Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Cottonfield Blues, Pt. 1 - Garfield Akers
2. Bedside Blues - Jim Thompkins
3. Mississippi Bottom Blues - Kid Bailey
4. Poor Boy Blues - Sam Butler
5. I'm Leavin' Town - William Harris
6. Hittin' the Bottle Stomp - Mississippi Jook Band
7. Last Kind Words Blues - Geeshie Wiley
8. Third Street Woman Blues - Blind Willie Reynolds
9. Muddy Water Blues - Freddie Spruell
10. Fare Thee Well Blues - Joe Calicott
11. That Won't Do - Arthur Petties
12. Four O'Clock Flower Blues - Willie Blackwell
13. Evil Devil Woman Blues - Joe McCoy
14. Jail House Blues - Sam Collins
15. Black Spider Blues - Robert Lockwood, Jr.
16. Traveling Riverside Blues [Take 1] - Robert Johnson
17. Baltimore Blues - Charlie McCoy
18. Down the Big Road Blues - Mattie Delaney
19. You Scolded Me and Drove Me - Mississippi Bracey "Caldwell"
20. Milk Cow Blues - Freddie Spruell
21. Ten Pound Hammer - Mose Andrews
22. Noiseless Motor Blues - Willie Blackwell
23. Jailhouse Fire Blues - Buddy Boy Hawkins
24. 4A Highway - Freddie Spruell
25. Times Had Done Got Hard - King Solomon Hill

Disc 2:

1. Mississippi County Farm Blues - Son House
2. When the Levee Breaks - Joe McCoy
3. Ninety Nine Blues - Blind Joe Reynolds
4. Snake Doctor Blues - Jelly Jaw Short
5. Little Girl in Rome - Otto Virgial
6. It's Cold in China Blues - The Mississippi Moaner
7. Bald Eagle Blues - Willie Blackwell
8. Boodle-De-Bum Blues - Ben Covington,
9. Bull Frog Blues - William Harris
10. Dangerous Woman - Mississippi Jook Band
11. Shaggy Dog Blues - Buddy Boy Hawkins
12. Devil in the Lion's Den - Sam Collins
13. Quarrellin' Mama Blues - Arthur Petties
14. Devil and My Brown Blues - Sam Collins
15. Take a Little Walk with Me - Robert Lockwood, Jr.
16. Last Time Blues - Charlie McCoy, Charlie McCoy
17. Dough Roller Blues - Garfield Akers
18. Croowing Rooster - Walter Rhodes
19. Motherless Child Blues - Elvie Thomas, Geeshie Wiley
20. Married Woman Blues - George Torey
21. She's Young and Wild - Willie Blackwell
22. Cherry Ball - Mississippi Bracey "Caldwell"
23. Bad Notion Blues - Otto Virgial
24. Don't Cry Baby - Freddie Spruell
25. Rowdy Blues - Kid Bailey

Disc 3:

1. My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon - King Solomon Hill
2. Snatch It Back Blues - Buddy Boy Hawkins
3. Machine Gun Blues - Willie Blackwell
4. Revenue Man Blues - Arthur Petties
5. Mr Freddie's Kokomo Blues - Freddie Spruell
6. Over to My House - Geeshie Wiley
7. Barefoot Blues - Jelly Jaw Short
8. Jumpin' and Shoutin' Blues - Garfield Akers
9. Look Who's Coming Down the Road - Joe McCoy
10. Traveling Mama Blues - Joe Calicott
11. Leavin' Here Blues - William Harris
12. Got the Blues About Rome - Otto Virgial
13. Young Heifer Blues - Mose Andrews
14. Skippy Whippy - Mississippi Jook Band
15. Yellow Dog Blues - Sam Collins
16. You Can't Keep No Brown - Sam Butler
17. Tallahatchie River Blues - Mattie Delaney
18. Stered Gal - Mississippi Bracey "Caldwell"
19. Motherless and Fatherless Blues - Charlie McCoy
20. Don't Misuse Me, Baby - Willie Blackwell
21. I'm Gonna Train My Baby - Robert Lockwood, Jr.
22. Out on Santa Fe Blues - Arthur Petties
23. It's Hard Time - Joe Stone
24. Your Good Man Is Gone - Freddie Spruell
25. Cold Woman Blues - Blind Joe Reynolds

Disc 4:

