5 comments about Too Bad Jim.

1. R.L. Burnside wasn't discovered until late in life. How could this talent have been hidden so long? This is just great, gritty, no frills, blues. Almost hypnotic at times (ie. "When my First Wife...,). "Shake Em On Down", "Old Black Mattie" and "Going Down South" are just house-shaking good tunes. "Short Haired Woman" and "Death Bell Blues" conjures up images of R.L. sitting on his back porch on a hot, Mississippi summer evening. This is just great stuff. Unfortunately Fat Possum records would get the bright idea on future R.L. releases to bastardize his music with loops and other hip-hop sound effects. I guess they were trying to get a younger, more "hip" audience or something. But that's a whole other review. "Too Bad Jim" is hard to beat, but if you like this (how could you not like this?) also check out his live CD "Burnside on Burnside" which is also excellent.



2. Most likely this is RL at the top of his craft. He was always great, but on TooBadJim he was inspired, not that he didn't always have such moments, he was otherworldly, celestial. I am amazed that this wonderful man and player even existed, from the farms of Holly Springs, Miss., carefully honing his god givens in the denizens of Junior Kimbroughs'bar and lounge. This is really what music is supposed to be, clean, honest, and earned. This is the real thing. Bless Robert Palmer for recording these guys and showing the world what the scene was like in the deep south. They are all terrific in their own right, but rl burnside was the patriarch, their guiding light, student of the delta blues, a natural born world shaker. May he live on through toobadjim and everything else, his wisdom passed on to his family, friends and everybody who listens to his work. He really was "special".



3. This is unshaven, dusty, floor-board blues, something to drink a beer to under a spidery, greasy, yellowed light bulb. R. L.'s weathered voice rides through the gritty lyrics with as much wavering siltiness as his metal guitar slide. The back bass and beat are played straight-faced and without frills, raw and undiluted. Thankfully the producers chose to play it hands-off with this one; every hang-nail, every skitter and skip, and every raggedy edge is left intact, meaning that these blues sound exactly the way they are: authentic.
   
   For a live performance, however, this CD is remarkably short. Remarkably. Just as the performers are pulling you into their boot-tappin', head-shakin' world, the songs stop. If there weren't other, longer Burnside records out there, this would be a five-star album. As it is, though, its lamentably short time makes it a wonderful footnote to an already stellar and long-toned career.



4. Hard to believe this record came out over 10 years ago and now both the producer and the artist are dead. RIP, RL! You were the root, the blues walking and talking like a man. Anyone who doesn't own this record should purchase it immediately and play at maximum volume while making love to someone else's woman.



5. In his documentary "Deep Blues," eccentric producer Robert Palmer introduced us to a brand of blues that comes not from the Delta, but from the hill country region of northwest Mississippi. While it bears a vague resemblance to its lowlands cousin, Hill Country Blues is a whole 'nother critter altogether. It is, as Palmer describes in the liner notes of this CD, a "slashing, droning trance-blues," a "churning, jamming one-chord exercise in stamina and mass-hypnosis."

   Too many recordings these days suffer from excessive post-production, processed until they've been homogenized, sterilized, or just plain castrated, but this ain't slicked-up big city blues, Bubba. Uh Uh. Robert Palmer is a blues bloodhound; he knows where the Real Blues live, and on this CD records them in their element as they happen. The results are, in a word, profound.

   Burnside plays a wicked, ratty slide over the top of a hypnotic backbeat laid down by backup guitarist Kenny Brown, bassist Dwayne Burnside and drummer Calvin Jackson. Recorded live at a jukejoint owned by fellow bluesman Junior Kimbrough, "Too Bad Jim" is raw, nasty & compelling, coming through with all the fevered urgency of a jukejoint jam session.

   ".44 Pistol" is a raucous and swaggering counterstroke to the haunting cover of Lightnin' Hopkins "Death Bell Blues" which follows. Two other Hopkins tunes, "Short Haired Woman" and "Miss Glory B." get the Burnside treatment. "Fireman Ring The Bell" seems to borrow much from Bill Broonzy's "Rollin' & Tumblin'."

   This is Deep Blues as it should be heard, bare and honest without any fancy production tricks to spoil it. Just buy it.

5 comments about Delta Crossroads.

