True to its description as "100 Pioneering Blues Classics," the 4-CD When the Sun Goes Down is a choice sample of blues and other related African-American styles from the vaults of Bluebird, one of the more productive roots labels of the past century. The "Secret History" tag is also apropos, given how many tunes here influenced or were directly copied by many of the well-known names in rock in the past 50 years.
The chronologically organized discs -- Walk Right In,The First Time I Met the Blues, That's Chicago's South Side, and That's All Right -- capture some of the best music from the mid-Twenties until the mid-Fifties. When the Sun Goes Down might exist thanks to the success of resurgent compilations like the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, but it is equally true that current technology facilitates its existence. Modern digital surgery converts scratchy old 78s into translucent documents on prison songs, fiddle tunes, jug band jigs, country blues, urban stomps, and a cappella sermons. There are too many gems to mention. Larger-than-life artist and activist Paul Robeson evokes the very meaning of spiritual in "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." Leadbelly delivers on prison cuts "Ham an' Eggs" and "Midnight Special," a tune about a Texas train that symbolized freedom to Sugarland penitentiary prisoners, Leadbelly included. Dylan favorite Blind Willie McTell does up his standard "Statesboro Blues," while Bonnie Raitt-fave Sippie Wallace supplies a definitive "I'm a Mighty Tight Woman." Then there's Big Boy Crudup's "That's All Right," made famous by Elvis. And how about country crooner Jimmie Rodgers doing "Blue Yodel #9" with Louis Armstrong on cornet? A few cuts could have been omitted, but with 100 tunes, who's complaining? And with liner notes as entertaining as the songs they describe, When the Sun Goes Down is a time capsule of African-American sonic expression, nothing less than American popular music from the last century.
1. Catfish Blues - Robert Petway
2. Baby, Please Don't Go - Big Joe Williams
3. Ham an' Eggs - Leadbelly
4. Mississippi River Blues - Big Bill Broonzy
5. Just A Good Woman Through With The Blues - Trixie Butler
6. Garbage Man Blues - Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies
7. The Panama Limited - Bukka "Washington" White
8. Cool Drink of Water Blues - Tommy Johnson
9. The Midnight Special - Leadbelly
10. Worried Man Blues - Carter Family
11. Les Blues de Voyage - Amede Ardoin & Denus McGee
12. K. C. Railroad Blues - Andrew & Jim Baxter
13. Somebody's Been Stealin' - Rev. J. M. Gates
14. Beale Street Blues - Alberta Hunter
15. Devil In The Wood Pile - Noah Lewis
16. Walk Right In - Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers
17. Ninety-Nine Year Blues - Julius Daniels
18. Got Cut All to Pieces - Bessie Tucker
19. Feather Bed - Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers
20. Can't Put a Bridle on That Mule This Morning - Julius Daniels
21. Davidson County Blues - DeFord Bailey
22. Frankie and Johnny - Frank Crumit
23. Dixie Bo-Bo - Taskiana Four
24. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child - Paul Robeson
25. St. Louis Blues - The Hall Johnson Choir
Disc: 2 - The First Time I Met the Blues
2. Baby, Please Don't Go - Big Joe Williams
3. Ham an' Eggs - Leadbelly
4. Mississippi River Blues - Big Bill Broonzy
5. Just A Good Woman Through With The Blues - Trixie Butler
6. Garbage Man Blues - Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies
7. The Panama Limited - Bukka "Washington" White
8. Cool Drink of Water Blues - Tommy Johnson
9. The Midnight Special - Leadbelly
10. Worried Man Blues - Carter Family
11. Les Blues de Voyage - Amede Ardoin & Denus McGee
12. K. C. Railroad Blues - Andrew & Jim Baxter
