Reviews (1)

Memphis Picking and English Mastering
Pros:
* 101 sides for $26
* The best mastering available given the limitations of current technology
* Complete prewar sides of Furry Lewis, the Beale Street Sheiks, Frank Stokes, and Robert Wilkins
* Superlative picking & crooning from some outrageously talented country blues acts
* Furry lewis' rendition of Billy Lyons and Stack O'Lee is amazing

Cons:
* Sides were recorded in the '20s and sound quality is still sketchy compared to the latest from Michael Bolton
* Minimal packing and notes

Bottom line: Impressive value ... Read more

Amazon.com

There's just something about slide guitar when it's done right, and it's definitely done right here. Streamline Special is something of a history lesson, as well; everyone from Robert Johnson ("Preachin' Blues") and Blind Boy Fuller ("Homesick & Lonesome Blues") to Muddy Waters ("I Feel Like Going Home") to Taj Mahal, whose "Country Blues" rendition is one of the highlights of this collection. There's the deceptively down-tempo "Two Timin' Woman" from Casey Bill Weldon, and Bukka White's "Special Streamline," where he does a train sound with his guitar that puts Aerosmith's "Train Kept a-Rollin'" to shame. Allen Shaw really does moan on "Moanin' the Blues," and Tampa Red and Georgia Tom's "No Matter How She Done It" is a smart, sassy, and frequently hilarious song. This isn't a definitive collection by a long shot, but it's an excellent introduction to the expressiveness and versatility of slide guitar. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This is a marvellous CD
I am afraid that any words used to express my fondness for this CD would be inadequate. Anyone who appreciates blues should pick this one up without question. And if ya don't love blues, pick this one up. You will certainly not regret it. All of the artists are shining examples of the best black blues, indeed the only blues. Simpley because there is no such thing as a worthy white blues man. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Folklore Man, Alan Lomax Does It Again!
The Land Where Blues Began is Alan Lomax's master ensemble of the music that shaped American music. It is the music that influenced the works of Miles Davis, Tom Waits, Ewan McColl and most recent Norah Jones. Take the tour of the Mississippi Delta of the 1930s and 1940s and listen to the story who gave birth to the Blues with such legends as Muddy Waters, Leadbelly and Fred McDowell.

We need more music hunters like Lomax to record our music heritage for future generations. Lomax cross many towns and landscapes to get these first time field recordings of the now Blues greats. Lomax 'cornbread-and-poteen odyssey' across the American heartland is well documented in his candid conversations with the bluesmen and the story of how the blues became daddy of all modern-day music. It's told through those legends and through work songs, hymns, ballads, sermons, stories and smoky bars. The album captures the vivid sounds and the impossible to hold back energy and soul of the Blues fathers that changed American history.

NOTE: The CD is chronicled in the book of the same name by Alan Lomax as an addition to adding to your Blues collection. The book also includes a 4 track CD sampler as well. It won the 1993 National Book Critics Award for nonfiction. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Wonderful!
Wow, it is amazing what people find in storerooms! This is a great compilation of Skip James music that supposedly has never been released until now. I enjoy the album very much, Skip is a master of the Delta Blues. The music is soulfull and presented in a way that can only be acheived by Skip. My one dissappointment was that I didn't hear much of his wonderful guitar work on this release. It is primarily a piano album. The recording quality is pretty good for that era, though not up to todays standards.
That said, I recommend newcomers get his Complete Recorded Works first for the best intro into Skip James' music. However, if you have that and other recordings already, get this to complete your collection and satiate that Skip fix.

