Reviews (1)

A good compilation
The first song combines an American field holler with a Senegaleze field song - showing remarkable similiraties. This more or less sums up the contents of this CD - the roots of the blues are in Africa.
Song 6 is in the rarely recorded Fife and Drum tradition - a Mississippi tradition that is purely African. Song 7 is another Fife piece - this time with accompanying vocal hollers, very similar to the style associated with Sonny Terry.
The recordings by the Pratcher brothers are great - this kind of southern black dance music is just so joyful !
Mississippi Fred Mcdowell contributes some of his best songs here, rhythmically attractive as always.
The prisoner songs and the Church pieces make this a valuable part of any blues / folk collector. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Other Artists than Spann
This CD should not be listed for just Otis Spann. Spann has only one track, although he also plays on a track with Robert Lockwood, Jr. There are 16 different artists, so this is really a sampler. For Otis Spann fans, try something else! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not All That Impressive
This box set reminds me of the compilation albums sold on TV. It's a lot of stuff here that's found all over the place, not even previously unreleased material. You could actually do better by getting the albums this stuff was lifted from. If you're new to the blues and looking for a good compass, this is your item. If you do have any sort of blues collection, however, there's a good chance you've already got everything here. ... Read more