1. How inspiring is it that Mr. Lockwood is touring and playing kick-a** blues at age 90? Ninety? Are you kidding? This is a great record, it is like hearing a great from the '20s or 30's play his stuff on modern recording equipment. I am very glad that I stumbled on this record and this artist. Blues on, Young Man!



2. This cd is an essential Lockwood album. It includes all the great guitar singles and no-one plays a Twelve string Better than Robert Lockwood Jr.

   If you enjoy the real roots of blues music you will want to purchase this cd. Robert is a founder of blues music and influenced many. This cd will show you why. Also check out I Got to find me a woman for a band backing Robert up.

   The KING OF BLUES




3. Robert Lockwood plays a mean 12-string guitar. This album showcases Robert alone with his acoustic 12-string and is a reminder of the power of the song. Robert's voice and guitar ring so loud and clear, it's a pleasure to listen to this disc full of old blues standards and Lockwood originals. Lockwood is an underappreciated blues master. He will probably always live in the shadow of his mentor, Robert Johnson...but he deserves to be honored as a blues original in his own right. The clear and crisp production and sound on this disc only help to make these blues standards sound better than ever. I bought this disc to get some inspiration as an acoustic blues guitar player, and Lockwood's 12-string playing has blown me away! I can only hope to play half as good as Lockwood some day. Great stuff!



4. An updated but authentic blues recording. If you love the blues and are sometimes frustrated by the quality of the old recordings, you'll love this disc. Robert Lockwood, Jr. is a blues master who shows it's possible to reinterpret old standards while remaining true to the blues form. I can't recommend this disc highly enough!



5. Robert Lockwood, Jr., remains a national blues treasure who still sounds as fresh and vital today as he did decades ago. Telarc has issued a new cd, Delta Crossroads, which is surprising in being a solo acoustic album. Robert is heard on fine performances of a number of blues associated with his stepfather, Robert Johnson's songs, several other blues standards and his own originals.This is not his first acoustic blues album. He recorded for a French label, Plays Robert & Robert which has been reissued in the US on Evidence. And he has included tracks on prior albums in a similar vein. Robert has recorded most of the songs heard here in the past, although perhaps under different titles. For example, his This Little Girl of Mine was recorded with his band as Hold Everything on his first Trix album. This writer is familiar with other renditions of most of the Robert Johnson songs. Johnson's 32-20 Blues that opens this album may be the one song I have not heard him on record do before. Lockwood, in fact, recorded Dust My Broom prior to Elmore James, although it was issued later, and he did Rambling on My Mind on his Steady Rolling Man album on Delmark. He plays with his usual skill and sings straightforwardly and without any artifice. Its nice to hear renditions of performances of blues classics he regularly performs including C.C. Rider and Leroy Carr's Mean Mistreater and In the Evening, which is juxtaposed with a rendition of Love In Vain, which uses the latter tune's melody. This is beautifully recorded and produced by Joe Harley and is a worthy addition to his growing body of recordings. Hopefully we will get a new album of Robert with his band real soon.

5 comments about Blues Guitar Women.

1. I picked this up at a Border's that was getting rid of its cd's. Everything was half of half, and I just figured even if there were two or three cuts worth listening to, it would be a bargain. Boy was I wrong! This double disc set is all worth listening to. The traditional disc is more my cup of tea, but this cd is an explosion of sound that will make you want to hear it over and over again. Great compilation.



2. There is lots of new talent out there, women who can really play!
   
   Lara Price Band was simply amazing.



3. An earlier review disses the producers of this CD for not showcasing Bonnie Raitt. While it's true she's not "on her own" here, she does a song (singing, playing slide guitar) with Maria Muldaur on the "Contemporary" side (CD 1) that's truly wonderful. I'd bet my thumbs that Bonnie wouldn't have it any other way, lest her fame overshadow the lesser-known blueswomen heard on this recording. In addition to Queen of the Blues, Bonnie's also known as the queen of payback, making sure others get (in many cases long-overdue) attention, often sharing the limelight (like her live duet with Sippie Wallace, who wrote and sang "Women Be Wise" long before Bonnie ever set foot on a stage) and playing/singing on innumerable recordings by other musicians - like this one!



4. I own a blues bar, and feel qualified to say that the producers have effectively snubbed the one woman who has done more for woman in Blues than any other for the last 35 years -namely by not show - casing Bonnie Raitt on her own- her vocals, slide guitar and songs have inspired all of these artists - at least Susan Tedeschi acknowleges that -
   I shall NOT be playing this in public, out of respect to Bonnie.