Unexpected!!! One unissued hour by the Master !!!!
Vanguard gave us a magnificent gift this year,with this issue of a complete unknown session by the very great Nehemiah "Skip" James (1902-1969),the most original master of the country blues.
Born in Bentonia (like Jack Owens),Skip gave to the blues some of its greatest masterpieces: "Hard time killing floor blues","Cherry ball blues","Devil got my woman","Cypress grove blues".
At this time,a very long time ago,these guys,who were often born in the same area,used to play in a totally fifferent style from their neighbours.Skip James,Bukka White,Fred McDowell,Ishman Bracey,Rubin Lacey,Son House,Bo Carter,Charley Patton,John Hurt,Robert Pete Williams,just to name a few,they all play and sing the blues,but they all do it with their own style.Seems like the most important thing was to sound different from the others.Among these guys,Skip James certainly was the most original of them all.He played piano,and guitar,not in the usual tuning but always in his own minor tuning,and sang with a strange falsetto voice.
In this "new" record,you won't listen to Skip's well known tunes;he never recorded another version of most of these tunes.
You'll listen to James P.Johnson's "backwater blues",Brownie McGhee's "sportin' life blues",a milestone in the blues history,the traditionnal "bumble bee" or "Mary,don't you weep",some great blues by Skip,like "my last boogie" or "Omaha blues",a bunch of gospels,like the very great "walking the sea",in which Skip sings with his wife,Lorenzo,and even...an Hoagy Carmichael tune,"lazy bones",which was also recorded by Louis Armstrong.
And even if some of the most amazing blues tunes don't figure here (hard times,cherryball,cypress grove...),it's a real delight to hear one of the greatest blues artists playing and singing these unknown tunes.This session was recorded in 1967 for Vanguard;James commited two albums for this label,"Devil got my woman" and the fantastic "Skip James today",which is one of the most magnificent,amazing,incredible,superlative blues records ever done.Skip James' voice is just like Billie Holiday's or Jimmy Scott's: just like an octopus;when it takes you in its arms,you can't leave it.And Skip's guitar style is one of the most fascinating ones with Robert Pete Williams';he was a Master of the 20th century music.One of the most essential ones,like Duke,Coltrane,Monk,Robert Johnson or Charley Patton.You,american citizens,you ahve the privilege to belong to a country that gave to the world dozens of musicians who will always be among the absolute geniuses of music.Hope you won't forgive them.Among these geniuses was Nehemiah James;and this guy never recorded between 1931 and 1964.Neither did Mississippi John Hurt,or Bukka White,or Son House.
I hope you'll be fascinated by this incredible music;of course,Skip's blues aren't the easier to listen to;it's as astonishing as listening to Monk for the first time;nobody never played guitar that way ("bumble bee","Jack o'diamonds").Totally fascinating and hypnotyzing,incredibly beautiful.Jump into Skip James' musical world !!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

WONDERFUL!
I just finished listening to this cd. I loved it! Chris Thomas King can achieve a beutiful sound. There are some great, old blues songs from Robert Johnson and Lead Belly, and then there are some new, unique songs. It's a balanced mix. This CD would be a terrific addition to any music lover's collection. Whether you've loved blues for a long time, or you're new to the scene, get this CD! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The fourth album from modern bluesman Eric Bibb is a get-out-of-bed delight, the kind of record that makes you feel like being productive. As with his previous efforts, Home to Me contains some strong folk elements, especially on the slower, mellower numbers such as "Singin' in My Heart." The son of folk musician Leon Bibb, the Eric Bibb met and learned from such luminaries as Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger. Though Bibb's career is based in Europe (he lives in Sweden), he has cultivated a growing American following, which is only appropriate, as his music--a flavorful mix of folk, country, and soul over a solid blues base--is very much a U.S. creation. Even "Mandela Is Free," which contains African-style chants and rhythms, is sung over a folk-blues accompaniment--and what could be more uniquely American than fusing disparate musical styles? Full of sunshine and good feeling, Home to Me is a perfect summer release, guaranteed to provide warmth all through the year. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Soul singing and Delta guitar playing with passion!
Original songs and inspired singing and playing make this cd a memorable experience all around! Play him on The Blues Power Show at 1490 KOTY AM Yakima Nation Reservation Radio in south central Washington state.

Eric Bibb's passion for music is evidenced!
Mr. Bibb provides an entertaining and charismatic rapport of appreciativeness toward his live audience. His soul-felt blues voice and acoustic guitar abilities attest to his innate gift as a musician and songwriter. On this album, the melody to the song "For You" is almost haunting--add the lyrics--together they show his heartfelt passion for his music.

GREAT MIX OF UPLIFTING BLUES
This is a great album, It is not dull at all. Maybe the person that wrote that review is unfamaliar with the blues, it is a great album. It has ballads, blues, and hula sounding music including a duet with Taj Mahal. GREAT ALBUM!

Y-A-W-N!!!
What a dull, lacklustre performance. This CD is dull, dull, dull. It lacks any variety at all. To say it is bland is an understatement. Eric just drones on from track to track to track. There is nothing to excite the listener at all. It's the type of CD that you'd be tempted to play if you are suffering from a severe case of insomnia! I'd suggest forget about buying this CD & check out Ben Harper instead.

