Reviews (2)

Historical blues moments.The beginning!!!!
If you don't know the signification of the word "roots"in the music,specially the blues music,this is exactly what it means.And to understand what "roots"means,you must hear this fantastic work of that genius,the Lomax brothers,John and Alan. This is a part a small part,of the history of blues music and the rooted recordings of some men that participated and contributed like no others to promotes and turns the blues musics in a great sucessfull all over the world,until our days!!! The discovery and participation of Mc Kinley Morganfield(Muddy Waters) Son House and others,many of them unrecognized bluesmen,but nonetheless important,is really a historical moment to the blues music.This is not only an American heritage alone.This is a heritage to the mankind.HISTORICAL!!!!!!

deep country blues
This is the real stuff, and yet more reason to thank whatever higher powers there be that John and Alan Lomax were out there with their bulky recording machines documenting the rich strains of Southern folk music while it could still be found. Here it's the Mississippi blues in its purest form. Not the least of the wonders here is Alan Lomax's discovery of giants McKinley Morganfield (aka Muddy Waters) and Son House, who both turn in stunning performances. There's also David "Honeyboy" Edwards, who has outlived them all, with an eerie and powerful "Wind Howlin' Blues." Lomax also found William Brown and recorded him twice before Brown vanished into obscurity. His "Ragged and Dirty" (covered by Dylan on his World Gone Wrong) makes you grateful that it got preserved but sad that we know so little about Brown's other songs and performances, destined to be lost forever. Every cut is a miracle of cultural preservation but, just as important and maybe more so, of magnificent, enduring American music. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

wonderful, but for specialists only
I like the Lomax disks, I like real folk, country, and bluegrass music, and I usually like less polished music by early, uncommercial artists. Nevertheless, I don't listen to this disk much. The problem isn't the quality of the music, which is high. But it's not just less polished, it's totally unpolished. I think you really have to be searching for the roots of just this type of music to appreciate this disk.

A Treasure Of American Music
This Cd represents a treasure of american music and lets one know that what this music really is is a mixture of european and african influences. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

I do believe I shall join a jug band
I admit, this album has a lot of weak tracks and nearly all of the tracks sound alike in some way or the other, but it's simply too much fun to ignore. Even though the instrumentation is as basic as possible (take guitar(s), washboard, perhaps a piano), these varied early early blues men could create some damn smooth rags, stomps, and shuffles. These men died of old age you say, or maybe cancer? No, coolness killed them, one and all. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fine sampler
This is one of the best installments in the "Blues Masters" series, showcasing a wide scope of late-40s-to-mid-60s electric blues by some of the best and most renowned artists on the Chicago blues scene.
Not every selection is perfect...they could have done better by Muddy Waters and Junior Wells in particular, and where the heck are Elmore James and John Lee Hooker?

But what is here is mostly great, from Buddy Guy's slow, anguished "First Time I Met The Blues" to J.B. Lenoir's upbeat "Mama Talk To Your Daughter", and Rhino have included excellent songs by Eddie Boyd (the slow blues "Five Long Years"), Howlin' Wolf (the menacing "Smokestack Lightnin'"), Jimmy Reed (the swinging, lethargic boogie of "Bright Lights, Big City"), Sonny Boy Williamson II (the magnificent, harp-driven "Don't Start Me to Talkin'"), Otis Rush (the fiery "All Your Love"), and several others.
"Blues Masters vol. 2" ranks alongside MCA/Chess' "Chess Blues Classics: 1947 To 1956", "Chess Blues Classics: 1957 To 1967", and "Chess Blues Guitar" as the best "various artists"-compilations available. A really good place to start. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Blues to the Very Core
We're all pretty sure we knew where the blues came from - the delta, right? The streets of Chicago? But the songs here prove that the blues is the people's music, invented and crafted by working folks. At first my interest was historical, but these songs are so close to the emotional bone that they slip under the skin and stay there. "Russia Let That Moon Alone", for example, is hilarious on first listen, prophestic afterwards. ("Time done change" she sings over and over, until you friggin' believe it!) Or One String, a homeless man who uses a tin can and a one string guitar, but is harsh and melodic at the same time. This is my favorite Blue Masters album, and I own them all. Buy for the education - stay for the fun! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Nice Variety Blues Beats, Some Familiar Songs
(How they sounded in the original)

