| Roundup
Of Notable New Reissues
 |
United Records was
the first successful black-owned record company. Operated
by Leonard Allen the label and it's subsidiary States issued
some exceptional jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, doo-wop,
pop and even country between 1951 and '57. Since purchasing
the United Masters Delmark has does an exemplarily job reissuing
this material and have issued over two dozen records to
date. The United Records Story is
22-track sampler featuring a cross section of the label's
goods covering blues, jazz, doo-wop and gospel, making it
a fine survey of the label. On the blues side are stellar
tracks by heavyweights such as Junior Wells (a previously
unissued alternate take), Robert Nighthawk, Memphis Slim
and Roosevelt Sykes. There's a few lesser known blues gems
by Alfred Harris, Dennis Binder's surreal "The Long
Man" and a great jivey boogie number, "Jockey
Jack Boogie" by the evocatively named Johnny Wick's
Swinging Ozarks. Other gems include honking sax numbers
by Tab Smith, Leo Parker, Jimmy Coe and fine vocal groups
numbers by the Pastels and the Four Blazes.
 |
| |
You don't here much
about singer Lucille Bogan these days but during the 20's
and 30's she cut some powerfully evocative blues dealing
frankly with prostitution, lesbianism, drugs, booze and
a host of other explicit themes. She also possessed a huge,
compelling voice that easily put her in the same league
with more famous blues queens like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey
and Ida Cox. The Best of Lucille Bogan
collects recordings cut between 1933 and 1935 made for Banner,
ARC (Brunswick's chain-store budget line), and Vocalion
this time under the name Bessie Jackson. She was already
well established at this point having cut over two dozen
sides for OKeh and Brunswick beginning in 1923. The bulk
of these sides feature Bogan backed just by pianist Walter
Roland, an exuberant, rough-around-the-edges barrelhouse
player. Bogan doesn't mince words on tough minded fare like
"Barbecue Bess" ("I'm sellin' it cheap/'Cause
I got good stuff/And if you try one time, you can't get
enough/I'm talkin' 'bout barbecue, only thing I sell) a
theme she explored previously in her 1930 prostitution ode
"Tricks Ain't Walking No More", the similar sex/food
metephor of "Groceries On The Shelf" and "Stew
Meat Blues", the startling "B.D. Woman's Blues"
(B.D. = bull dyke - "Comin' a time, B. D. womens ain't
goin' to need no men") and the no nonsense "Shave
'Em Dry" ("If you meet your man, and he tell you
a lie/Just pull out your razor, and shave him dry").
Bogan held back nothing on another version of "Shave
'Em Dry", an x-rated recording cut for her own amusement
that's filthy and absolutely hilliarious (she even cracks
herself up half way through), and it's simply amazing anything
like this was ever recorded. Equally dirty is the previously
unreleased "Till the Cows Come Home." These have
to be heard to believed and easily justify the parental
advisory sticker on the front.
 |
| |
During
his brief career, 1928-1935, Leroy Carr was one of the era's
most popular and influential bluesman cutting nearly 200
sides before his untimely end. The 2-CD The Best
of Leroy Carr is hands down the best overview of
this timeless bluesman collecting his most memorable numbers
as well as several rarely anthologized sides. Carr was a
solid, understated piano player but it's his insinuating
and haunting vocals, with it's subtle shadings, that made
him a star. All but six of the 40 cuts (Josh White is featured
on five) feature the remarkably bold, modern guitar work
of Scrapper Blackwell, surly one of the best guitarists
of his era. Tom Piazza writes in the notes: "Blackwell's
single-note guitar commentary is pungent and imaginative,
immediately identifiable, almost an equal voice with Carr's
own." The duo were responsible for many enduring classics
such as "How Long - How Long Blues", "Mean
Mistreater", "Blues Before Sunrise" and "I
Believe I'll Make A Change" (Robert Johnson transformed
this into "Dust My Broom"). Many of Carr's best
songs are filled with a dark poetry and pathos; the dark
two-parter "Straight Alky Blues Pt.1 & 2",
the morality tale of "Gambler's Blues", the poignant
and poetic "Midnight Hour Blues", the tough swagger
of "Hustler's Blues" ("Whiskey is my habit/Good
Woman is all I crave") and "Good Woman Blues"
("Blacker the berry/Sweeter is the juice/I got a good
black woman and I ain't gonna turn her loose"), the
strident swing of "Bread Baker" ("She's got
a bed in her bedroom/It shines like the morning star/When
it starts to rockin'/It looks just like a Cadillac car")
and the prophetic closer "Six Cold feet In The Ground"
cut almost exactly a month before Carr drank himself to
an early death at the age of 30.
 |
| |
Mississippi
John Hurt's brilliant 1928 recordings are one of those holy
grail recording sessions to blues collectors like Skip James'
1931 session or Son House's 1930 sides. Despite the 'Mississippi"
in his name he didn't sound much like the fire and brimstone
blues of delta icons Charlie Patton or Son House. His was
a gentle brand of blues with astonishingly complex finger
picking and a gentle, conversational vocal style. D.C.