Outstanding!
When I first heard Come Back Baby on the radio, I thought "Oh, please don't let this be another heavily cliche'd blues tune" after hearing the title. I couldn't have been more wrong. Eric's haunting vocals and subtle blues licks (with enough Lightnin Hopkins to be a good tribute) are capturing straight from the soul. Too bad Amazon didn't preview this track 'cause it's the reason I bought this album. ... Read more

Amazon.com

There's a stereotype about the Delta blues. You know the one: some guy sitting on a back porch somewhere, or maybe in a boxcar, with his guitar, singing about some woman who left him. But real Delta blues is far more flexible, creative, and, above all, spooky than that. It takes someone who learned from the style's master--that would be Robert Johnson, in case you're wondering--to explore the music's length and breadth, and that someone is Robert Lockwood Jr. That's why, even though he covers some of the hoariest chestnuts the Delta blues has to offer--yep, there's "Dust My Broom," and yep, there's "Love in Vain," and "Ramblin' on My Mind," not to mention Lightnin' Hopkins's "C.C. Rider," which has been covered by just about everyone who can sling an acoustic guitar--Lockwood keeps the music fresh and appealing. There's no question that he's good at what he does; he's won a W.C. Handy award, been nominated for a Grammy, and remained one of the most respected bluesmen around for decades. It would be hard to select a more clichéd title for a Delta blues album than Delta Crossroads--Lockwood does not, by the way, cover "Crossroad Blues" on this album, but that's fine; he's earned the right. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Delta Lockwood
This cd is an essential Lockwood album. It includes all the great guitar singles and no-one plays a Twelve string Better than Robert Lockwood Jr.

If you enjoy the real roots of blues music you will want to purchase this cd. Robert is a founder of blues music and influenced many. This cd will show you why. Also check out I Got to find me a woman for a band backing Robert up.

The KING OF BLUES

The King of the Twelve String
Robert Lockwood plays a mean 12-string guitar. This album showcases Robert alone with his acoustic 12-string and is a reminder of the power of the song. Robert's voice and guitar ring so loud and clear, it's a pleasure to listen to this disc full of old blues standards and Lockwood originals. Lockwood is an underappreciated blues master. He will probably always live in the shadow of his mentor, Robert Johnson...but he deserves to be honored as a blues original in his own right. The clear and crisp production and sound on this disc only help to make these blues standards sound better than ever. I bought this disc to get some inspiration as an acoustic blues guitar player, and Lockwood's 12-string playing has blown me away! I can only hope to play half as good as Lockwood some day. Great stuff!

He just gets better with age.
At the time or writing, B.B.& Eric are up for a Grammy for "traditional Blues", but in all fairness,they can`t hold a candle to this 85 year-old gent`s latest release! It is Delta Blues as it supposed to be played,and once again shows just how magical the 12-string acoustic guitar can sound when played in this genre. Suffice to say that,if you love the Blues,then buy this album. Mr.Lockwood Jr.can still show the young`uns a thing or two!

So Good!
An updated but authentic blues recording. If you love the blues and are sometimes frustrated by the quality of the old recordings, you'll love this disc. Robert Lockwood, Jr. is a blues master who shows it's possible to reinterpret old standards while remaining true to the blues form. I can't recommend this disc highly enough!

Another gem by a master
Robert Lockwood, Jr., remains a national blues treasure who still sounds as fresh and vital today as he did decades ago. Telarc has issued a new cd, Delta Crossroads, which is surprising in being a solo acoustic album. Robert is heard on fine performances of a number of blues associated with his stepfather, Robert Johnson's songs, several other blues standards and his own originals.This is not his first acoustic blues album. He recorded for a French label, Plays Robert & Robert which has been reissued in the US on Evidence. And he has included tracks on prior albums in a similar vein. Robert has recorded most of the songs heard here in the past, although perhaps under different titles. For example, his This Little Girl of Mine was recorded with his band as Hold Everything on his first Trix album. This writer is familiar with other renditions of most of the Robert Johnson songs. Johnson's 32-20 Blues that opens this album may be the one song I have not heard him on record do before. Lockwood, in fact, recorded Dust My Broom prior to Elmore James, although it was issued later, and he did Rambling on My Mind on his Steady Rolling Man album on Delmark. He plays with his usual skill and sings straightforwardly and without any artifice. Its nice to hear renditions of performances of blues classics he regularly performs including C.C. Rider and Leroy Carr's Mean Mistreater and In the Evening, which is juxtaposed with a rendition of Love In Vain, which uses the latter tune's melody. This is beautifully recorded and produced by Joe Harley and is a worthy addition to his growing body of recordings. Hopefully we will get a new album of Robert with his band real soon. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Shining Addition to Any Collection
The consolidation of record companies is generally bad, but this 3-CD box set was only possible because MCA acquired the rights to some outstanding early "race" record labels (Vocalion, Decca) and classy early R&B (e.g. Chess). The result is an intelligent, sequenced collection that is much more than a jarring, random assortment of songs by blues masters. Starting with the Delta blues, the mix seems subtly slanted in favor of bawdy, roadhouse-style blues performances--why it's the devil's music and you can't stay away from it. Whether it's Peetie Wheatstraw, Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker or Etta James, these performances will seduce you. Good quality sound throughout (even the old stuff), with a handsome booklet.

