Ain't Gonna Rain No More: An Historical Survey of Pre-Blues and Blues in Piedmont North

• Artist: Various Artists
• Release Date: 1977
• Type: Collection (various artists)
• Genre: Rock

Review

Poking around the North Carolina Piedmont area for several years, Thomas Stanford of the UNCG music department managed to find a selection of excellent artists performing various forms of the country blues genre. This was cheery news for traditional blues fans, since the social and musical landscape of the '70s was an overwhelming mess of hard rock and disco in which an old-timer picking blues on an acoustic guitar may have felt like a dinosaur of some sort. Some of the characters on this collection sound like they are in only slightly better physical condition than a fossil to boot. The idea of "pre-blues" can lead to the enjoyable but sometimes whimsical hunt for roots connections between American and African traditional styles; it also in this case seems to be another name for styles and songs that are also grouped together under the name of "old-time music" when played by white hillbillies. Tunes such as "Georgia Buck" and "Old Joe Clark" are not blues if one is identifying music according to musical structure; it is also neither really "pre-blues" nor particularly African. What one really hears as a dominant influence in this song is, of course, a chord structure common to Irish reels and jigs. That both these tunes have status as standards in old-timey music and bluegrass should pretty well confirm what part of the American musical pantry they get shelved on. The performance of "Little Brown Jug" by Dink Roberts, on the other hand, isn't a blues either, but might definitely be able to pass for a recording of African music on a quick listen if sandwiched between two stringed instrument and vocal solos from any part of that continent. Part of this has to do with the artist's playing style and the way stringed instruments sound when recorded in home settings. The same can be said for banjoist John Snipes and the fiddle and banjo duo of Odell and Joe Thompson. These players all utilize cyclical patterns in a manner that is both inevitable and gentle. The latter quality really enhances this collection, the flow of music seeming as natural as the wind blowing through the changing fall leaves. Judicious use of recording patter and room noise are also effective techniques in maintaining the atmosphere, yet no matter how relaxed a listener might feel, the musical entrances of some of these performers are startling in their unique and unworldly sonic presence. The recorded sound is to be commended: It is always sharp and compelling. "I Think I Heard the Chilly Wind Blow" is an amazing performance by John Snipes on a banjo that sounds like it was tacked together. Some blues fans regard this record as the compilation Rounder put out to redeem itself from the entire career of the schlocky boogie king George Thorogood, and while that is of course something of an overreaction, Ain't Gonna Rain No More does certainly present a style of blues that is totally removed from the rock 'em, sock 'em macho world of the electric blues bar band. Time and time again, it establishes similarities to various mountain and Appalachian styles, but at the same time there are plenty of tracks that sound like nothing other than what has come to be known as country blues, such as the cooking "Six White Horses" by Dink Roberts. There are also several instrumentals that are similar to the work of one of the great pickers from this region of the world, Elizabeth Cotton. Listeners interested in the black American banjo styles played by Cotton, as well as the late John Jackson, will find this record extremely enjoyable, as will any fan of country blues music. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi

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