Barrelhouse Mamas (Yazoo)

Down In Black Bottom (Yazoo)

  With Down in Black Bottom and Barrelhouse Mamas Yazoo continues their fine series documenting piano blues from the 20's and 30's. This was a time when the piano played a major role in the blues and barrelhouse piano could be heard in the juke joints, brothels and sawmills all over the south. Both of these collections range from the relatively well known to the extremely obscure and some cases only one or two of the original 78's still exist. All the more amazing is the excellent job Yazoo has done cleaning up these tracks which all come from the original 78's. 

  Barrelhouse Mamas spotlights woman blues singers all backed by various piano players. Woman singers dominated the blues market ever since Mamie Smith's 1921 smash "Crazy Blues" and remained a strong force up until the mid 20's. Probably the best known on this collection is Lucille Bogan who recorded some 89 sides between 1923 and 1935 with some top notch piano accompanists. Her three sides  show her to be a first rate singer with a powerful delivery and like many of her peers her songs deal with some heavy themes. "Alley Boogie" has some fine boogie piano by Charles Avery and lyrically has unmistakable sexual overtones. Avery also offers support on "They Ain't Walking No More" a tough song about prostitution. 

  Tough themes abound including Freddy Brown's somber "Raised in the Alley Blues" which provides this collection's subtitle with the lines "I was born in the alley, raised up in the slum." Mary Johnson was a fine St. Louis singer who shines on her two lowdown blues. "Dawn of Day Blues" is particularly effective with Judson Brown laying down a barrelhouse style and some superb bottleneck guitar by Tampa Red.

 Of course not all is doom and gloom and there's some stellar up-tempo numbers as well. The set opens with a duet between Ivy Smith and the Cow Cow Davenport who were a popular vaudeville and recording act in the late 20's. Cow Cow Davenport is best know for his "Cow Cow Blues" which has gone on to be one of those timeless blues whose motifs can be found in countless other songs. In "State Street Jive", encouraged by the talking of Ivy Smith, Davenport plays some tremendous barrelhouse showing why he was one of the most respected pianists of his generation. "Steady Grinding Blues" is another up-tempo number by Dorothy Baker who cut a handful of sides in 1933 and 1934. Possibly backed by Roosevelt Sykes this a classic bawdy blues song with a powerful attack and some first rate sprightly piano.

  Down in Black Bottom is another excellent cross section of piano blues again ranging from the well known to the obscure. Cow Cow Davenport shows up again with 1929's "Chimes Blues" a technically astonishing barrelhouse with some definite ragtime influences. Also well known is Little Brother Mongomery who's career spanned from the 20's through the electric blues of the 50's and 60's and in the process became a true blues legend. Both of his tracks here come from 1930 and feature some outstanding piano particularly on the train blues "Frisco Hi-Ball." Speckled Red is another well known pianist probably best known for his version of "The Dirty Dozens." Here he sings "The Right String - but the Wrong Yo Yo" which is a rollicking, bawdy barrelhouse with some excellent piano breaks.

  Of the lesser known artists Texas pianist Bert Mays is certainly worth noting. Only recording a handful of sides in 1927 and 28' he's a solid pianists and excellent singer. "You Can't Come In" is a classic ribald song popular in the sporting houses of the time and "Michigan River Blues" is sung in expressive fashion with some nice stride piano. Little is known about Lonnie Clark who recorded one session in 1929 both of which are included here. Clark is a fine expressive singer and lays down some fine piano on "Down in Tennessee" and "Broke Down Engine." Also worth mentioning are the two tracks by the fine singer Freddie Nicholson backed by pianist Charles Avery who appears on the previous volume. His "You Gonna Miss Me Blues" is a wonderfully sung take off of the popular "Sitting on Top of the World" with solid support from Avery.  

  Yazoo Records is held in high regard by fans of pre-war blues and they may have raised the bar in this impeccably chosen and important series. Piano blues is a dying art and these collections show us how much we've lost.

(Jeff Harris)