They can't get any better than this, can they? As the title says, this is The Definitive Charley Patton. A legend larger than many, a charter member of delta blues pioneers, a raconteur, a country clown, and an extremely popular performer with the record buying public; Charley (or Charlie) Patton was all that and more. This stunning 3-disc set from Catfish, has once and for all, settled the discussion as to what label has put together the crowning Patton set. In complete chronological order, it's an accomplishment stemming from a dedication to setting standards for others to follow, much like Patton himself. Sound quality is simply better than it's ever been... anyone with Charley Patton material will know that some of his titles were difficult to listen to at best. Here, it's a pleasure to get reacquainted with one of the masters, so let's have a look.

 Disc one pulls together 20 tracks beginning with "Mississippi Boweavil Blues" and concluding with "Frankie And Albert," and everything sandwiched in between clearly marks Patton as a founder of the delta blues style. His rough vocal approach may take some getting used to, as amply noted in his "Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues," but while he may not have possessed a smooth voice, he got his point across with a rudeness that many others simply did not possess. "Down The Dirt Road Blues," the brilliant "Pony Blues," and Patton's ode to banty roosters are wonderful. "It Won't Be Long" and "Pea Vine Blues" both stand tall, and in the tale of Tom Rushen, Patton sings "it takes boozey booze Lord to carry me through" in his usual fragmented style. Patton liked his vices, as did many of his contemporaries and in "Spoonful Blues," he sings of his penchant for cocaine. The two-part "Prayer Of Death" is a masterpiece as are "Lord I'm Discouraged" and "I'm Goin Home." While Charley may have cut more blues on record than he played to patrons of the jukes he made his living in, it's also clear that there was more on his mind than booze, powder, ponies, and roosters when he visited the recording studios to cut his tracks. Son Sims joins Patton with some sawing on fiddle for more than a couple, and "Going To Move To Alabama" is especially fine, while the tough "Elder Greene Blues" and "Mean Black Cat Blues" are both excellent.

 "Some These Days I'll Be Gone" starts disc two and shows Patton's interesting guitar rhythms to good effect. In "When Your Way Gets Dark," Charley makes use of the regional bass string snaps that showed in recordings by Son House, Willie Brown, and others. House and Brown were among a number of delta blues players that Patton ran with, and indeed, traveled with when they recorded for Paramount. "Heart Like Railroad Steel" is moving while "You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die," with the spoken sermon in the middle, is astounding! The two-part "High Water Everywhere" is perhaps the pinnacle of recorded Charley Patton. Its percussive and driving attack is simply amazing with Charley rapping on the guitar and snapping the strings while playing a charging rhythm; he seems to have been at his absolute best for this tandem. Add to these ingredients a first-hand account of the floods that devastated Mississippi in 1927 and it leaves little wonder as to why this is regarded as maybe the finest race record ever made. Charley moves on to the religious side again in "Jesus Is A Dying-Bed Maker" and the incredible "I Shall Not Be Moved."

 Disc three opens with "Moon Going Down" with Willie Brown along for some assistance on second guitar, and again on "Bird Nest Bound," both tough delta blues pieces. The smoldering "Jersey Bull Blues" is another gripping performance loaded with changing rhythms and snaps. The engaging feel of "High Sheriff Blues" recalls the 'boozey booze' lyrics, but is not a carbon copy of "Tom Rushen Blues," as has been said before. "Stone Pony Blues" and the riveting "34 Blues" are both clear and crisp with Patton's voice in fine form, as well as on "Love My Stuff." Charley suffered a slashed throat in a juke one night, and though the attack did affect his vocals, he still retained the ferocity of earlier sides. Bertha Lee (Jones) Patton recorded with her husband and is in good form where she appears, but at her best on the final two tracks, "Yellow Bee" and "Mind Reader Blues," both great performances with Patton's wife sounding eerily like Memphis Minnie.