5. What's so nice about this set, especially disc 1, is the sensational singing and playing of many unknown Women of the Blues. Although a huge blues fan and a big collector, several of the performers I had not heard of, such as the Lara Price Band, Alice Stuart and Carolyn Wonderland. But I have now, and they are sensational! I immediately went out and bought a cd of Stuart and Wonderland and Beverly Watkins. This is a big time gem of music. SENSATIONAL. Under $15.00 at most places, so, so worth the money. Have a quick listen to the samples and you'll be hooked and off to the store.

2 comments about Hoochie Coochie Man: Complete Chess Masters, Vol. 2: 1952-1958.

1. Imagine, it is 1931 and Robert Johnson comes home to Robert Lockwood Jr.'s home in Helena bringing a young man who calls himself "W. M." (actually, if you pushed him young Alex "Rice" Miller would have told you that he was "Willie Miller" actually his brother's name. Robert, Robert Jr. and Sonny Boy live on the Helena, Arkansas side of the Mississippi River. By the late 1930s W. M. now calling himself "Sonny Boy" and Robert Jr. are playing electric guitar and harmonica through car radios and juke boxes. Later they would call it "Chicago Blues." In 1941, Sonny Boy began a radio show on a new radio station KFFA in Helena and soon invited the now recording artist Robert Lockwood Jr. to join him. King Biscuit Time took the delta by storm as it was the only radio show in the area featuring a local black artist. Sonny Boy would play Muddy Waters' wedding and a few years later Muddy would move to Chicago because Sonny Boy had all the good gigs. Robert Jr. would follow him and in the 1940s remind him of Robert Johnson's repertoire which Muddy would rewrite and record. In the mid-1940s Muddy Waters would buy his first electric guitar long after "Chicago Electric Blues" was "invented".Sonny Boy would stay in the delta where he ruled the roost and Robert Jr. would end up heading the house band at Chess/Checker studios. Sonny Boy would not record until 1950 for Trumpet and 1955 for Checker where he would be reunited with Muddy Waters and Robert Jr.When Sonny Boy went to Europe for the American Folk Blues Festival in 1963, Muddy Waters had not had a hit in America in eight years. Sonny Boy was the inspiration for more English blues rockers than any one and more tributes to him were written than any other blues man including Muddy Waters. He just died in 1965 and Muddy was blues king by default. One was not better than the other; they were both equally brilliant and unique as was Little Walter (who drank too much) and Howlin' Wolf (who was sitting down to play by then). Explore the whole history which is much deeper than just Muddy Waters who had the best promoter at the right time and outlived most of them.Enjoy this and hope they do the same for Sonny Boy Williamson II.



2. I do have one complaint with this release from Hip-O Select, and it deals with the packaging. Although it LOOKS incredibly handsome on the surface, they have the discs fitting into these tight cardboard slots that are tailor-made to get the discs scratched up, and that's just ridiculous. In this day and age, these guys should really know better.
   
   Still, I say hunker down and grab a couple spare jewel cases to put the two discs of this set in. Because they are truly incredible discs. Muddy was playing with a rhythm section by the time where this set begins--he was in absolute peak form, and innovating in ways that may go underappreciated nowadays but shouldn't be dismissed.
   
   Due to the strict chronological sequencing and thoroughness of the set, there are cases where the same song appears twice in a row, but it's hardly a problem, because songs like the riffy "She's All Right" and the stomping "Baby Please Don't Go" are so great that you won't mind hearing them twice in a row, and the little differences between the two versions are intriguing.
   
   A case can be made that Muddy Waters paved the way for rock & roll more than any other performer. Beyond that though, his music is simply timeless, and resonates in a way those who followed in his footsteps (i.e. the Rolling Stones) have been woefully unable to duplicate. Yes, Muddy's vocals are obviously the REAL DEAL. But also a key 'secret weapon' was Little Walter's brilliant, utterly natural and earthy harmonica playing--just listen for his absolutely hair-raising solo on "I Just Want To Make Love To You" to cite one example.
   
   This wonderful two disc set piles up one soulful classic after another, whether it's the irresistibly swaggering "I'm Ready", "Don't Go No Farther", and "Rock Me", the mind-blowingly swinging-yet-gutsy "Trouble No More", or mournful slow blues numbers like "Standing Around Crying" or "Sad, Sad Day", just to name half a dozen more in addition to the ones mentioned previously.
   