An excellent blues collection
I own tons of blues CD's and records but I find myself going back to this collection over and over again. The songs represent some of the strongest recordings by the masters of the blues. Whether your interest is delta blues, piano blues, jump blues, Chicago blues or smooth urban blues; you'll find plenty to peak your ear. If you're lucky as I was, you'll find some unfamiliar and great artists to lead you down new musical roads. Some of my personal favorites are: That's No Way to Get Along - Robert Wilkins, What's the Matter with the Mill? - Kansas Joe McCoy, Floating Bridge - Sleepy John Estes, Mother Earth - Memphis Slim, It Serves You Right to Suffer - John Lee Hooker- just to name a few. Since I've got a 1,000 word limit in this review it prevents me from listing every great track on the collection and all the reasons you should purchase it. Suffice to say, buy it now and you won't be sorry!

Best Collection of Classic Blues!
I have purchased a lot of Blues recordings recently, but for a single purchase, this collection would be the best. It has the one or two most recognized songs from the most prominent Blues artists from 1927 to 1969, without the "scratches" of the old '78's!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

These are the sounds of the American melting pot in full boil, a vibrant study in musical and cultural collision. The companion box set to the four-part PBS documentary, this four-disc set skims the cream of 20th-century American "roots music"--music based in its own rich ethnic, geographical, and cultural traditions yet malleable and responsive enough to accommodate elements borrowed from other traditions. The 68 songs here traverse country, blues, folk, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, Tejano, and Native American styles, and while there are obviously huge differences between these songs, it's the similarities that are truly remarkable. Thanks to a cross-pollination facilitated by radio, recording technology, and the highway system, traditional American musical forms bounced off each other like atoms--European tradition met African tradition, urban met rural, Northern met Southern, secular met spiritual, and so it goes. This project allows you to trace each genre's development while simultaneously illustrating its connections to other forms. Like any project of this nature, you can lament all the great music that didn't make it--jazz, in fact, is completely ignored except for one boogie-woogie piano duet, presumably because Ken Burns already covered this territory--but it's difficult to find fault with what did make it here. The producers balance well-known original recordings with 20 newly recorded tracks and nine songs taken from archival film sources. Housed in a stylish hard-bound case and boasting detailed song-by-song notes and great photos, the American Roots Music box makes for a valuable gateway into America's musical heritage and a springboard for further investigation. --Marc Greilsamer ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Nearly Perfect
The PBS American Roots Music series - both the 4 part documentary on DVD and 4 CD boxed set - is a commendable work. It is an incredible education in not only popular American music and culture, but history, and should be required viewing and listening in high schools.

Many of the problems in American Society and its youth today stem from a complete lack of pride and self-awareness. A quick survey of popular music and culture reveal a frightening level of ignorance of America's history, values, and ideals. In short, while the series focusses on America's musical traditions, it does a fantastic job of conveying a sense of America's "roots" in a positive, enriching manner.

The DVD documentary strikes a perfect balance between glossing over, and becoming bogged down in, the material. Unlike the Ken Burns' projects that exhaust the viewer's interest and collapse under their own weight, the series is informative and educational, yet entertaining. It is not MEANT to be an exhaustive treatise on the subject - and so some reviewers here are missing the point - that would take 40, not 4, episodes. Rather, it is an introduction and a sampler; peaking our curiosity and prompting us to investigate and research further the wonderful heritage of music out there. And in that, it succeeds marvelously.

What also impressed me was the documentary's remarkable objectivity. While it eschews political correctness, it doesn't necessarily candy coat anything either. What it does do is present the material in a respectful, thoughtful, intelligent, and unbiased manner - something so lacking in today's political and social discourse. So in this sense, folks looking for something with an "agenda" - conspiracies, skeletons in the closet, and historical revisionism - may be disappointed by the documentary.

The CD boxed set is equally well-done: a fantastic booklet, thorough liner notes, and collection of songs that is a music lover's dream. Again, it is intended to be a sampler - great songs by landmark artists - not an exhaustive account of American Roots music. And also like the documentary, its meant to be a enriching, uplifting - not deconstructing - experience.

If the series has a shortcoming, it is the absence of one of the major "roots" - Jazz - which was no doubt and most unfortunately excluded, because of the recent Ken Burns' PBS documentary. But to exclude Jazz from the discussion of American Roots music, means we do not have the entire picture. And so in that sense, the series is somewhat flawed.

Still, its hard to find any other fault with the series. This is a work that TRULY embraces and celebrates America's cultural diversity. Entertaining and enlightening, I would heartily recommend owning the box set and DVD for one's own edification as well as a way to help introduce friends and family to REAL American music - in all its forms.

