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Screamin'
& Hollerin' The Blues: The Worlds Of Charley Patton (Revenant)
Charley Patton will
forever remain as a cornerstone of American music. His contributions
to blues are many, being one of the most important figures
ever to come from the Mississippi Delta, and his influence
on others is unquestioned. Leading the charge before Eddie
"Son" House, Robert Johnson, Willie Brown, and many others,
he first recorded in 1929 for the Paramount label, and was,
in fact responsible for bringing some of those in his "orbit"
to the record-buying public at a later date. Charley Patton
and that "orbit" are now prominently featured on the incredible
7-CD set from Revenant Records, Screamin' and Hollerin'
the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton. Clocking in at
over 7 hours of listening time, there are over 100 tracks,
including all-known takes of Patton's recordings and sessions
he took part in as an accompanist, plus tracks by Willie Brown,
Son House, Bukka White, Blind Joe Reynolds, Tommy Johnson,
Kid Bailey, and scores more.
The CD's bear an eerie resemblance to original Patton
78's and are mounted on 10" cardboard cutouts, while stored
in reproduction sleeves, making them look pretty close to
the originals. This is every bit an historical document, and
all gloss and shine aside, barring any future discoveries,
it could well be the final word on Charley Patton, a man who
has been written about for decades.
Born in 1891, in all probability somewhere between Bolton
and Edwards, it was the family's move to the Dockery Plantation
which would fuel Charley's love of guitar, lack of interest
in farming, and ultimately allow him to come under the influence
of Henry Sloan, a resident of that same plantation. Sloan,
an unrecorded asterisk in blues history, showed the young
Charley some chords and fingering patterns, and the rest,
as they say, is history. Dockery's was once home to heavyweights
like Son House, Bukka White, Willie Brown, and other well-known
names in blues. Over a few short years, from 1929 to 1934,
Charley Patton recorded some of the strongest blues performances
in Delta history, along the way waxing periodic pop-flavored
tunes, dance numbers, and religious titles. While seemingly
devoted to his trade as a master bluesman, it is also possible
that his "worlds" collided as a result of serving both the
devil and God. Known to have been a young preacher, Patton
knew the Bible well, and according to family members, favored
The Book of Revelations, and once went as far as delivering
a sermon in the middle of one of his records. Son House was
another who, at times, was torn between his love for God and
service to his own wallet, playing "the devil's music," and
House also preached the Word of God. It comes as no small
wonder then, that Patton was utterly convincing in both realms;
as a bluesman, he was certainly one of the roughest and most
forceful performers to have roamed the Delta, while his religious
titles are both stunning and moving.
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| Dockery
Farms |
With a
voice as rough and gravel-like as the roads he walked and
drove, and a guitar style that was incredibly percussive,
Charley's recordings have stood the test of time, as has his
legend. Considered by his peers, and indeed many scholars,
as the founder of Delta Blues, Patton's hierarchy has sometimes
been questioned and referred to in a rather off-handed manner
by writers. Thought to have been illiterate, and written about
by names better left unmentioned, quite the opposite seems
fact. His education surpassed what most of his contemporaries
had learned, and Patton himself corresponded with H.C. Speir,
the talent scout that first brought him to a recording studio.
Patton's credibility has previously been challenged too, by
those who considered him a reckless drunk, but in order to
maintain his high status, he must have been well able to control
his alcohol intake.
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Revenant
Records, and the team who gathered around John Fahey for this
remarkable set, have leveled the playing field, and rightly
so. Patton has, in the past, been ridiculed as someone who
lived at poverty's doorstep while trying to do his best in
a world slanted against him. Again, the reverse is what comes
as truth. As a tenant farmer in Mississippi during the 1920's
and 30's, after a long year of backbreaking labor, one was
lucky to come out even with a plantation owner who leased
his land. Many, if not most times, those without other means
of income wound up owing twice what they managed as a wage.
Patton escaped the toil of cotton picking, and as a popular
traveling musician, he earned a comfortable, if not exorbitant
amount of money for a young black man.
It was his ability to convey
the thoughts and feelings of those he sang for which won him
such high praise. While not the first performer to sing topical
blues, his voice echoed the despair felt by those who purchased
his records. His two-part "High Water Everywhere" stands as
one of the finest moments in blues history with its chilling
account of flood-ravaged lands in 1927, while his "Tom Rushen
Blues" and "Jim Lee Blues" were statements of bravery in certainly
distressing times for blacks in the South. Patton may be the
first bluesman to have used actual characters, names and all,
if sometimes in unfavorable terms. In an interesting side
note, Patton hand-delivered a copy of "Tom Rushen Blues" to
the character himself, and Rushing (correct spelling) held
onto the record for many years. He also remembered Charley
as an upstanding man.
This
testament to the genius of Charley Patton was a dream of John
Fahey's, and while unfortunate that he didn't live to see
its completion, what has been accomplished will certainly
allow him to rest easy. Before his death earlier this year,
Fahey found a need to reassess Charley Patton, his music,
contributions, and longevity. Along with the hours of remastered
tracks, which are a work of brilliance, there is a reprint
of his 1970 book on Patton, and over 100 pages of newly written
material by Dick Spottswood, Edward Komara, David Evans, Fahey,
and others, which fills out the package.
Upon first
delving into Patton's music, you are struck by his harshness
as a vocalist and a careening guitar style. Once past the
initial shock of hearing him, you can then make attempts to
decipher his stentorian lyrics, something that must have taken
diligent work by Spottswood. Not only do we have transcriptions
of each Patton song, but for each and every track with vocals.
