Heroes of the Blues: The Very Best of Skip James

• Artist: Skip James
• Rating:
• Release Date: September 09, 2003
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Blues

Review

Skip James' soft eerie falsetto and odd guitar tunings place him apart from other Delta blues players, and when he took a turn at the piano, that, too, was unique. His reputation rests on a dozen or so sides recorded in the late '20s and early '30s, but when he was rediscovered in the 1960s, his skills were still intact and he recorded for several small labels before his death in 1969. This collection is drawn from that rediscovery period and opens with five piano pieces, including James' turn at the Little Brother Montgomery tune "Vicksburg Blues." The balance of the album is given over to guitar tracks and "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues," "Illinois Blues," and "I'm So Glad" (a hit for Cream in an electric version) are particularly strong. The sequence here could have been improved by mixing the piano tracks in throughout rather than presenting them all together at the top of the set, but that is a minor complaint in what is a nice introduction to the most haunting of bluesmen. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
22-20 Blues	Skip James, Robert Johnson	Skip James	(2:51)
Little Cow and Calf Is Gonna Die Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(2:54)
Special Rider Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(3:25)
Vicksburg Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(3:24)
61 Highway		Skip James	(4:22)
How Long Blues	Leroy Carr, J. Mayo Williams	Skip James	(6:17)
Sickbed Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(3:38)
I Don't Want a Woman to Stay Up All Night Long	Skip James	Skip James	(4:44)
Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(3:26)
Skip's Worried Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(4:21)
Illinois Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(3:40)
Cypress Grove Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(4:07)
Cherry Ball Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(3:53)
Crow Jane	Skip James	Skip James	(2:58)
Everybody's Leaving Here		Skip James	(2:39)
I'm So Glad	Skip James	Skip James	(1:53)

Credits

Tina Reynolds (Project Assistant), Mike Thomas (Remastering), Byl Carruthers (Liner Notes), Ben Merlis (Project Assistant), Sid Selvidge (Compilation), Robert Crumb (Cover Illustration), Jimmy Hole (Package Design), Tom Vickers (Executive Producer), Shawn Amos (A&R), Richard Foos (Executive Producer)