American Roots Music
An Awsome Collection Of Hard To Find Roots Music In A Box
Set Thats Worth The Money

Gotta have it
Excellent collection, except I wish they could have picked another B.B. King tune than the overrated "The Thrill Is Gone."

scattered roots
One doesn't envy anyone charged with the task of assembling a collection of essential recordings in America's many folk and vernacular genres. As such things go, American Roots Music is decent enough, though inevitably anyone who knows the music will wonder at the omissions (for example, of Dock Boggs or any of the classic old-time string bands). Perhaps the major problem here is that the four discs encompass such a range of styles that they can hardly begin to do justice to any one of them. The serious listener will already have much of this in his or her collection. Of course it's not exactly a painful sacrifice to hear "Waiting for a Train," "Uncle Pen," "Black Snake Moan," "Cross Road Blues," or any of a number of other warhorses, yet again. I was least familiar with the music on Disc #4 (Cajun/Zydeco/Tejano/Native American) and so enjoyed it the most. A particular treat is Mingo Saldivar's lively version of the old Johnny Cash hit "Ring of Fire." Saldivar doesn't just sing the lyrics in Spanish; he reinvents the melody, making it sound as if "Ring" were always supposed to be a conjunto tune. The disc ends anticlimactically, however, with the inexplicable inclusion of a New-Ageish composition, when a reprise of the wonderful series theme song (a movingly organic rendition of "Worried Man Blues" by performers representing a variety of traditions) would have been a more proper send-off. As a primer set in an unusually attractive package, American Roots Music will do, more or less, but seasoned followers of our homegrown sounds will seek their pleasures elsewhere.

American Roots Music
As an attempt to present a primer on roots music, this set is very well done. With the exception of jazz, all of the bases are covered and most are covered pretty well. However, anyone with some knowledge of roots music who is looking for a "new jem" is probably going to be disappointed. On the plus side, the version here of "We Shall Overcome" is the best recorded one I have heard and the Tejano and Native American sections are a welcome addition. However, the omission of white mountain gospel or shape notes songs is puzzling. ... Read more

Amazon.com

When folk revivalists all of a sudden became fascinated with country-blues performers of the early 20th century, no one had to go into the sticks to find Reverend Gary Davis. Though he'd stopped recording, Davis was an active street singer and preacher in Harlem throughout the 1940s. In the 1950s, folklorists, fans, and followers began to seek him out to hear him play, record him, and learn from him. Stefan Grossman, now a respected guitarist in his own right, was one of his longtime students, and he's compiled this wonderful three-disc box set, complete with detailed song notes and an essay that explores Davis's pre-New York days. Disc 1 features rare recordings made by Columbia University student John Gibbons in 1958 and 1959, and it focuses mostly on Davis's instrumental prowess: a thoroughly matchless fingerpicking guitar style that fused bits of jazz, blues, and ragtime into a highly personal technique. In addition to the many instrumentals on the first disc, there are some of Davis's most spellbinding vocal performances, especially "Crucifixion" (which blends singing and preaching) and "Don't Know Where to Go." Disc 2 includes home recordings from the mid-1960s, while the final disc of live recordings shows off his stage charisma and command. Demons and Angels clearly displays the breadth of Reverend Gary Davis's talent and material--from pop songs to "holy blues" and age-old folk--and is quite a welcome boon to his devoted fans and anyone else looking to discover one of the genre's inimitable talents. Beyond that, it will have aspiring (and even accomplished) acoustic guitarists staying up half the night trying to figure out exactly how the good Reverend played what he played. --Marc Greilsamer ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Unexpected,terrific music.Too marvelous for words!!!
Blind Gary Davis,best known as Reverend Gary Davis,since he bacame a preacher,1933,may be the most terrific,outstanding guitar player of the blues and gospel history with Blind Blake.His ragtime style,combined with this particular South Carolina touch,makes him one of the most gifted and impressive musicians of all times.Born in Laurens County,South Carolina,April 30,1896,he lived enough to be rediscovered in the early sixties,while he was a street singer in Harlem;he lived until 1972,and died May 5,one week after his 76th birthday,on his way to a concert date.THis three CD set,full of treasures,is issued by Stefan Grossman,who was a pupil of the Reverend.These are unissued recordings: CD 1 was recorded at the Columbia University,1958-1959;CD 2 was recorded at home,1964-1966;and CD 3 comes from concert dates,1962-1966.Of course,it includes some amazing music;Gary Davis was really alone in his field,that way of playing and singing sacred songs with this Carolina touch;his incredible,extremely difficult picking style (surely the most difficult one with Blind Blake's) ,with many ragtime touches,is a real delight.And I don't speak of the guitar he's playing;I just hope I'll have the opportunity to play such an instrument once in my life.
Gary Davis stopped playing blues in the fourties,and it's a great chance to hear him play it here.BUt if you buy this set,please start listening to "sporting life blues",(no,it's not Brownie McGhee's,even if the melody and chords are close to it),this is an amazing guitar solo which will drive you directly into Gary Davis' music.And Lord,what a sound!!!I won't try to tell you about all the songs,there are too many,and they're all amazing;the only regret I have,like another reviewer said,is that Gary Davis' masterpiece,"death don't have no mercy",doesn't figure here.Too bad.But there are other masterpieces: "God's gonna separate",for example;or many others.Nothing here has to be rejected.This here is an absolute concentrate of talent.Gary Davis is one of my favorite musicians for twenty years,one of my favorite guitar players,of course,and one of the most magnificent voices I've ever heard also.I think this 3 CD set is the first opus to buy,if you really wish to be introduced to the Reverend's music.Every minute of music played or sung by Gary Davis is one of the most essential ones of all times,so don't miss this magnificent set,full of things that have never been heard,full of noise and fury.Some of the most important music of the 20th century is here.The booklet is a fine one,and there are many lyrics transcribed.Sorry,you won't find the tablatures.So,try to find the Reverend's chords;good luck,sincerely.