   A couple songs, particularly "Hoochie Coochie Man", have absolutely been done to death, both by Muddy's own endless re-recordings, not to mention all the other artists' covers, but that's a minor gripe.
   Ultimately, this set is a treasure. Just buy it, it's beyond essential.

3 comments about King Bee.

1. The last of Muddy Waters' four Blue Sky albums is often considered the least as well, but you wouldn't know it listening to this superbly remastered and expanded reissue.
   
   Originally issued in 1981, "King Bee" was recorded at a time when Muddy Waters, then 65, was slowing down because of health problems, and his band was losing money because they were gigging less, finally causing them to quit en masse.
   Guitarist Bob Margolin's candid liner notes are much more brief and a lot less jolly than the warm and often humorous mini-essays he wrote for the reissues of "Hard Again" and "I'm Ready", and while his fondness for Muddy Waters is very obvious, it is equally obvious that he did not have a good time recording this album, Muddy Waters' last.
   
   Because of the tensions in the studio preceding the breakup of the Muddy Waters Band, producer and occational guitarist Johnny Winter felt the sessions had not produced enough solid material to yield an entire album, so he padded "King Bee" with outtakes from the 1977 "Hard Again" sessions (and this 2004 edition adds two more previously unreleased numbers).
   But there is certainly nothing wrong with the songs that did make the cut. "King Bee" is as lean and mean an album as Muddy ever made, and though the guest stars from the first two Blue Sky albums are missing, the "regular" Muddy Waters Band is every bit as competent as any all star combo. Muddy may have been ailing, but his voice is still strong and confident, and the rhythm section of Calvin "Fuzz" Jones (bass) and drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith is rock-solid, digging a train track groove on each and every song. Well, except the drum-less acoustic workout "I Feel Like Going Home", a wonderful re-recording of one of Muddy's earliest waxings.
   
   Muddy Waters and his killer ensemble lifts relatively lightweight numbers like "Deep Down In Florida", "My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble" and "Champagne And Reefer" high above mediocrity, and songs like "No Escape From The Blues", the swaggering "Too Young To Know" and the gritty title track pack an immense wallop.
   There are no weak songs here, actually. The re-recording of "Sad Sad Day" should be a blueprint for all slow blues numbers, and the two bonus tracks are by no means throwaways.
   Muddy recorded James Oden's "I Won't Go On" (which is suspiciously reminicent of "I Feel So Good") way back in the 50s, and here it is again, rough and tough and sung in a deep, manly baritone by Waters. And the slow grind of "Clouds In My Heart" is one of the finest songs on the album, featuring a sublime soulful lead vocal, masterful drumming, and some tremendous lead guitar playing courtesy of "Steady Rollin'" Bob Margolin.
   
   Johnny Winter plays excellent slide guitar on several songs (although that is Muddy himself wielding the bottleneck on "Sad Sad Day"), and there is not a glimmer of rock commercialism in his playing, it is pure blues. His abilities as a producer are equally fine, and while "King Bee" doesn't usually get the attention of "Hard Again" or Muddy's classic Chess sides, it should be considered a must-own for any semi-serious Muddy Waters-fan, especially in this expanded edition.
   4 1/2 stars. Highly recommended.



2. This CD lacks the feel-good, party-time atmosphere of the rest of Muddy's Blue Sky period. According to Bob Margolin's liner notes, the somber atmosphere of these recordings were due to a discontent between Muddy and the band over money. Some of the tracks are actually outtakes from 1977 sessions to complete the album. The band quit, and Muddy carried on performing live until his death in 1983.

   The two outtakes are excellent additions and worth upgrading this CD in your collection. But if you'd rather listen to a blues band having a great time in the studio, buy Hard Again or I'm Ready instead. They are both a better listen than King Bee.




