Reviews (1)

A fine sampler
No track list, eh? Well, here it is:
1. You Can't Keep No Brown (Bo Weavil Jackson)
2. Jack O'Diamond Blues (Blind Lemon Jefferson)
3. Guitar Rag (Sylvester Weaver)
4. Falling Down Blues (Walter "Furry" Lewis)
5. Mama, 'Tain't Long Fo' Day (Blind Willie McTell)
6. Dark Was The Night (Cold Was The Ground) (Blind Willie Johnson)
7. So Lonesome (Ramblin' Thomas)
8. Roll And Tumble Blues ("Hambone" Willie Newbern)
9. A Spoonful Blues (Charley Patton)
10. Walking Blues (Son House)
11. Atlanta Moan (Robert "Barbecue Bob" Hicks)
12. Whoopee Blues ("King" Solomon Hill)
13. Packin' Trunk Blues (Huddie Ledbetter)
14. Denver Blues (Tampa Red)
15. Old Original Kokomo Blues (Kokomo Arnold)
16. Lone Wolf Blues (Oscar Woods)
17. You Just As Well Let Her Go (Casey Bill Weldon)
18. Terraplane Blues (Robert Johnson)
19. I'm The Black Ace (Black Ace)
20. I'm A Stranger Here (Blind Boy Fuller)
21. Bukka's Jitterbug Swing (Bukka White)
22. I Be's Troubled (Muddy Waters)

You should note that all of this music is acoustic, so no Elmore James or J.B. Hutto, but as a collection of early slide guitar blues, "Roll And Tumble Blues" works very well (the title track, by the way, is the original version of the song most people know as "Rollin' And Tumblin'").
The compilers have made some fine choices, and most of the lesser-known songs are good as well. I would probably have included Son House's "Pearline" rather than "Walking Blues", and there are a few other debatable selections as well, but "Roll And Tumble Blues" remains a fine introduction for the curious. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Dazzling, but Overlooked Collection
This exhaustive collection of American roots music has been around for over ten years, but I only came across it recently. Record companies don't really have an advertising budget for collections of this kind, so unless you are looking for it, it's likely that you have never be exposed to "Roots N' Blues", a retropective of roots music from the years 1925-1950. Even the most jaded collector of roots music will find plenty of choice cuts amoung the 109 titles presented here. Lawerence Cohn made the wise decision to not use a bunch of collection perennials, but instead he selected more esoteric titles that he deemed worthy of another hearing. I've been collecting pre-WW II blues for over thirty years and there's very little in that area I haven't heard, but Mr. Cohn has pulled several from the vault that are new to me. His inclusion of the brilliant Mississippi Shieks and cuts by the Carter family of Mississippi prove that the Shieks and their offspring were the Carter family that everyone forgot.

Harry Smith's great contribution to roots music was his inclusiveness in his selection of music. To Harry, good music was good music, be it blues, gospel, cowboy, hillbilly or boogie-woogie. A similar ecunemical spirit prevades the "Roots N' Blues" collection. There are no arbitrary catergories separating the music so you are likely to hear a delta blues song, followed by a yodeling cowboy song. It may displace the listener accustomed to listening to music in neat categories, but for me it's a strength instead of a liability. If you listen to a lot of this kind of music, you will probably understand that most roots music has a lot more similarities than differences. Dividing the music into genres tends to undermind the educational value of a project as wide in scope as "Roots N' Blues".

The remastering is the finest I've ever heard and it is a daunting task to clean up ancient original masters without adding a layer of white noise, that to the a listener with a good set of ears, is as distracting as a vacum cleaner running in the background.This collection may not be the best introduction to roots music for the novice. There are plenty of less pricey single and double CD collections out there for the newbie. For the collector, however, this collection is essential and if "Roots N' Blues" isn't sitting on your shelf right next to your Harry Smith collection, you are missing a vital piece of roots music history. The jewels in this collection are the equals of any of their predecessors.

Terrific roots
In 1992, when this came out, there was nothing like it. Now, with the success of such items as the "Oh Brother..." soundtrack and the reissued "Anthology of American Folk Music," this set may get lost in the shuffle. I have most of the similar reissues, and I still think this is the best.