Must Have For Fan's And Students Of Reverend Gary Davis
As a former student of Brother Davis($5 a guitar lesson), I was thrilled to hear fresh material after all these years. Even the old familiar tunes have yet new variations. I can't wait to check some of them out on the guitar. This three CD set is really a fantastic addition to my Reverend Gary Davis collection. I wonder what else Stephan Grossman(Demons Producer) is sitting on???...Joel

5 Stars For The Music.....3 Stars For The Compilation
The music of Gary Davis deserves this major collection release. But how can 3 CDs not include his classic Death Don't Have No Mercy?

No Energy Crisis Here
I can't believe this guy became governor of California! Amazing!

A lot of great surprises, but some dissapointments, too
This is probably the most comprehensive Davis compilation that will be relased any time soon & there is a lot of great music on it. I love listening to the newly released recordings of Crucifixion, I am the Light of This World, Slippin Til My Gal Comes in Partner, Devil's Dream, Mountain Jack Blues, and many others on this set. However, inferior performances of Buck Dance and Soldier's Drill open the first CD in the set, which got me to wondering if all three were going to be full of stuff that Davis apparently tossed off. Thankfully, that's not the case & much of the music meets the standards of Davis' best recordings from the late 1950s and early 60s. I wish Stefan Grossman had included the entire Children of Zion live recording here rather than just slightly over half of it (especially since that older Kicking Mule release has much better versions of Buck Dance and Soldier's Drill). I wonder if contractual problems prevented this. I was dissapointed in the box set's packaging and essays. The large fonts used on the box look amateurish, and it's not necessary to have the superlative "ultimate" printed twice on the front. The main essay tells us quite a bit about Davis' early and middle years, but the writing style is poor, which made it difficult for me to stay interested. Grossman's notes have some typos and inacuracies, and although the "endnotes," per se, lead one to some interesting music sources in print and on the web, they have little or nothing to do with Gary Davis. Grossman also provides too little information about the performances (e.g., who are the singers and banjoist accompanying Davis on Soon My Work Will all be Done, and where/when was each performance?). On the plus side, the photos are very nice - I got a kick out of the picture of Davis pinching a young girl in a bathing suit. Davis fans will want this set, despite its flaws. I'll be listening to it (although selectively) from now on. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Black Pearls
A perfect introduction to now-forgotten period of music,when women were the first blues stars,this CD is also great company for a book "Black Pearls:Blues Queens of the 1920's" by Daphne Duvall Harrison.While in the book we could find historical and economical background that shaped women like Bessie Smith,Ma Rainey and Ida Cox,on this CD we can hear their voices - through the limitations of primitive recording equipment,spirit of Mamie Smith explodes in our ears from 1920.when her hit "Crazy Blues" started avalanche of blues recordings and opened a door for a new market,as then unknown teritory of "race music" whose first pioneers were women.It's interesting to compare this women to their white sisters from the same era (check "Flappers,Vamps And Sweet Young Things") - while white singers lived and performed in far better circumstances,their songs and type of singing sounds comical today as opposite to these wonderful black singers whose music left beautiful afterglow that still shines,a century later.Of course,at that time they did not know that today we will considered them artists,they were "loose women" condemned by church,often on the road,living hard life and paying their fame with a price of not having family.Popularity of this first blues singers lasted only 10 years and then they were washed away by depression which succesfully destroyed recording bussines for some time,but songs survived until present day - check wonderful Ma Rainey (whose importance as "the mother of the blues" is introduced here by 3 songs!) and Bessie Smith;compare them to other singers and hear for yourself why these two women are called "Mother" and "Empress",why their music overshadowed other contemporaries...Young Louis Armstrong could also be heard here in the full glory of his New Orleans years.Compilation ends with touching example of late Billie Holiday in the autumn of her life - althought swing era singer,Billie actually grew up listening to these women and would often quotte their old verses in her blues songs.Lyrics of her "Stormy Monday" originally could be heard on Clara Smith (Bessie's biggest compentition) 1923."I Never Miss The Sunshine (I'm So Used To The Rain"). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