Hear the Classics!
Hear the songs before they were covered by the stadium rockers. Led Zeppelin covered "Bring it on home", "You Need Love" and " I Can't Quit You Baby" Countless bands have done of a cover of Elmore James' "Madison Blues." And of course, the Rolling Stones did a cover of "Love in Vain" So, if you want hear what influenced famous rock rollers, this is the album for you. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The field recordings made from 1936 to 1942 for the Library of Congress by John and Ruby Lomax, with their son Alan, showed that much of America's finest music and poetry have come from far beyond the entertainment and publishing industries. In the case of these stirring selections from the Lomax archives, among this country's richest cultural resources was the black population enslaved on southern plantations and penal farms. Evident here are echoes of lost worlds--the eerie sounding call of a Mississippi ferryman, the mystery of Charlie Butler's stunning "Diamond Joe," and the fierce spirituality of "If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down" by Reverend C.H. Savage and congregation. Most extraordinary are the performances by Sid Hemphill, who Alan Lomax said was his greatest discovery. Playing the ancient pre-harmonica quills or panpipes, whooping with primal fervor, his ingenious "Emmaline, Take Your Time" anticipates Hemphill's unreleased fife-and-drum masterpiece, "The Devil's Dream." --Alan Greenberg ... Read more

Reviews (2)

"I ain't gonna tell you no lies"
I have noticed that this website doesn't bring up every disc in this series with just a "Deep River Of Song" search. In the interest of helping people find these discs here, I'll name every other disc in the series.

South Carolina

Bahamas 1935

Bahamas 1935 Volume 2

Mississippi: The Blues Lineage

Mississippi: Saints and Sinners

Georgia

Big Brazos

Black Appalachia

Virginia and the Piedmont

Alabama

I bought the entire Deep River Of Song series all at once. So many surprises awaited me! Some discs I thought about not buying because maybe I wouldn't be into them, and some I assumed I'd love. This was one of the discs I was iffy on. Until I heard it.

This and Big Brazos are two of the best discs in the series, in my opinion. They are also two I originally thought maybe I wouldn't like. Moses "Clear Rock" Platt is great. I particularly love his Old Chisholm Trail, which happens to be the source for Mike Seeger's Whoopin' Up Cattle on his excellent solo cd, Southern Banjo Sounds. James "Ironhead" Baker's St. James Hospital, which was clearly the source for Doc Watson and Tony Rice's excellent versions (on the Doc Watson and Native American albums, respectively), haunts me. Ironhead is a true highlight of this disc.

This disc also contains my one exposure to "eephing". An odd vocal thing that defies description. In terms of musicianship... guitar playing... Smith Casey is the hidden gem of this collection. His East Texas Rag is sublime acoustic slide guitar. He certainly could have earned more tracks here. I also particularly enjoy Phineas "Flatfoot" Rockmore's Boll Weevil done to a familiar Frankie & Johnny melody.

Of course if you are into American history (the true history, not the white-washed garbage that still gets taught in American schools) then these recordings become all that more meaningful. Imagine a song that dates back to slavery being sung by a group of prisoners in the 1930's, one of the harshest era's within the Jim Crow Era.

I love this disc, but the official review on this site is correct. It may only appeal to roots fanatics. I fear most of it is just too rough for the modern listener who is used to everything being more polished. I just want people to take that into account. I'd hate to recommend something and find out someone was disappointed when they heard it for themselves. If you don't like field-recordings of true real-people folk music, then this is probably not for you.

Fantastic
This collection is fantastic and shows a great respect for men who were forgotten in the history books. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good Collection
This collection of blues from relatively recent artists (50s to 70s) is worth the money. Of particular interest is to hear Otis Rush's original 'All your love' to see how Eric Clapton copied every note on the ground breaking John Mayall beano album. In addition there are so many other original tracks and guitar licks which artists have copied over the subsequent years.

A good introduction to the Blues.
If you are a blues guitarist wannabe you should own this album. Good recordings of a variety of blues styles and classic licks. ... Read more

Album Details

Digitally Remastered and Cleaned for Optimum Listening Quality. The Latest Volume in this Great Series Charting the Golden Era of R&B which Builds Into a Complete History of Early R&b. 22 Classic Tracks from the 40's Blues Archives (Many Tracks on Cdfor the First Time). Over One Hour of Classic Blues. Includes a 4-page Booklet that Includes Informative Liner Notes. ... Read more