While any collection professing to be a definitive overview of a genre usually falls short of the mark, it's hard to find fault with this excellently researched and compiled four-disc set from the Smithsonian Collection. Running the recorded history of the music chronologically, the first disc explores the early sides by guitarists like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Barbecue Bob, Blind Willie Johnson, and Tommy Johnson, and classic blues singers like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Sippie Wallace. Volume two rounds up sides from Leroy Carr, Mississippi John Hurt, Charley Patton, Memphis Minnie, Son House, and Big Joe Williams, as well as off-the-beaten-track delights from the Memphis Jug Band and the Mississippi Sheiks. The third volume continues in the history of Delta blues with classic entries from Robert Johnson and Bukka White, moving into the Bluebird beat, ending up with the first recordings from John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins. The final disc is a veritable feast of Chicago blues with classic sides galore from Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, and Jimmy Reed, finishing with more contemporary offerings from Ray Charles, Latimore, and a retro style closer from Cephas & Wiggins. The transfers on the really vintage sides are as good as any you're likely to come across, and the song selection throughout is impeccable. Add a sumptuous booklet chock-full of photos and an abundance of historical facts, all well-annotated by W.K. McNeil, and you've got a box set for the ages. Very, very well done. Disc 1
01. Blind Lemon Jefferson - That Black Snake Moan (2:54)
02. Blind Lemon Jefferson - Broke and Hungry Blues (3:03)
03. Blind Lemon Jefferson - Match Box Blues (2:51)
04. Papa Charlie Jackson - Shake That Thing (3:00)
05. Ma Rainey - Shave 'em Dry (2:41)
06. Ma Rainey - Countin' The Blues (3:11)
07. Bessie Smith - Jailhouse Blues (3:16)
08. Bessie Smith - Mama's Got the Blues (2:59)
09. Bessie Smith - Back Water Blues (3:19)
10. Sippie Wallace - Special Delivery Blues (3:26)
11. Sara Martin - Death Sting Me Blues (2:55)
12. Barbecue Bob - Barbecue Blues (3:14)
13. Jaybird Coleman - Mean Trouble Blues (3:06)
14. Alger "Texas" Alexander - Long Lonesome Day Blues (3:06)
15. Jim Jackson - Kansas City Blues, Parts 1 & 2 (6:36)
16. Furry Lewis - Why Don't You Come Home Blues (2:47)
17. Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was the Night - Cold Was the Ground (3:23)
18. Cannon's Jug Stompers - Minglewood Blues (3:42)
19. Tommy Johnson - Cool Drink of Water Blues (3:36)
20. Tommy Johnson - Big Road Blues (3:23)
21. Henry Thomas - Bull Doze Blues (3:28)
22. Leroy Carr - How Long, How Long Blues, Part 1 (3:04)
Disc 2
01. Leroy Carr - Blues Before Sunrise (3:35)
02. Frank Stokes - Downtown Blues (3:14)
03. Mississippi John Hurt - Stack O'Lee Blues (2:58)
04. Peg Leg Howell - Rolling Mill Blues (3:07)
05. Lonnie Johnson - Mr. Johnson's Blues No. 2 (2:59)
06. Charley Patton - Pony Blues (2:59)
07. Roosevelt Sykes - Forty-Four Blues (3:07)
08. Memphis Minnie - Bumble Bee Blues (2:50)
09. Memphis Minnie - I'm So Glad (2:41)
10. Speckled Red - The Dirty Dozens No. 1 (3:15)
11. Sleepy John Estes - Diving Duck Blues (3:16)
12. Memphis Jug Band - K.C. Moan (2:33)
13. Mississippi Sheiks - Sittin' on Top of the World (3:15)
14. Walter Davis - M & O Blues (3:05)
15. Son House - Dry Spell Blues, Part 1 (3:10)
16. Skip James - Devil Got My Woman (3:00)
17. Bumble Bee Slim - Chain Gang Bound (3:44)
18. Blind Willie McTell - Broke Down Engine Blues (3:10)
19. Big Bill Broonzy - Big Bill Blues (2:59)
20. Big Bill Broonzy - I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town (2:55)
21. Kokomo Arnold - Old Original Kokomo Blues (2:54)
22. Cripple Clarence Lofton - Strut That Thing (2:53)
23. Carl Martin - Crow Jane (2:55)
24. Big Joe Williams - Baby Please Don't Go (3:21)
Disc 3
01. Little Brother Montgomery - The First Time I Met You (2:50)
02. Robert Johnson - I Believe I'll Dust My Broom (2:59)
03. Robert Johnson - Cross Road Blues (2:32)
04. Peetie Wheatstraw - Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp (2:35)
05. Sonny Boy Williamson - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (3:01)
06. Sonny Boy Williamson - Sloppy Drunk Blues (3:16)
07. Jimmy Rushing - Sent for You Yesterday (3:00)
08. Big Joe Turner - Roll 'em Pete (2:51)
09. Big Joe Turner - Wee Baby Blues (2:56)
10. Bukka White - Fixin' to Die Blues (2:48)
11. Blind Boy Fuller - Step It Up and Go (2:54)
12. Tampa Red - Anna Lou Blues (2:56)
13. Big Maceo - Worried Life Blues (2:56)
14. Washboard Sam - I've Been Treated Wrong (3:17)
15. T-Bone Walker Quintet - T-Bone Blues (3:18)
16. T-Bone Walker Quintet - Call It Stormy Monday (3:02)
17. Tommy McClennan - Mozelle Blues (2:57)
18. Louis Jordan - It's a Low Down Dirty Shame (2:51)
19. Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson - Cherry Red (3:11)
20. Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - That's All Right (2:56)
21. Charles Brown - Drifting Blues (3:16)
22. Wynonie Harris - Mr. Blues Jumped the Rabbit (2:50)
23. John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen' (3:11)
24. Lightnin' Hopkins - Tim Moore's Farm (2:41)
25. Jimmy Witherspoon - No Rollin' Blues (4:02)
Disc 4
01. Muddy Waters - Louisiana Blues (2:57)
02. Muddy Waters - Honey Bee (3:24)
03. Lowell Fulson - Reconsider Baby (3:13)
04. Sonny Boy Williamson - Eyesight to the Blind (3:03)
05. Jimmy and Mama Yancey - Monkey Woman Blues (4:08)
06. Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog (2:52)
07. Junior Parker - Mystery Train (2:25)
08. Junior Wells - Hoodoo Man (3:08)
09. Joe Williams - Every Day I Have the Blues (5:29)
10. Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightnin' (3:08)
11. Elmore James - The Sky Is Cryin' (2:51)
12. Memphis Slim - Woman Blues Boogie (3:11)
13. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Farther Up the Road (3:00)
14. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I'll Take Care of You (2:22)
15. Buddy Guy - The First Time I Met the Blues (2:22)
16. Lightnin' Slim - Rooster Blues (2:35)
17. Otis Rush - So Many Roads, So Many Trains (3:14)
18. Jimmy Reed - Big Boss Man (2:51)
19. Ray Charles - I Got a Woman (2:54)
20. Henry Johnson - Join the Army (3:39)
21. Latimore - Let's Straighten It Out (3:29)
22. Cephas & Wiggins - Dog Days of August (5:14)
