Similar Albums:
Introduction to Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee,
Collector's Edition,
Statesboro Blues: The Early Years 1927-1935,
Carolina Bluesman,
East Coast Blues [Catfish],
Black Appalachia: String Bands, Songsters and Hoedowns,
Folkways Years, 1944-1963,
Three Shades of Blues,
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1936-1937),
In His Prime (1927-1928)
- Artist: Sonny Terry
- Rating:
- Release Date: October 18, 2005
- Type: Compilation (best of)
- Genre: Blues
Review
Although North Carolina harmonica man Sonny Terry is best remembered for his long partnership with guitarist Brownie McGhee, he had his own solo career prior to hooking up with McGhee in the early '40s, and he issued several 78s on his own, as well as working with artists as diverse as Blind Boy Fuller, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, and later, Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte, and even Johnny Winter. This two-disc set collects all manner of early material, but the most striking tracks come immediately on the first disc, with the utterly unique and haunting "Mountain Blues" and the ramshackle chaos of "The New John Henry," which features Bull City Red's distinctive washboard. Terry is a revelation on these two tracks, not just because of his trademark high-pitched, biting harmonica style, but because of his impossibly high-pitched yelping vocals, which come with all manner of shouts, whoops, and asides. Throw in the foot stomping, and Terry's Appalachian roots are obvious, because he sounds like nothing so much as a one-man string band playing fiddle runs on the harp, and the vocal whoops function much like dance calls. It is eerie, wonderful stuff, and while the rest of the program is more refined, Terry's mountain roots are always apparent, and these tracks are a revelation if you're only familiar with his later folk revival albums with McGhee. Two discs of it, though, might be a bit much for casual listeners. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Mountain Blues | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (3:08) |
| The New John Henry | Traditional | Sonny Terry | (3:32) |
| Run Away Women | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:46) |
| Chain Gang Special | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:55) |
| Pick a Bale of Cotton | Traditional | Sonny Terry | (3:18) |
| Tell Me Little Woman | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:52) |
| Whoopin' the Blues | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:46) |
| Riff and Harmonica Jump | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:43) |
| Early Morning Blues | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:52) |
| Crow Jane Blues | Traditional | Sonny Terry | (2:35) |
| Telephone Blues | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (3:25) |
| Dirty Mistreater | Sonny Terry | (2:46) | |
| Hootin' Blues | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:08) |
| Dangerous Woman | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:26) |
| Going Down Slow | Sonny Terry | (3:18) | |
| Sittin' on the Top of the World | Sonny Terry | (2:46) | |
| Man Ain't Nothing But a Fool | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (3:05) |
| Stranger Blues | Sonny Terry | (2:23) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Baby Let's Have Some Fun | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:27) |
| Four O'Clock Blues | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (3:04) |
| Lonesome Room | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:58) |
| That Woman Is Killing Me | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:46) |
| Harmonica Train | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:46) |
| Harmonica Hop | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:39) |
| Doggin' My Heart Around | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:53) |
| John Henry | Traditional | Sonny Terry | (3:13) |
| Hound Dog Holler | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:23) |
| Louise Blues | Sonny Terry | (2:53) | |
| Goodbye Lead Belly | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (3:07) |
| Custard Pie | Traditional | Sonny Terry | (2:32) |
| Old Woman Blues | Sonny Terry | (2:48) | |
| Moanin' and Mournin' | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (3:23) |
| Hootin' and Jumpin' | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:18) |
| Sonny Is Drinking | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:33) |
| I'm Gonna Rock Your Wig | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:42) |
| Hooray Hooray | Sonny Terry | Sonny Terry | (2:22) |