3. This final document from the end of his storied career is a blend of studio tracks that were not quite finished for what would have been his third CD with Johnny Winter at the helm, plus a few additional tracks from the previous two years' sessions. While this did not garner the acclaim on its initial release that the other 2 CDs did, it may actually, in its remastered form, be the best of the bunch. Haunting in a way that Johnny Cash's last CD is, this is the sound of a man who knows he has come to the end of the crossroads, as it were.
   From the previous sessions you have the full band at full throttle and the intensity is devastating. From the uncompleted sessions, the songs are more introspective, more intimate, perhaps truer to his cotton field roots than he had been in a very long time, and they are positively spiritual. But what trily sets this apart are the final two bonus cuts that somehow wrap and sum up the legacy of Muddy Waters: "I Can't Go On" amd "Clouds in My Eyes" are so upsetting because these are in fact his very last songs recorded. They are his best as well. Odd that inadvertenetly he would save the very best for last, but these two songs will haunt your soul much as Cash's rendition of "Hurt" does. Columbia and Johnny Winter and the remastering team have done the world of music a very great service in preserving and restoring these tracks.
   Bob Margolin penned intimate and heartfelt liner notes for each of these reissues that are so to the point that they bring you inside the world that Muddy lived. For this last session, they all knew the end was near and somehow drew strength inspite of the oncoming sorrow from their leader's bravery and integrity and deep down grit. Muddy Waters was an ontological and existential hero of the first order, and his coda is as powerful a departing testament as Beethoven's last string quartet, as Tchicovsky's No 6, as Mahler's 9th. This is African American Blues-Gospel-Spiritual requiem in all its soulful acquiessence to a more pwerful Creator. Positively, this was both his most intimate and his most powerful collection of music and it will haunt you the rest of your life.

2 comments about Me & the Devil.

1. Perhaps this hasn't been stressed enough: The first two discs are Green+ Splinter Group + Special Guests' interpretations of -every- Robert Johnson song -ever- recorded,-29-,(the rest of the 44 cuts available elsewhere are alternate takes), the third disc has the -same- 29, but it's the original Robert Johnson recordings! (If you have the first release of the 2-cd Robert Johnson box, you'll find this cd to be -much- better sounding). By the time you're here looking, you -want- this.



2. This is a nicely packaged 3 CD set that essentially contains all of the songs contained on both "Hot Foot Powder" and "The Robert Johnson Song Book" with the addition of two songs, "Terraplane Blues" and "Kind Hearted Woman Blues", that were left off of the "Robert Johnson Song Book" CD. The addition of those songs completes Green's rendition of all 29 Robert Johnson songs. As an added bonus, you receive a third disc which features Robert Johnson performing all 29 original tunes.

   If you were to buy the two Green CD's mentioned above, the price for those two disc's alone would equal the price of this 3 CD set. Adding to the bargain is the fact that each set comes individually numbered and is limited to 10,000 copies.

   Musically, Peter Green and long time friend Nigel Watson have assembled their Splinter Group to perform this tribute to Robert Johnson.

   Both of the CD's are probably the closest and best rendition of Robert Johnson in it's pure form that you are likely to hear. No fancey fret work or screeming vocals, just down home style delta blues. It's hard to imagine how one could go wrong with this purchase....

3 comments about Rounder Records 25th Anniversary.

1. Soundscape of incomparable depth and breadth - miles of music - full of suprises - used it as the soundtrack for my big L party - no one went away dissapointed - listen to it again and again and find some new delight every time - the booklet was missing on my copy but them lovely folks at Rounder sent me one through the post after I told them about it.



2. Rounder Records has done at least four "25th Anniversary" sets, and this box set includes four of the sets. I first discovered the Rounder sets when I bought "Hand-Picked 25 Years of Bluegrass on Rounder Records." I've given that set to several people as an introduction to Bluegrass.
   
   This box set includes the following CDs that are also available on Amazon.
   
   Hills of Home: 25 Years of Folk Music
   Louisiana Spice: 25 Years of Louisiana Music
   Deep Blue: 25 Years of Blues on Rounder Records
   Hand-Picked: 25 Years of Bluegrass on Rounder Records
   
   This set is a good value and a great selection of american music.



3. This is eight CD's (plus bonus if you have what I have) of great American folk/blues/bluegrass/zydeco. Rounder has done it year in and year out better than any. Let them choose the songs. There are many favorites here for me: When God Dips his Pen of Love into my Heart, Never Will Give Up, We Believe in Happy Endings, and I Ain't Broke (But I'm Badly Bent). I heartily recommend this set. Every CD is worth a listen and will contain a treasure. Depending on your taste, several will be listened to whole again and again. Way to go Rounder!!

5 comments about Chess Blues Classics: 1957-1967.