And while Patton had been written about as someone who seemed
ill-prepared at times for his trips to the recording studio,
in the newly-penned liner notes, what is more apparent is
that Charley wanted the 'live' feeling of a juke-joint performance
to come across in his 78's. Closer listening shows a man with
a ventriloquist's talent and the ability to sing a phrase
or a few words, then speak in a different voice altogether
to emphasize his own points, only to return to his original
thoughts as a vocalist. Son House may not have been quite
so impressed. It was he who said of Patton, "Charley, he could
start singing of the shoe there and wind up singing about
that banana."
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| Son
House |
Son House
is a strong part of this set with 8 titles, while others of
equal stature, though less-recognized, also appear. Willie
Brown's chaotic and powerful "M & O Blues" and "Future
Blues," both from a 1930 Paramount session are here, as is
his Library Of Congress recording of "Make Me A Pallet On
The Floor," from 1941. Speculation on Brown is still a matter
of discussion as to whether he was an influence on Patton
or the other way around. What is pointed out in the notes
is that Patton may well have been around first, but it seems
as if his talents were eclipsed by Brown's. The Delta Big
Four, Walter "Buddy Boy" Hawkins, Louise Johnson, Son Simms,
and many more also step in with valuable contributions. A
couple of highlights are the Willie Lofton Trio with a throbbing
rendition of "Dark Road Blues" from 1935, Blind Joe Reynolds'
fierce take of "Cold Woman Blues," ( from a previously unknown
surviving 78 recently located in a flea market ), and the
"Unknown Convict - Blues" from 1936, while Tommy Johnson's
small handful still shine as brightly as they must have some
73 years ago, and with remastered sound, they now sparkle.
Not everything could be
rescued from years of playing on old Victrolas, or neglect,
and while there are some tracks that aren't quite what one
might hope, the lion's share show painstaking restoration
work and dedication on the part of Airshow Mastering, the
outfit responsible for retouching the original disks. If the
recently-written and informative notes aren't enough by themselves,
the crisp and clear sonics we now have on many of the 100+
tracks is a bonus, and the full-page reprints of Paramount
advertisements from the Chicago Defender newspaper look stunning.
If that doesn't reel you in, maybe the 64 sharply reproduced
78 rpm label stickers from all of Patton's original 78's will
be the decision maker, since it's the closest many will get
to owning original Patton records. One reviewer of this set
mentioned that it seemed almost pornographic to go to this
extent to reissue someone's work. But Charley Patton isn't
just a 'someone' - he's much more in the long run. And to
prove how he's regarded by collectors of his ultra-rare Paramount,
Vocalion, and Herwin issues, an original "Masked Marvel" 78
recently brought in a walloping $11,500 at auction! But Patton
still doesn't get the respect he's due; that side, "Screamin'
And Hollerin' The Blues," was actually listed as "Screamin'
and Howlin' the Blues." Paramount records ran a contest when
they originally issued the disk by the "Masked Marvel."
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| Reprint
of original contest form - notice the number 10,000 |
An advertisement was placed
in the Chicago Defender in September of 1929 and entry blanks
were to be submitted with the name of who the record buyer
thought it to be. Since there is no known log from Paramount,
just how many records were pressed bearing the "Masked Marvel"
moniker is uncertain. The number "10,000" is scrawled on the
mock-up of the ad, and some believe that was an order for
the number of copies. Even at half that figure, records selling
in those amounts was almost unheard of at the time for a Mississippi
Delta Blues player. It does, however, help bring into perspective
just how popular Patton was with his public. It is also interesting
to note how Patton was caricatured in the ads. The man behind
the mask resembles a period Hollywood actor!
In addition
to all the extras this set comes with, one CD is devoted to
interviews from some who were more than familiar with Patton.
There is a short snippet from Howlin' Wolf, who was taught
a bit by Charley, a lengthy amount from Patton protégé, Rev.
Booker Miller, and H.C. Speir, both interviewed by Gayle Dean
Wardlow, and Roebuck 'Pops' Staples, who told Chris Strachwitz
that Patton was " a great man." Miller recalls that Charley
stayed up all night after having "woman troubles" and that's
how he learned to play guitar. He has no memory of Henry Sloan.
H.C. Speir seemed to have fond memories of Patton when questioned
in 1968.
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| Patton's
grave in Holly Ridge, MS |
Charley
Patton's place in the annals of blues is well-deserved. This
document opens the door completely to show us why. Weighing
in at over six pounds, and measuring in at 10" X 12" - it's
deserving of lofty placement in the shelves. It's all here...
the rude and rhythmic string-snapping of Delta bluesmen. The
powerful and haunting voices of Patton, House, Tommy Johnson,
and more. The classic sides that somehow get lost in the shuffle
of modern releases. This is where it all began... in the Mississippi
Delta some seven-plus decades ago. This music lives on and
thanks to Revenant Records, John Fahey, David Evans, Gayle
Dean Wardlow, and many more, Screamin' and Hollerin' the
Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton will find its rightful
place as one of the most important documents of Delta Blues.
For more information, the following
websites will help:
www.revenantrecords.com
www.hatschek.com/pressreleases/airshow-10-10-01.html
Check out this related
review:The
Definitive Charley Patton
Photo/image credits:
"Jesus Is A Dying Bed Maker"
photo from www.secretmuseums.net
Dockery Farms from www.deltablues.net
Blind Joe Reynolds label from
www.tefteller.com
[This review is copyright
© 2001 by Craig Ruskey, and Blues On Stage at: http://www.mnblues.com/,
all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited
without written permission]
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