VA - Hear Me Howling! Blues, Ballads, & Beyond: The Arhoolie 50th Anniversary Boxset [4 CD, 2011]

 

The 1960s were a tumultuous time in the US, and the San Francisco Bay Area holds a special place in that history. There to capture the music was Chris Strachwitz and his fledgling label Arhoolie Records. But Chris' idea of what was worth documenting is not what normally comes to mind when we think of 60s San Francisco. Chris' passion was and is down home roots music. This collection is the beginning of Chris' plunge into documenting a world, part traditional, part contemporary, that no longer exists but forms the basis for one of the great record labels of American music, Arhoolie Records.

Hear Me Howlin' comes with 4 Compact Discs with 72 tracks of over 4 hours & 40 minutes of music, including 38 previously unissued tracks and some artists who have never before appeared on Arhoolie Records.


Disc: 1
1. Hump in My Back - Jesse Fuller (Unreleased)
2. Brother Low Down - Jesse Fuller (Unreleased)
3. Berkeley's Junko Partner - Skid Band (Unreleased)
4. Tight Like That - Skid Band (Unreleased)
5. Moose March - Bob Mielke's Bearcats (1st Time on CD)
6. Highway 49 - Big Joe Williams (Unreleased)
7. Oakland Blues - Big Joe Williams with Mary Williams (Unreleased)
8. Greystone (Alameda County Jail) Blues - Big Joe Williams
9. I Know You Didn't Want Me - K.C. Douglas and band (1st Time on CD)
10. Night Shirt Blues - K.C. Douglas and band
11. Stop Time - K.C. Douglas and band (Unreleased)
12. Hear Me Howling - K.C. Douglas and band
13. Stand Alone Blues - Lonnie Johnson (Unreleased)
14. Brenda - Lonnie Johnson (Unreleased)
15. Changed the Lock on my Door - Sonny Terry (Unreleased)
16. Bald Eagle Train (take 1) - Bukka White (Unreleased)
17. Tom Moore's Farm - Lightning Hopkins (Unreleased)
18. Up on Telegraph (Avenue) - Lightning Hopkins
19. Lady Luck - Mercy Dee

Disc: 2
1. I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag - Country Joe and the Fish (Unreleased)
2. You Turned Your Back - Toni Brown (1st Time on CD)
3. How Could I Stand It - Toni Brown (1st Time on CD)
4. Don't Forget Me, Love - Toni Brown (1st Time on CD)
5. Charles Giteau - Crabgrass (1st Time on CD)
6. Midnight Blues - the Joy of Cooking (Unreleased)
7. Depression Gone from Me - T.A. Talbott (1st Time on CD)
8. Mr. Brakeman - T.A. Talbott (Unreleased)
9. Who's Going to Be My Man? - Debbie Green (Unreleased)
10. Come See - Bob Neuwirth (Unreleased)
11. Lady Gay - Janet Smith (1st Time on CD)
12. Talking Protest Blues - Merritt Herring (1st Time on CD)
13. Black Jack David - Alice Stuart
14. Eventually - Perry Lederman (1st Time on CD)
15. Impressions of John Henry - Perry Lederman (1st Time on CD)
16. Deportees - Barbara Dane
17. Grand Texas - Hackberry Ramblers (Unreleased)
18. Jolie Blonde - Hackberry Ramblers (Unreleased)
19. Turtle Tail - Hackberrry Ramblers (Unreleased)
20. The Beatles are in Town - the Fondettes (1st Time on CD)

Disc: 3
1. Willie Poor Boy - Mance Lipscomb
2. The Titanic - Mance Lipscomb
3. Mean Boss Man - Mance Lipscomb
4. Sugar Babe - Mance Lipscomb
5. Working on a Building - Rev. Louis Overstreet (Unreleased)
6. The Old Ship of Zion - Rev. Louis Overstreet (Unreleased)
7. I'm a Soldier - Rev. Gary Davis (Unreleased)
8. Floor Sweepin' Boy - Rev. Gary Davis (Unreleased)
9. Courtin' Boy - Rev. Gary Davis (Unreleased)
10. Shake 'Em on Down - Fred McDowell
11. Louise - Fred McDowell
12. Write Me a Few of Your Lines - Fred McDowell (Unreleased)
13. Low Down Dirty Things - Skip James (Unreleased)
14. 22-20 Blues (Mr. Kress) - Skip James (Unreleased)
15. Sea Walking Jesus - Skip James (Unreleased)
16. No Special Lover - Skip James (Unreleased)
17. Peace in the Valley - Skip James (Unreleased)

Disc: 4
1. Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong - Vern & Ray (Unreleased)
2. The Touch of God's Hand - Vern & Ray (Unreleased)
3. 'Fore Day in the Mornin' - Big Mama Thornton (Unreleased)
4. Ball and Chain - Big Mama Thornton (Unreleased)
5. Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton (Unreleased)
6. Monsieur Leonard - John Semien & the Opelousas Playboys (Unreleased)
7. Chi Ca Nai - John Semien & the Opelousas Playboys (1st Time on CD)
8. Bye Bye Rosa - John Semien & the Opelousas Playboys (Unreleased)
9. Mr. Charlie - Clifton Chenier (Unreleased)
10. Louisiana Rock - Clifton Chenier
11. What Am I Doing Here? - Notes from the Underground (1st Time on CD)
12. To Be a Thief - Stanley Willis (Unreleased)
13. Pretty Good - NOW Creative Arts Ensemble (1st Time on CD)
14. In the Breeze - Jerry Hahn
15. To 'Trane (aka: Two Trains) - Smiley Winters
16. The Beauty of Isis - Sonny Simmons