First, it covers a wider timespan than the Smith "Anthology." This means it has both a few older songs, and several newer ones. Thus, this set has an early Bill Monroe song. This set also includes some things which weren't released on 78, so one of Muddy Water's first professional recordings is on here. (Don't believe the note that this was never released before, however. It came out on an Okeh Chicago blues record in the 1980s.) Though this set has only 4 cds to the Anthology's 6, the amount of music is about the same, because these four are filled, and the Anthology's 6 only have the equivalent of Smith's original 6 lps, and are therefore rather short by cd standards.

One thing I find in reissue sets like this one is that some artists and some songs get rereleased over and over. This set does not fall into that trap. Rather, it has many little known artists, some of whom recorded only a handful of sides. Nevertheless, the songs here are almost universally wonderful, covering a wide (but not TOO wide) range of styles with wonderful performances.

You won't find many of these records anywhere else, and the set has a terrific bunch of blues, gospel, string band, Cajun and other vernacular styles. Don't miss it!

The best package I've ever seen.
Lovingly compiled, with liner notes which in themselves could spawn a book, if not a movie, this package traces the gospel/soul/country/blues roots of the labels now owned by Sony. Every song is a gem...the mastering is superb and for all those who have rediscovered Americana through "O Brother Where Art Thou' this is the next logical step in your collection.

A Fantastic Value and Greatly Diverse
I'm really quite suprised to not find a hundred five-star reviews of this set from all the blues fans out there. Truly, this is a great set, better than I expected, this is NOT a patched together hodge-podge of marginal stuff as you often find in these compilations. This is top drawer all the way through; it's American history to which you can sip scotch. The songs are very diverse: some are classic blues cuts, other have almost a Vaudeville feel to them, others burlesque, others bluegrass.

The main point I wanted to make, however, is that I feel this set is MUCH better than the Anthology of Amercan Folk Music. (A previous reviewer likewise made the comparison between the two sets and I completely agree that they are comparable in concept, although he preferred the Anthology set.) That set disappointed me: all the songs sound the same,and the recording quality on most of the cuts is poor. This set is actually exactly what I expected and hoped that set to be: foot tappin' music which evocatively brings to mind fond thoughts of a simpler and more visceral era in American life. The Anthology of Amercian Folk Music may have some profound academic significance which escapes me, but if you want great music with a lot of mood and attitude, I don't think you can do much better than this Retrospective set. A final point: these four CD's are filled up with good stuff: 75+ minutes on each one. A great value!

Loads of fun
This set begs comparison with the venerable Anthology of American Folk Music - both sets feature "songs, ballads and social music." Retrospective is longer (by 30 or 40 minutes) and covers a broader span of history (25 years compared with the AAFM's 5-6 years...). It's more eclectic than the AAFM, both topically and temporally (since the songs, ballads and social music are intermingled on each disc). Now that Smithsonian/Folkways has reissued the AAFM on CD, I'd recommend that set to listeners before this one - song for song, it's of higher quality, with brilliant performances and little or no dross. Retrospective is nothing to scoff at, however; it's actually easier to listen to and enjoy than the AAFM, with something of a "pop" feel, and some of the obscure and previously unissued tracks (47 of 107 are issued here for the first time) are excellent. Most of these performers are Southerners - white, black, and in between, all coexisting as harmoniously as can be. If a hillbilly fiddle breakdown, followed by a slow piano/vocal blues, followed by a Baptist preacher's sermon accompanied by his Sanctified Singers, etc., sounds like a good time, then you won't regret picking up this collection. It's monumental in its own way, and the book that comes with the set is colorful, nicely illustrated with "race record" ads and group portraits, and rather informative. The producer(s) of Retrospective dedicated the collection to Harry Smith - "folklorist, filmmaker, anthropologist, and visionary" - and compiler of the Anthology of American Music: "Harry, you taught us all!" ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great music
This CD is wonderful to listen to. The playing and singing of people like Carl Martin, Blind Blake Tampa Red and the rest ranks with the best music coming out of America.
I do not think there is a need to emphasize that these giants had influenced rock groups. The importance of this music is in itself. I know for a fact that the rock "legends" themselves admit they cannot come close to the music of these bluesmen.
I recommend this CD to anyone who loves music.

Godfathers of Zepplin
This is a wonderful example of how early Delta Bluesmen influences Page, Plant and Clapton. A companion to Led Zepplin 1. ... Read more