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- Artist:
Various Artists - Release Date: February 25, 2003
- Total Time: 73:00
- Type: Collection (various artists)
- Genre: Blues
Review
Starting in the 1940s, Folkways made significant blues recordings, particularly of important artists who might not have had the easiest time getting or keeping contracts with more commercial labels, but still had something to say artistically. This 26-track compilation assembles material recorded between the 1940s and 1990s that showed up on various Folkways releases. Unfortunately, the liner notes don't name the exact dates of all the recordings, but certainly the substantial majority of them predate 1970. These recordings were targeted toward a somewhat scholarly folk revival audience, and some might find them a little folky and gentle. Electric instruments barely appear at all (with the notable exception of the early Chambers Brothers cut "Oh Baby, You Don't Have to Go"), and there's little that's as rough as the average prewar Delta blues track. Yet overall, it's a good compilation of many major and minor mid-20th century blues performers and styles. The bigger names include Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee (whose "Old Jabo," with drums, almost verges on Bo Diddley-styled rock & roll), Reverend Gary Davis (represented by a 1957 version of his famous "Candy Man"), Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon (performing together), Lightnin' Hopkins, Leadbelly, Roosevelt Sykes, Son House, Champion Jack Dupree, Elizabeth Cotten, Lonnie Johnson, and Josh White. While acoustic guitar blues (including a field recording of K.C. Douglas' "Mercury Blues," later covered by Steve Miller) gets a fair amount of airtime, so do boogie piano, a cappella singing (Vera Hall), and some actual Delta blues (Son House, from a 1942 field recording). ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music GuideTracks
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Old Jabo | Brownie McGhee | Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry | (2:14) |
| Mule-Ridin' Blues | Big Bill Broonzy | Big Bill Broonzy | (3:46) |
| Joggie Boogie | Peter Chatman | Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, |
(3:27) |
| Black Woman | Vera Hall, |
Vera Hall | (1:27) |
| Mercury Blues | K.C. Douglas, |
K.C. Douglas | (2:21) |
| Ran the Blues Out of My Window | Roosevelt Sykes | Roosevelt Sykes | (2:57) |
| Leaving Blues | Alan Lomax, |
Leadbelly | (2:23) |
| One Dime Blues | Etta Baker, Blind Lemon Jefferson | Etta Baker | (3:46) |
| County Farm Blues | Son House | (2:11) | |
| Clog Dance (Stomping Blues) | Champion Jack Dupree | (2:02) | |
| Boll Weevil | Traditional | Pink Anderson | (3:06) |
| Nickel's Worth of Liver | Edith North Johnson | Edith North Johnson | (2:43) |
| Don't Leave Me Here | Big Joe Williams | Big Joe Williams | (2:43) |
| Jimmy Bell | Cat Iron | (2:20) | |
| Candy Man | Rev. Gary Davis | Rev. Gary Davis | (2:35) |
| Beer Drinking Woman | Peter Chatman | (2:32) | |
| Come Go Home With Me | Lightnin' Hopkins | (3:55) | |
| Careless Love | W.C. Handy, |
Josh White | (3:23) |
| I Asked Her If She Loved Me | Henry Townsend | Henry Townsend | (2:55) |
| Rising Sun | Brownie McGhee | Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee | (2:43) |
| Pony Blues | Charley Patton | David Honeyboy Edwards | (3:28) |
| Vicksburg Blues | Little Brother Montgomery | (4:02) | |
| Vastapol | Elizabeth Cotten | (2:11) | |
| Drifting Along Blues | Lonnie Johnson | (2:59) | |
| Oh Baby, You Don't Have to Go | Jimmy Reed | The Chambers Brothers | (2:49) |
| Don't Lie Buddy | Leadbelly | (2:20) |