1. Clarksdale Moan - Son House
2. Adam and Eve in the Garden - Ben Covington,
3. Lonesome Man Blues - George Torey
4. Leaving Home Blues - Walter Rhodes
5. Loving Lady Blues - Sam Collins
6. Early Mornin' Blues - William Harris
7. Number Three Blues - Buddy Boy Hawkins
8. Tell Me Baby - King Solomon Hill
9. Little Boy Blue - Robert Lockwood, Jr.
10. Cottonfield Blues, Pt. 2 - Garfield Akers
11. Chalk My Toy - Willie Blackwell
12. Barbecue Bust - Mississippi Jook Band
13. Two Time Blues - Arthur Petties
14. Back Door Blues - Joe Stone
15. Way Back Down Home - Freddie Spruell
16. Skinny Leg Blues - Geeshie Wiley
17. Meat Cutter Blues - Joe McCoy
18. Mississippi Moan - The Mississippi Moaner
19. Married Man Blues - Blind Willie Reynolds
20. Jefferson County Blues - Sam Butler
21. Rampaw Street Blues - Willie Blackwell
22. I'll Overcome Someday - Mississippi Bracey "Caldwell"
23. Good Boy Blues - Arthur Petties
24. Grand Daddy Blues - Jelly Jaw Short
25. Let's Go Riding - Freddie Spruell

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78468 in Music
• Released on: 2007-04-03
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

Rare but fine Country Blues of the Highest Caliber
JSP continues to challenge Yazoo and Document records with their re-releases (with very good mastering to boot) of country blues and this set is no exception. For 25 bucks you get some of the finest and rarest country blues put to shellac (this set was mastered from 80-year old 78's where in some cases, only 1 or 2 copies is known to exist).

Unfortunately, some of these artists recorded for Paramount records, a company notorious for manufacturing records that would self-destruct after 20 plays.

Don't be discouraged by the sound quality; in most cases on this set, it is exemplary considering that the bulk of this material was recorded before 1930. What we have here are some of the earliest examples of country blues (i.e. Freddie Spruell), pure and unaffected because it preceded the advent of radio airplay and music company marketing hyperbole.

Those who have not reveled in the fabulous bottleneck playing and tortured singing of Sam Butler (Bo Weevil Jackson) or King Solomon Hill (Joe Holmes) are missing the origins of much popular "roots" music and the regional musical styles that existed before the depression.

Similarly, listen to the late Robert Lockwood's earliest acoustic sides before he went on to embellish Sonny Boy Williamson's (Willie Rice Miller) and Little Walter's most famous Chess material, and Otis Spann's beautiful recordings for Candid records.

This set has too many superlatives to mention in an Amazon review, but it must be said that these recordings, although performed when the term "indigenous music" could be applied without exaggeration, were to become a major influence on so much of the popular music that followed it 10 and 20 years later.

As always, JSP has delivered a lot for a little. If you have any interest in pre-war country blues, it doesn't come any better than this.

Real Blues for Real People
This is the way it is supposed to sound. Why some people think that old 78's will magically sound like current digital recordings is beyond belief! That aside, this is a GREAT collection of country delta blues played by real people who lived the blues. This is the real deal for a very reasonable price. The neat thing about collections like this is that you hear real blues from different people with different styles. This is how you expand your appreciation. This is how you learn. This is how your grow. Get over the occasional nicks and scratches in the sound; think of it as adding to the experience, and appreciate what is being performed. This stuff is really great!

Wonderful Collection of Mostly Previously Unavailable Music
Caveat: You probably have to like country blues to like this set. If you don't you may be put off.

If you are familiar with this style of music this is a treasure trove. Among other things there are recordings by Freddie Spruell, and the only appearances on record of the legendary Hacksaw Harney (as an accompanist to piano player Walter Rhodes.) Other highlights include the four acoustic tunes recorded by Robert Lockwood, Jr,the recently discovered Son House recording (Mississippi County Farm and Clarksdale Moan) and records by the brothers Joe and Charlie McCoy including a delightful version of the song Skip James recorded as Devil Got My Woman called here Evil Devil Woman.

The sound is very good for the money. Someone like the late John R. T. Davies probably could have made them all sound like pristine electric 78s but these are remarkably free of noise, particularly the annoying crackle that often came from Paramount discs straight from the factory. Remember too that a lot of these are acoustic recordings and are more limited in frequency and dynamic range than the electrical recordings that started in the later 1920s.

If you're interested in country blues and want a good sample of the styles that were popular in Mississippi in the 20s and 30s this is well worth the money. I think it's worth it because it's darned good music but that's only my opinion; I may be right; I may be wrong.