great stuff
Not a losing track. Top of our rotation for several weeks ... Read more

Reviews (3)

With a Tombstone For a Pillow & an Outaw for musical genius
ROBERT PETE WILLIAMS is THEE most "original" of the originals, an murderous Outlaw amongst musical genius's who has saved my life repeatedly as the constant woes that befell such a man as He, woes that have been contemporary man's as well as mine: government confinement, Police & legal brutality, Narcotica and addiction and of course the deadly "Butcher-girls of Love" that befalls us all in a life of loneliness and sorrow...this is the album that Cap't Beefheart heard in the 60's and repeated the call of "I've Grown So Ugly" on his early recordings---which exemplifies its historical wondrousness which it needs none as this is one of Robert Pete's best...Dr. Harry Oster: you are to be championed for recognizing the musical genius of this falsely addressed Angola Murderer and I address you if you be alive still, to give my small token tribute as Robert is dead but remains an immortal because of your efforts which Set him free via the Governor of Louisiana or at least Angola: a prison which had no boundaries but an fathomless bog, alligator ridden and riddled with poisonous snakes (which Rob Pete was "afraid of them thangs!"), much less the convict codes even such a musical wizard had to follow in what was not a wizard's harem by any means save condemnation...still Robert Pete played the local 12-string his Leadbelly's Father purchased and funded decades previously in the same prison for the prisoners and solely so his son could play and rejoice in the gift God granted him which is so obvious and evident and championed on ANYThING tHEy recorded and I feel the futility of singing tHEir praises but do so anyway as no one else is stepping up for the duty which calls with all the might of a Religious conversion's duty...for I owe everything to Robert Pete Williams, I mean, how else was I to realize how a man could express himself musically beyond all limitation and boundary set by one's own mind...he truly set the bird of his hands and heart free and sung with all the earnest and angst of a genuine Black Orpheus, may all the blessings music can give fall upon him! O, I would love to see some scholarly mathematical "critic" try and display on paper in musical lingo what he did! ...as the 'Jester Ruthless'(my best friend) says he simply "WOMPS ON IT!" which sums up all the Bluesmen's wilderness if they ever can be captured for even a fleeting moment beside that of the personal midnight; the Dark Night of the Soul...for their music seems like prayers to me and not just to get out of work, for Rob Pete's seriousness shines through even amidst all the Songster innuendo and wastrel analogy...and if you have never heard him you take only a small risk that you shall be amazed regardless what the type of music you admire, for he is as immortal as Shakespeare when it comes to sheer beatitude & Poetics which shall inspire millions or me and Jesse at least forever... what can I say but holler an "Amen" to the recordings and the recorders,and please, release all he recorded I beg you, it shall ever be enough, amen!

This Rocks!
Please consider this a second opinion to the customary evaluations of Robert Pete Williams's music.I was working on many things to say about this album, but I'll just get to the bottom line:this rocks!My expectations when I ordered this, based on everything I'd read, were very different than my actual listening experience, but I was not disappointed. I found this very accessible, with popular blues and rock style hooks and riffs, complemented with mid-tempo rhythms and chord combinations that are unique and creative in a modern rootsy singer/songwriter kind of way.My main reaction is to dance, and I'm mesmerized by the guitar work.I would compare Robert Pete Williams to Hound Dog Taylor before any of the usual country blues people, and I can't help wishing some promoter or producer had handed Williams an electric guitar and turned up the volume.

