5 stars don't slight JSPs fine transfers, it's just that as much as I like Big Bill, I personally have never elevated him to the same level as the Memphis Minnies, Lonnie Johnsons, Skip James', Blind Willie McTells, etc... of the world. If you're a huge Big Bill fan, or a first-timer just looking to check him out, this is as fine a box (and price) as you will ever find. I've had this box for 4 or 5 months now and it has yet to escape my player for more than a couple days.



2. Finally! All of Big Bill Broonzy's classic and hugely influential prewar sides gathered together. 128 sides recorded for labels like Paramount, ARC and Perfect Records, and featuring Big Bill as a solo performer, as well as leading various small combos.
   
   Big Bill Broonzy was one of the major links between country blues and the urban Chicago variety, and artists like Memphis Slim and Muddy Waters recorded entire LPs of his material.
   The sound on these five discs is not great, but you probably won't find any better-sounding Big Bill-sides from the 20s and 30s, and this is certainly no second-rate compilation, in spite of the relatively low price and the cartoonish design of the box. On the contrary, it is a well-annotated, carefully remastered overview of the music of Big Bill Broonzy in his prime.

1 comments about Roy Brown & New Orleans R&B.

1. It starts with undeniable power and never stops - it makes you laugh, cry, jump up and down and SHOUT! Praise be to Roy Brown, Dave Bartholomew and Professor Longhair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 comments about Detroit Blues: Blues from the Motor City 1938-1954.

1. You have Baby Boy Warren playing with Sonny Boy Williamson on harp. Talk about Detroit Hastings Street History! You the Detroit Count playing Hasting Street Opera. You have 25 great obscure sides by John Lee Hooker, some of them leaving him a little exposed that I doubt that you have. In some of these sides. You have 1 entire CD of the oldest delta playing represented by Calvin Frazier and Sampson Pittman. Alam Lomax thought enough of Sampson Pittman to include him on his Land Where the Blues Began CD. Pittman could run that slide really well. It was a revelation to me that he resided in Detroit. You get some stuff from Joes record shop that is raw enough that if you had recorded it today you would not have bothered to save it, but because its from the Hastings Street of the 50s it is a cool artifact of the times and chaotic back room at the record shop. If you want to buy just one CD of Detroit rarities, man this is it!

No comments about The Blues Box.

2 comments about The History of Pop Radio: 1920-1951.

1. If you are interested in the history of popular recordings from 1920 to 1951, this 15 CD collection of these great songs and recordings is a must. Except for the 1920s, and due to the poorer sound of those early recordings, the AAD remastering is quite good. Included in this box set is an 80 page short bio of each artist that may be helpful, but is rather poorly written and not authoritative. But otherwise, what a great bargain, and what a great pleasure to have listened to these 300 full length recordings, many of which are rare and interesting including the many old standbys. Recommended!



2. It was only with the advent of radio that people all over the nation were able to listen to the same versions of the same music by the same artists and as the record companies produced them, and with this the pop song was born.

   The aptly titled History of Pop Radio traces popular music from 1920-1951 and does a good job of introducing a diverse mix of both well-known and forgotten melodies.

   The sound quality is generally good and this box set includes the 15 CDs, each with around 20 songs and approximately an hour long. It also contains an 80-page booklet in lieu of liner notes, but the information contained in it isn't particularly noteworthy.

   The real problem with this collection is the quality of the music. when I listened to these CDs I discovered that I don't really like the hits of yesterday any better than currently popular music. Of course there are a good number of gems by the likes of Arthur Cruddup, Louis Jordan, and Glen Miller, but these songs are greatly outnumbered by syrupy crooners like Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore.

   Listening to the 15 CDs was interesting and so I recommend it as a learning experience, but there's only about 2-3 CDs worth of good music here.

1 comments about Vanguard Collector's Edition.

1. The music you'll find on this 4CD box set consists of some quite diverse selections, sampling choices ranging from the late 50s up into the late 90s. While it is unlikely that listeners will embrace every single song selection on here, it is likely that they will find enough to make them happy. If you are a jazz fan, you are treated to such artists as Larry Coryell, Count Basie or Elvin Jones. If folk music happens to be your thing, you will enjoy the tracks featuring Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, or Ian and Sylvia. Prefer the blues? If so, you'll enjoy the contributions of Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Charlie Musselwhite or Mississippi John Hurt (to name a few). Still not quite up your alley? Maybe you prefer bluegrass, in which case you'll enjoy The Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs or The Greenbriar Boys. You even get a little modern country thrown into the mix, featuring such artists as John Jennings, Michael Johnson and Peter Case.
   
   Overall you are bound to find something on these 4 discs that you'll enjoy, and you may happen to like it all. While there is no true core theme apart from these being Vanguard recordings, all of the selections do strangely compliment one another very well; much better than comparable compilations of various artists. The sound quality on these recordings is excellent, and the offerings are likely to lead listeners to artists they have yet to discover and enjoy. A nice compilation at an even nicer price, make sure you toss this into your shopping cart sometime and give it a listen.

1 comments about Swing That Music: Swingsation.

1. I think this cd is great! it is hip cool and swingin!

1 comments about Blind Willie Johnson and the Guitar Evangelists.

1. The reason for the three stars is to do with elements of repetitiveness, and a feeling that this is really for the specialist. If it were stars for the importance of these recordngs, that would be more like 9!
   Thank heavens for the enthusiasts and collectors who have saved this glimpse into a faraway and mysterious world which, amazingly, is still more or less within living memory.

1 comments about The Complete Rodgers & Hart Songbooks.

1. If you like the music of Rodgers & Hart done with a classical jazz theme you will like this compilation cd because you will hear familar music by unfamiliar arstists, as well as artists you know and love. It expands your knowledge of artists and their music. This cd is no exception. I prefer the music of Rodgers & Hart to Rodgers and Hammerstein. Listen to some sound clips and decide for yourself- you won't be dissapointed.