Blues: Library of Congress Recordings was recorded
35 years down the road and sounds like Hurt was trapped
in amber as his sound remains virtually unchanged. The wheel's
were set in motion when collectors heard his "Avalon
Blues" with the lines "Avalon's my home town"
and headed down to Avalon, Mississippi where Hurt still
resided. Thus launched a short but successful second career
as Hurt hit the folk circuit playing, festivals, colleges
and coffeehouses, gathering a legion of young fans. The
36 songs on this two-disc set were recorded live for the
Library of Congress during two marathon sessions on July
15 and 23, 1963 in order to capture Hurt's artistry for
posterity. For Hurt fans this is a motherlode of wonderful
blues, ballads and spirituals played with even more warmth
and intimacy than his studio recordings from this period.
Hurt remakes a bunch of his earlier numbers including "Avalon
Blues", "Louis Collins", "Got the Blues
That Can't Be Satisfied" and "Nobody's Business"
(which isn't listed on the CD but appears as an untitled
track at the end of disc one). There's plenty of other gems
including the ribald "Funky Butt", Jimmie Rodgers'
"Waiting for a Train" and several moving spirituals
like "Glory Glory Hallelujah" and "What a
Friend We Have in Jesus." These songs have appeared
in different forms over the years, but never domestically,
so it's great to have them together in one easily available
package. Sound quality is superb.
 |
| |
The remarkably
resilient Roosevelt Sykes saw very little down time in a
career that spanned from his first recording in 1929 until
his death in 1983. The popular, robust piano blues of Sykes
graced numerous labels in the pre-war years including Okeh,
Paramount, Victor, Decca and Bluebird, gradually expanding
from a solo act to the leader of a larger, modern combo
complete with horns. The bulk of the sides on Chicago
Boogie stem from two sessions cut for Regal. The
1950 date is a stripped down affair finding Sykes backed
by just drummer Jump Jackson while the 1951 date includes
Jackson, bassist Ransom Knowling and the bleating tenor
of J.T. Brown. The ebullient Sykes is in fine form as his
muscular boogie and booming vocals sound rock solid on a
stellar remake of "Drivin' Wheel" (first cut by
him in 36'), the low down "West Helena Blues",
the mid-tempo "Wonderin' Blues" with evocative
sax from Brown, the salacious boogie of "Rock It"
and the rocking "Chicago Boogie." The seven remaining
cuts come from a 1963 date for Delmark with old partner
St. Louis Jimmy helping out on vocals. This is a fine session
with Oden's thick, expressive vocals sounding strong on
the humorous "Monkey Face Blues" with shouted
interjections from Sykes and the surreal but compelling
"Complete This Order" with it's biblical references.
Sykes handles the vocals on a couple, most notably the romping,
ribald "Kickin' Motor Scooter" a close kin to
his previously recorded "Dirty Mother (For You)"
itself closely related to the "Dirty Dozens."
A wonderful collection of which none have been issued on
CD before with nine cuts having never been issued in any
form.
 |
| |
Blues
poet and troubadour Lightnin' Hopkins career stretched from
the 20's through the 80's and while the genre changed significantly,
Hopkins never altered his brand of lonesome, dusty Texas
blues. Hello Central: The Best of Lightnin' Hopkins
may not be his best but it certainly ranks among his best.
Hopkins made his debut for Aladdin in 1946 sticking with
the label until 1948 and continued to wax prolifically for
numerous outfits like Gold Star, Modern/RPM and Herald through
the early 50's. These sides were cut right in the middle
of that fertile period for Bob Shad's Sittin' In label and
it's Jax subsidiary between 1950-1951. Hopkins sound here
isn't far removed from early Lonestar legends such as Blind
Lemon Jefferson and his cousin Texas Alexander. Most of
these cuts feature Hopkins solo or backed by just drums
or bass. Hopkins nimble guitar work and laconic vocals are
all he needs to spin his downhome tales. Hopkins sounds
like he's having a conversation directly with the listener
on heartfelt blues like "Broken Hearted Blues",
"Freight Train", "My Heart To Weep"
and "Everybody Down On Me" with the spoken aside
- "don't get mad at me 'cause I'm gonna play it to
my own satisfaction" -which aptly sums up his unique
approach. Also included are "Hello Central" and
"Coffee Blues", two of his biggest hits, plus
several of his patented boogies like "Gotta Move",
"Tap Dance Boogie" and "Tell Me Boogie."
Essential recordings in every way.
|