Very primitive blues, as much emotion as Robert Johnson.
This CD is the quintessential Robert Pete Williams. The man and his guitarare not pleasant to listen to, but to hear emotion like this anywhere elseyou'd have to search out a Delta bluesman in rural Mississippi playing onhis front porch. Not traditional blues, and supposedly very unique guitarplaying, the songs are the stories of his life. Worth the investment if youlike the emotionally packed blues of Robert Johnson and can stand thecrying and moaning of a very primitive bluesman. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

AWESOME CHICAGO BLUES!
This series is awesome stuff. Some of the very best artists Chicago had to offer on this three CD compilation. Vanguard really hit a homerun with these releases. This series is a must have for all hardcore blues fans and neophytes alike. Get them all, you will love them. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Awesome raw blues
Hooker doesn't play by the rules, and that distinguishes him from most other blues players. His style is raw and gritty, with his right foot stomping. I was only getting to know Hooker when I got this CD, and I was seruiously surprised by the songs where it's just his guitar and his voice: "I'm Bad Like Jesse James", "Sugar Mama", "Hittin' the Bottle Again", and "Thought I Heard". He's clearly not afraid of the imperfections, and that makes these raw guitar-only blues so real. The first time I heard a track like "I'm Bad Like Jesse James" or "Sugar Mama", I was shocked. I listened to it many more times, and the more I listened, the more I loved there blues.

The only problem with some of Hooker's recordings is that there's not enough Hooker on them. His vocals are always there, but I am real hungry for his unmistakable guitar. More often than not on his most recent recordings, he lets his collaborators take the front seat with their guitar (i.e., Robert Cray, Jimmy Vaughan, Carlos Santana, Morrison, etc). I thought that Healer, which a seriously excellent Hooker disk, was more main-stream, for the masses, which made Hooker more popular. But THIS disk, Boom Boom, is about as real and raw as Hooker gets on his recent recordings. That being said, if you are a Hooker novice, Healer or Don't Look Back are the best CDs to start with. After that, you should be more ready for this disk. For fans, this disk is a must.

I like many tracks on this CD, so it's tough to choose a favorite. I'd have to pick from two different styles used on this CD. One style - with a several-piece band, more "blues-as-you-know-it" style. Other style - just Hooker and his guitar. As the song with the band, I'd choose "I Ain't Gonna Suffer No More" because, while with the band, it's got the most of Hooker on it. His vocals got fire in them, his guitar is rough and raw and right by his side. As the song alone, I'd choose "Thought I Heard". The only other person playing on this song is Charlie Musselwhile on harmonica, which only adds to the strange wild-west mystery of this song. Excellent track. Sugar Mama is also an excellent, excellent alone track. Same Old Blues Again is very appropriated named - it's just about same old blues. The casual, rolling blues as you know them. The highlight of that song is Cray's nice long solo.

This disk isn't main-stream, as I said above. It's somewhat of an acquired taste if you are new to Hooker. If you already know Hooker, you'll love it. If you don't know much of his work yet, start with "Don't Look Back" or "Healer". The former is mostly a collaboration with Van Morrison and is an excellent piece of work - Hooker's last CD before his passing. The latter has a host of different guests on it.

Disappointing
John Lee Hooker provided some early memorable historic cuts but this album does not include any. The Healer was a milestone in his revival, Mr Lucky less so and this followup album loses even more of that impact. The album has guests: Robert Cray, Albert Collins, Charlie Musselwhite and John Hammond among others. The only tracks which approach being memorable are 'Same old blues' and 'Boogie at Russian hill'. This album is not often played from my collection.

More than one Boom Boom
There is a Pointblank/Charisma CD titled Boom Boom. Its tracklist differs from the K-Tel CD by the same name. Some of the other reviews refer to it instead of the K-Tel release based on the references to song titles. It includes 1.Boom Boom 2. I'm Bad Like Jesse James 3. Same Old Blues Again 4. Sugar Mama 5. Trick Bag (Shoppin' For My Tombstone) 6. Boogie at Russian Hill 7. Hittin' The Bottle Again 8. Bottle Up and Go 9. Thought I Heard 10. I Ain't Gonna Suffer No More. Don't be misled by those reviews into thinking the K-Tel release is better than it is.

Mediocre modern Hooker
Anyone who knows Hooker only from his mid-'80s and '90s albums knows absolutely nothing about him. While this is one of the better "modern" Hooker albums, minus most of the annoying guest appearances, this is not even remotely close to being prime Hooker. Everyone knows that (don't they?) Get the real thing. With few exceptions, the earlier the Hooker, the better; and the fewer musicians, the better.

Hooker delivers basic blues-raw
This CD is raw basic blues delivered with John Lee's complicated guitar strokes and rythms. His use of silence leaves you hanging on the edge of your foot tap. The raw gritty sound of the revisited Jesse James cut gives this song an additional dark side. Bottle Up and Go has you dancing in your seat from the snappy acoustic begining. Boogie on Russian Hill inspires a house party. I highly recommend this album to anyone interested in getting to know Hooker's music and it is a must for a fan. ... Read more