13. Somebody's Been Stealin' - Rev. J. M. Gates
14. Beale Street Blues - Alberta Hunter
15. Devil In The Wood Pile - Noah Lewis
16. Walk Right In - Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers
17. Ninety-Nine Year Blues - Julius Daniels
18. Got Cut All to Pieces - Bessie Tucker
19. Feather Bed - Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers
20. Can't Put a Bridle on That Mule This Morning - Julius Daniels
21. Davidson County Blues - DeFord Bailey
22. Frankie and Johnny - Frank Crumit
23. Dixie Bo-Bo - Taskiana Four
24. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child - Paul Robeson
25. St. Louis Blues - The Hall Johnson Choir
Disc: 2 - The First Time I Met the Blues
1. Telephoning the Blues - Victoria Spivey
2. Viola Lee Blues - Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers
3. Haven't Got a Dollar to Pay Your House Rent Man - Genevieve Davis
4. Saturday Blues - Ishman Bracey
5. When I Woke Up This Morning She Was Gone - Jim Jackson
6. Canned Heat Blues - Tommy Johnson
7. Statesboro Blues - Blind Willie McTell
8. Stealin' Stealin' - Memphis Jug Band
9. Judge Harsh Blues - Furry Lewis
10. Rent Man Blues - Edna Winston
11. I Don't Care What You Say - Harris & Harris
12. I Hate A Man Like You - Lizzie Miles
13. 'Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do - Pt. 1 - Frank Stokes
14. I'm a Mighty Tight Woman - Sippie Wallace
15. Blue Yodel #9 - Jimmie Rodgers
16. The Girl I Love She Got Long Curly Hair - Sleepy John Estes
17. Don't Want No Woman - McCoy & Johnson
18. Cocaine Habit Blues - Memphis Jug Band
19. Married Woman Blue - Blind Willie Reynolds
20. Red Nightgown Blues - Jimmie Davis
21. Hardworking Woman - Mississippi Matilda
22. Doubled Up in a Knot - Bo Carter
23. If You Want Me Baby - Daddy Stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah
24. The First Time I Met the Blues - Little Brother Montgomery
25. Sales Tax - The Mississippi Sheiks
Disc: 3 - That's Chicago's South Side
1. That's Chicago's South Side - Sam Theard
2. Peetie Wheatstraw - Pete Wheatstraw
3. Devil's Island Gin Blues - Roosevelt Sykes
4. Black Gal What Makes Your Head So Hard? - Joe Pullum
5. I Lost My Baby - Lil Johnson
6. I Lost My Baby - Lil Johnson
7. Keep Your Hands Off Her - Big Bill Broonzy
8. When the Sun Goes Down - Leroy Carr
9. Selling My Pork Chops - Minnie McCoy
10. Every Day I Have the Blues - Pine Top
11. Sweet Sixteen - Walter Davis
12. Honky Tonk Train Blues - Meade Lux Lewis
13. Trouble in Mind - Richard M. Jones
14. He Roars Like a Lion - Merline Johnson
15. Prowling Night Hawk - Robert Lee McCoy
16. Good Morning School Girl - Sonny Boy Williamson
17. You Got to Fix It - Speckled Red
18. Bucket's Got a Hole in It - Washboard Sam
19. Bottle It Up and Go - Tommy McClennan
20. Key To the Highway - Jazz Gillum
21. Don't You Lie to Me - Tampa Red
22. What Is That She Got - Johnny Temple
23. Going Down Slow - St. Louis Jimmy
24. Hobo Blues - Yank Rachel
25. He's a Jelly Roll Baker - Lonnie Johnson
Disc: 4 - That's All Right
1. Pearl Harbor Blues - Doctor Clayton
2. My Buddy Blues - The Five Breezes
3. Worried Life Blues - Big Maceo
4. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water - The Cats & A Fiddle
5. Grinder Man Blues - Memphis Slim
6. Walkin' the Boogie - Pete Johnson & Albert Ammons
7. Why Don't You Do Right - Lil Green
8. Little Boy Blue - Robert Lockwood
9. Angels in Harlem - Doctor Clayton
10. Illinois Blues - Sunnyland Slim
11. Chicago Is Just That Way - Eddie Boyd
12. That's All Right - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
13. Get the Mop - Henry "Red" Allen
14. Look On Yonder Wall - Jazz Gillum
15. Anytime is the Right Time - Roosevelt Sykes Trio
16. When Things Go Wrong With You - Tampa Red
17. Dust My Broom - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