 Charley Patton was an innovator, a leader, and one of the first generation of recorded blues artists. While his music was not all blues, Patton managed to express himself beautifully on any subject he sang or talked of. He was dead shortly after his 1934 recording session, surprisingly not from habitual self abuse, but from pnuemonia brought on by rhuematic fever. The Catfish label deserves high praise for this in-depth and chronological look at one of the true masters from the delta. Packaging gets a grade of A+ for the informative booklet with pictures and reprints of many of the original label ads, and the separate packets for each disc are handsomely done like vintage 78 sleeves. The sharp-looking foldout cover from a very rare advertisement shows a dapper Patton seated with his guitar. Reproduction quality in the three hours of music is better than ever before, and while every attempt has been made to improve sonics, there are still a few low spots. Patton's records are so incredibly rare, that in some cases, there are titles where less than a few copies are known to exist in the entire world. www.catfishrecords.co.uk will answer any further questions.

[Editors note: Revenant Records is planning an October release called Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton. This is a 7-CD set including 5 CD's of Patton's complete sessions plus alternate takes, 1 CD of those inluenced by Patton and 1 CD of interviews with Patton's peers.]

(Published with permission of Craig Ruskey and Blues On Stage)

Maria Muldaur: Richland Woman Blues
(Stony Plain)

 Best known for that ditty about camels, Maria Muldaur has since established herself as one of the finest folk/country/jazz/ blues/gospel interpreters ever to have a top five single. Twenty-four solo albums and 26 years later, Muldaur -- inspired by a trip to Memphis' Beale Street -- digs deep into her roots and pays tribute to the classic blues women of the '20s and '30s.

 Aided by Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal and Alvin "Youngblood" Hart, Muldaur breezes through 14 tunes from icons Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie, as well as obscurities from the Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Willie Johnson.

 Keeping the unplugged accompaniment stripped way down to a single guitar or piano and occasional bass provides Muldaur room to maneuver her evocative vocals that shift from gritty groans to a high-pitched edgy trill. Far from a dry history lesson, she performs these songs with the strength and tenacity of the women who originally sang them.

 By returning to her late '60s Jim Kweskin's Jug Band coffeehouse days, Maria Muldaur has discovered her middle-aged oasis with Richland Woman Blues. And there's not a camel in sight.

(Hal Horowitz)

Billy Boy Arnold: Boogie N Shuffle (Stony Plain)

 Billy Boy Arnold's return to recording in the 90's after a far too long absence was a real cause for celebration. After a pair of stellar sessions for Alligator, Billy Boy is back with Boogie N Shuffle a first rate set of blues for the Canadian Stony Plain label.

 It's hard to believe that the youthful sounding Arnold made his recording debut way back in 1952. Arnold has been involved in more than his share of historic recordings including playing with Bo Diddley on "Bo Diddley"/"I'm a Man" and his own classics like "I Wish You Would" and "I Ain't Got You." Despite a fine record for Prestige in the early 60's Arnold faded into the background until his reemergence on Alligator in the 90's. After nearly five decades in the business Arnold sounds fully inspired on this latest outing.

 Boogie N Shuffle works so well for a number of key reasons. Firstly Arnold's a wonderfully expressive singer and his powerful harp playing is as good as ever. Secondly the record contains a mix of great songs including a number of fine originals and a bunch of lesser known but well chosen covers. The final ingredient is Duke Robillard and his band who do a marvelous job backing Arnold with great sounding horns and typically tasteful guitar from Robillard. Things kick off with hypnotic mid-tempo groove of "Bad Luck Blues", the rocking "Let's Work It Out" and fine remake of Arnold's debut 78, "Hello Stranger." Of all the originals my favorite is "Greenville" with Arnold delivering a great singing/talking story reminiscent of his idol Sonny Boy Williamson and featuring exceptional guitar work from Robillard and inspired piano from Matt McCabe. Arnold's choice of covers is imaginative with great readings of Jimmy McCracklin's "Just Got To Know" and "Every Night, Every Day" and Ray Charles on the after hours feel of "Blackjack" and the jumping "Greenback." The disc concludes with very informative 17 minute interview with Arnold elaborating eloquently about his storied career.