1. I have recently done a few commentaries on the legendary Sun Records label that produced more than its share of both black blues and white rockabilly stars as well as a galaxy of early rock and roll idols and classic songs. If one were to ask what other record company might have had such influence in those days that natural response should be Chicago's Chess Records that caught many of the black blues artists as they headed North to reach their own stardom once the limits of what Memphis had to offer a black recording artist gave out. This album is a 50th Anniversary tribute to many of those who made stardom or, at least, were one-shot johnnies (and janes) on that label from 1957-67.
   
   No Chess Record tribute can be complete, can moreover even be considered as such, unless the name Howlin' Wolf is mentioned. He is represented here by one of the all time great blues songs (and maybe rock and roll as well) Little Red Rooster (as well as Sitting on Top of The World). I know I flipped out the first time I heard it covered by Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones in the early 1960's. When I heard the Wolf do it I went crazy. Others who stand out here are a litany of blues greats- Etta James, Koko Taylor, Elmore James and on and on. But here is the tip of the day. What you are getting this for is the Wolf's Little Red Rooster (okay, maybe also for Elmores's Madison Blues) and that is just fine.



2. A short and sweet review:
   
   If you like Chicago Blues but don't know a whole lot about them, this isn't a bad compilation. But if you prefer the accoustic sound of real Southern blues, especially Delta Blues, you're going to be very disappointed. This is NOT Robert Johnson's blues. This sounds loud...it sounds electric...it sounds BIG. Rock 'n' Roll evolved directly from the Chicago Blues sound in the mid-50s, and the music here actually demonstrates a backwards flow...in the late-50s and early-60s, Chicago Blues was being influenced by the Rock 'n' Roll it had spawned a few years earlier.
   
   There's nothing wrong with that...as long as you like that sound. This reviewer doesn't.



3. The Chess Blues Classics. Bellisimo, Baby. Great for an intro to the Chicago style post-Delta electric blues music--heck, this is great even if you're a longtime fan. This chronicles Chess Records move to their Michigan Ave. digs and the consolidating of some of their satellite small record companies into one big happy homestead. Bass man extraordinaire Willie Dixon becomes the Chess A & R man, and these Blues? They wail, Man, they wail! Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy, Howlin', Etta, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy!!!! When the Buddy Guy track comes on, you notice how much smoother the recording technology, hence, the Blues itself, becomes. A Little Milton cut has sessionmen Charles Stepney on piano and Maurice White on drums. Etta James house rocks a live audience in Nashville. Willie gives a tune to KoKo Taylor. And Hooker does the Last Call...will you love this? Do you have to ask?



4. Like its companion volume, "Chess Blues Classics 1947-1956", this CD offers some of the best tracks by some of the best blues musicians of Chicago's famed Chess label.
   One or two selections are debatable, and "Chess Blues Classics" is of no interest to the more experienced blues fan in that it doesn't include any rarities. But if you're a newcomer and would like to explore classic electric blues, this is a very fine place to start doing so.
   
   "Chess Blues Classics 1957-1967" includes two excellent cuts by harp legend Aleck 'Rice' Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II), namely "Help Me" and the magnificent "Fattening Frogs For Snakes", as well as fine selections by John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, and legendary bluesmen Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and slide guitarist Elmore James. And Otis Rush's too rarely heard "So Many Roads, So Many Trains", with its smouldering slow guitar solo, is here as well.
   
   Several of these tracks count among the greatest electric blues performances ever issued, including Howlin' Wolf's "Little Red Rooster" and John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer".
   4 1/2 stars. A great place to start.



5. I bought this CD 4 years ago, not knowing a whole lot about the blues, and it is now one of my favorite albums. An excellent anthology of the classic blues. Anyone who considers themselves a music fan should listen to this CD.

5 comments about Hard Time Killing Floor Blues.

1. His voice is out of this world and the songs sublime. This music sticks with you



2. The sound quality of his 1964 stuff may be better than his stuff from the 20's (understandably), but his performances were much better on his original, early recordings. I'm not some Blues snob, either, I'm actually just starting to get into the blues; but listening to them side by side it would be obvious to ANYONE which performance was better. Also, he used to play some awesome blues piano on a lot of his songs, it was kind of one of his trademarks--on this CD, alas, it's just guitar. You may still want to get this CD as it is some good blues, but definitely seek out his early stuff in addition. Oh, and one more thing: Skip James wrote "I'm So Glad," the song later covered by the blues-rock group Cream. But it's not on here! If you are like me and you are coming to the blues by way of British blues-rock, you'll definitely want to own James' version of "I'm So Glad."