18. Soap and Water Blues - Washboard Sam
19. Rockin' with Red - Piano Red
20. Little Angel - Tampa Red Sweet
21. My Baby Left Me - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
22. How Blue Can You Get {Downhearted} - Johnny Moore's Three Blazers
23. Right String But the Wrong Yo-Yo - Piano Red
24. Ride and Rol - Sonny Terry
25. Get Rich Quick - Little Richard
2. Viola Lee Blues - Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers
3. Haven't Got a Dollar to Pay Your House Rent Man - Genevieve Davis
4. Saturday Blues - Ishman Bracey
5. When I Woke Up This Morning She Was Gone - Jim Jackson
6. Canned Heat Blues - Tommy Johnson
7. Statesboro Blues - Blind Willie McTell
8. Stealin' Stealin' - Memphis Jug Band
9. Judge Harsh Blues - Furry Lewis
10. Rent Man Blues - Edna Winston
11. I Don't Care What You Say - Harris & Harris
12. I Hate A Man Like You - Lizzie Miles
13. 'Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do - Pt. 1 - Frank Stokes
14. I'm a Mighty Tight Woman - Sippie Wallace
15. Blue Yodel #9 - Jimmie Rodgers
16. The Girl I Love She Got Long Curly Hair - Sleepy John Estes
17. Don't Want No Woman - McCoy & Johnson
18. Cocaine Habit Blues - Memphis Jug Band
19. Married Woman Blue - Blind Willie Reynolds
20. Red Nightgown Blues - Jimmie Davis
21. Hardworking Woman - Mississippi Matilda
22. Doubled Up in a Knot - Bo Carter
23. If You Want Me Baby - Daddy Stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah
24. The First Time I Met the Blues - Little Brother Montgomery
25. Sales Tax - The Mississippi Sheiks
Disc: 3 - That's Chicago's South Side
1. That's Chicago's South Side - Sam Theard
2. Peetie Wheatstraw - Pete Wheatstraw
3. Devil's Island Gin Blues - Roosevelt Sykes
4. Black Gal What Makes Your Head So Hard? - Joe Pullum
5. I Lost My Baby - Lil Johnson
6. I Lost My Baby - Lil Johnson
7. Keep Your Hands Off Her - Big Bill Broonzy
8. When the Sun Goes Down - Leroy Carr
9. Selling My Pork Chops - Minnie McCoy
10. Every Day I Have the Blues - Pine Top
11. Sweet Sixteen - Walter Davis
12. Honky Tonk Train Blues - Meade Lux Lewis
13. Trouble in Mind - Richard M. Jones
14. He Roars Like a Lion - Merline Johnson
15. Prowling Night Hawk - Robert Lee McCoy
16. Good Morning School Girl - Sonny Boy Williamson
17. You Got to Fix It - Speckled Red
18. Bucket's Got a Hole in It - Washboard Sam
19. Bottle It Up and Go - Tommy McClennan
20. Key To the Highway - Jazz Gillum
21. Don't You Lie to Me - Tampa Red
22. What Is That She Got - Johnny Temple
23. Going Down Slow - St. Louis Jimmy
24. Hobo Blues - Yank Rachel
25. He's a Jelly Roll Baker - Lonnie Johnson
Disc: 4 - That's All Right
1. Pearl Harbor Blues - Doctor Clayton
2. My Buddy Blues - The Five Breezes
3. Worried Life Blues - Big Maceo
4. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water - The Cats & A Fiddle
5. Grinder Man Blues - Memphis Slim
6. Walkin' the Boogie - Pete Johnson & Albert Ammons
7. Why Don't You Do Right - Lil Green
8. Little Boy Blue - Robert Lockwood
9. Angels in Harlem - Doctor Clayton
10. Illinois Blues - Sunnyland Slim
11. Chicago Is Just That Way - Eddie Boyd
12. That's All Right - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
13. Get the Mop - Henry "Red" Allen
14. Look On Yonder Wall - Jazz Gillum
15. Anytime is the Right Time - Roosevelt Sykes Trio
16. When Things Go Wrong With You - Tampa Red
17. Dust My Broom - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
18. Soap and Water Blues - Washboard Sam
19. Rockin' with Red - Piano Red
20. Little Angel - Tampa Red Sweet
21. My Baby Left Me - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
22. How Blue Can You Get {Downhearted} - Johnny Moore's Three Blazers
23. Right String But the Wrong Yo-Yo - Piano Red
24. Ride and Rol - Sonny Terry
25. Get Rich Quick - Little Richard