 Stony Plain and Duke Robillard have a knack for bring out the best in older musicians with great records by Jay McShann and Roscoe Gordon in recent years and this latest by Billy Boy Arnold is no exception. Highly recommended.

(Jeff Harris)

Harmonicah Shah: Deep Detroit (South Side)

 Harmonica Shah's blues have been dubbed "ghetto blues" by some and if that conjures up raw, emotional gutbucket blues than that's a pretty dead on description. Recorded live in the studio, Deep Detroit sounds exactly like the kind of blues you'd hear in in smoky, dingy blues joint that you know you shouldn't be in but the music's too good to leave.

 Shah moved to Detroit in 1967 which had a thriving blues scene. Shah took his cue from the older generation of rough and tumble Detroit bluesman such as Eddie Burns, Detroit Piano Fats and Willie D. Warren. Harmonica Shah's paid hisdues and it seems to be paying off with two records released just in the past few months.

 Deep Detroit was recorded live at Bleed Thru Studios in Detroit with no overdubs. The resulting record is a raw and uncompromising blues record with a decidedly old school feel. Accompanying Shah is guitarist Howard Glazer who lays down some explosive, stinging licks that perfectly suit Shah's rough edged blues. For his part Shah is a powerful, soulful singer and blows some mighty harp drawing inspiration from Junior Wells and Jimmy Reed. The original "Dun Made My Getaway" opens with Shah's spoken dedication to Junior Wells & Buddy Guy but the results are rawer than anything that duo ever attempted. Other originals include the blistering "Don't Kick Me To The Curb" and the Jimmy Reed styled "Repo Man." While the rest of the set is mostly covers Shah makes them his own particularly on an ominous version of Lazy Lester's "Bloodstains Upside The Wall", a rocking "Mellow Down Easy" and a great reading of Sonny Boy's "Eyesight To The Blind."

 For those who like their blues polished and cleanly produced you might want to steer clear of this record. On the other hand if your looking for visceral, rough, emotionally direct blues I recommend you snap this one up.

(Jeff Harris)

 The electric steel guitar has been the key musical instrument in the House of God, Keith Dominion and the Church of the Living God, Jewell Dominion Hoiliness-Pentecostal churches since the late 30's. This tradition started leaking outside the church walls in the 90's and Arhoolie Records was the first to document this remarkable music. The idea behind the Sacred Steel Convention was to showcase the House of God steel guitarists outside the confines of the church, letting these artists strut their stuff so to speak. The results will have you dancing in the aisles.

 This collection spotlights ten different artists including a number of veterans and some amazing youngsters who are keeping this tradition alive and well. Among the younger generation is Dante Harmon who kicks off this set with "Something Got A Hold Of Me" a boogie played with some brilliant wah wah pedal. Other prodigies include 21 year old Bryan "Josh" Taylor who's two cuts include the storming "God Is A Good God" and 25 year old Robert Randolph playing a custom built 13 string guitar on a very modern take of "I Feel Like Pressing On" featuring cousin Ricky Fowler on vocals.

 Of the older contingent there's two cuts by Calvin Cooke who has been very influential on the younger generation of steel guitarists. Aubrey Ghent rocks the house on "Train Don't Leave Me" with his incredible playing and soulful singing and a very moving reading of the traditional "Just A Closer Walk With Thee." Also worth mentioning are two groups from Rochester, NY including Lonnie "Big Ben" Bennett who incorporates rock influences into his playing even quoting the Beatles in one song and the dynamic Campbell Brothers who bring the house down with the incendiary "What's His Name- Jesus!."

 After 60 plus years the sacred steel tradition shows no sign of slowing down and the music remains vibrant, passionate and deeply moving. Judging from the young talent on display on this recording the sacred steel tradition is in no danger of fading away anytime soon.

(Jeff Harris)