3. Skip James recorded the songs on this CD in 1964, the same year he was "rediscovered" and performed at the Newport Folk Festival. This is simply one of the most direct blues recordings I've heard. This is just Skip James, nothing is added to the performances. Skip James frequently sings in a melancholy falsetto and accompanies himself on acoustic guitar tuned to minor keys. Even when he sings in a lower register he sounds like he is mumbling or talking to himself, which makes the music seem turned inward, as opposed to shouting out the blues to the world. This is dark, deep, brooding blues, and is such a great listen. The sound quality is great too and it sounds like he is right in the room with you. Skip James sings of his battle with cancer on "Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues" and of course sings about woman trouble on songs like "Devil Got My Woman", my favorite song on this CD. This is one of my favorite acoustic blues CD's, there are times when only Skip James can hit the spot. The way he delivered his vocals was unique and combined with his guitar playing made for some incredible music. If you are a fan of acoustic blues Skip James has to be in your collection, and this disc is a great place to start.



4. Where would the Delta be without Skip James? Deeper and more soulfull than Robert Johnson's Crossroads, less preachy and more down-to-earth than the Death Letter Blues of Son House, Skip James strikes a beauiful minor chord in the soul. His soft hand on the guitar blends with the sweet eeriness of his voice in such perfect musical and emotional harmony as to command the casual listener to catch every note with the ear and savor each chord with his heart. A must-have in any respectable blues collection.



5. I often find myself frustrated when I track down the recordings of various Blues legends, only to find the sound quality terrible. I grew up on Blues inspired Rock, and spent countless hours analyzing chords and solos, and find myself less than satisfied with scratchy hissing recordings of the Blues greats.
   
   This recording is wonderful! The sound quality is fantastic, as he returned to record this in 1964. The price of the CD is worth it just to get the title song, and the rest of the CD demonstrates his range. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

5 comments about D.C. Blues: Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 2.

1. I love this album. Mississippi John Hurt has such a soothing voices. This is a must for any blues fan, or anyone who likes to listen to music for that matter.
   
   Being from Arkansas near where the blues originated, I have been able to attend many blues festivals and hear many artists. Mississippi John Hurt ranks on the top of great blues musicians.



2. This recording along with Vol. 1 really capture John Hurt at his finest. I prefer these to the later Vanguard recording.



3. I have all of Missispi John Hurt's recordings-and this one is the worst-the live the best.
   
   Clearly sitting in front of a mike(you a Black man) with two white people watching you is null of inspiration. Clearly the electronics was poor (1950-60) The guitar sounds decrepit and run-down at the heels. The voicing is good but...all the rest is uninspiring.
   To collectors i say get it-and then compare it with "Missisipi John Hurt Live"



4. Been listening to John since the mid 60's. Love the guy, and study and play his tunes for no reason other than the pure joy of it. Recently picked this up. Wow! Until I heard these recordings, I would positively tell you that "Today!", produced lovingly by Patrick Skye, was absolutely the best Hurt album ever. Now it has some competition. This album brings out new aspects of Hurt. I particularly liked Disc 2. You should do yourself a favor and get this.



5. If you are newly interested in Mississippi John Hurt and looking for a good musical intro to his music, I dare say that this recording may not be your best choice; recording quality and performance quality could be better. The Vanguard "Complete Studio Sessions" 3-CD set might well be a better intro to the music of John Hurt.
   
   If however you are a serious John Hurt fan, then this 2-CD set (previously available only in Europe) would be essential to your collection. Some songs found on this collection are not available elsewhere. In addition, some versions of previously available songs (guitar arrangements, keys, and lyrics) are different on this recording. As usual, the performances are always charming.
   
   Moreover, this CD provides an unvarnished picture of how Mr. Hurt was playing, right at the very beginning of his "rediscovery" period circa 1963. His technique is not nearly as smooth as it was to become just a year or so later. On some songs, the guitar is out of tune; I know this doesn't sound like a 4-star recording per se, but, for the John Hurt afficionado, it really adds to the total picture provided by the man's recorded legacy. And the other thing too... he was such an interesting fellow.... it's great to hear an occasional verbal comment or two made before and after takes.
   
   In short: I have been listening to this guy for 40 years, and it sure is nice to encounter another batch of recordings from MJH.