VA - Let Me Tell You About The Blues : Nashville [3 CD, 2010]

 

Mention Nashville and the first thing that enters most minds will be Country Music and the Grand Ole Opry. Then again, for true believers the city is also the nation’s centre for Bible publishing. Perhaps less well-known but in striking contrast to God and double-knit suits is that throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, Nashville was also the home of a thriving blues and R&B recording industry. Principal among the labels were Bullet, Republic, Tennessee, Nashboro and Excello, with a welter of smaller ones such as World, Mecca, J-B and Cheker.

Bullet, the creation of musician Wally Fowler, music publisher C.V. Hitchcock and deejay/artist manager Jim Bulliet (pronounced Boulay), dominated Nashville’s recording scene in the immediate post-war years. Beginning with a country series in January 1946, it added a blues and R&B series three months later. The latter was launched with records by Wynonie Harris and ‘G.I. Singsation’ Cecil Gant; Harris moved on but Gant became a prolific Bullet artist, soon joined by bluesmen Rudy Greene, Walter Davis, Max (Blues) Bailey and Rufus Thomas disguised as Mr Swing. Bullet was joined in 1951 by Republic, Tennessee and Nashboro, the latter run by Ernie Young, owner of Ernie’s Record Mart. Tennessee’s most popular artist was Christine Kittrell, a talented and powerful singer who never achieved nationwide fame, while Republic’s Bernard Hardison cut the original version of ‘Too Much’, later made a hit by Elvis.

Starting in August 1952, Excello soon swept its competition aside with a roster of artists that included Kid King’s Combo, Shy Guy Douglas, Max Bailey, Arthur Gunter (Elvis commandeered ‘Baby Let’s Play House’), Gunter’s brother Little Al, Louis Brooks, Good Rockin’ Sam, Louis Campbell, Clarence Samuels (with a manic Johnny Copeland on guitar) and Jerry McCain, alongside a host of less commercial but no less interesting talent like Slim Hunt, the Dixie Doodlers, the Leap Frogs, the Blue Flamers and the Blues Rockers. Excello would go on to even greater (and international) success when in 1956 Young started to release Louisianan J.D. Miller’s swamp blues recordings by the likes of Lightnin’ Slim, Lonesome Sundown and Lazy Lester – but that’s another story.


Disc 1

01. Cecil Gant / Nashville Jumps [00:02:58]
02. Wynonie Harris / My Baby's Barrel House [00:02:50]
03. Rudy Greene / Evil Man Blues [00:02:43]
04. Cecil Gant / Train Time Blues [00:03:06]
05. Iona Wade & S Williams / Keep Your Man At Home [00:02:52]
06. Wynonie Harris / Dig This Boogie [00:02:31]
07. Don Q Orchestra / Tom, Tom The Piper's Son [00:02:12]
08. Sherman Williams / I'm Lucky With My Brown Gal [00:02:45]
09. Walter Davis / Move Back To The Woods [00:02:40]
10. Lewis Campbell / Call On The Phone [00:02:48]
11. The Blue Jacks / Late Hours Blues [00:03:07]
12. Tom Douglas / Raid On Cedar Street [00:02:34]
13. Max Blues Bailey / Delinquency Blues [00:03:21]
14. Mr Swing (Rufus Thomas) / Beer Bottle Boogie [00:03:04]
15. Bernard Hardison / Hey Little Girl [00:02:39]
16. Christine Kittrell / Don't Do It [00:03:33]
17. Mr Swing (Rufus Thomas) / Gonna Bring My Baby Back [00:02:29]
18. Sherman Johnson / Back Alley Boogie [00:02:46]
19. Tommy Brooks / Steam Pressing Woman [00:02:30]
20. Cecil Gant / Bullet Boogie [00:02:25]
21. Vivian Verson / Payday Lover [00:02:21]
22. Tucker Coles / Don't Get Excited [00:02:54]
23. Charlie Dowell Band / Wail Daddy [00:02:24]
24. Billie McAllister / Well Alright Baby [00:02:51]
25. Helen Foster / I Got a Big Fat Daddy [00:03:03]

Disc 2

01. Eddie Jones / Certainly All [00:02:14]
02. Christine Kittrell / Old Man You're Slipping [00:02:56]
03. Little Eddie / My Baby Left Me [00:02:21]
04. Gay Crosse / No Better for You [00:02:46]
05. Julius King / If You See My Lover [00:03:04]
06. J.D. Horton / Why Don't You Let Me Be [00:02:27]
07. Lewis Campbell / Don't Want Nobody Hangin' Around [00:02:29]
08. Eddie Jones / Feelin' Sad [00:02:37]
09. Helen Foster / Somebody Somewhere [00:02:16]
10. Robert Tucker / It Sure Costs Money To Live [00:02:56]
11. Christine Kittrell / Sittin' Here Drinking [00:03:30]
12. Charles Ruckles / Pitch a Boogie Woogie [00:02:35]
13. Ford Nelson / Still Feelin' Sad [00:03:05]
14. Christine Kittrell / I Ain't Nothing But A Fool [00:02:00]
15. Little Maxie Bailey / Brownskin Woman Blues [00:02:44]
16. Kid King's Combo / Chocolate Sundae [00:02:38]
17. Shy Guy Douglas / Detroit Arrow [00:02:59]
18. The Leap Frogs / Things Gonna Change [00:02:47]
19. Dixie Doodlers / She Was All I Had [00:02:57]
20. Ford Nelson / Little Annie [00:02:16]
21. Kid King's Combo / Skip's Boogie [00:02:57]
22. Bernie Hardison / Love Me Baby [00:02:38]
23. Little Maxie Bailey / Drive Soldiers Drive [00:03:03]
24. Robert Tucker / Changeable Woman [00:02:57]
25. The Leap Frogs / Dirty Britches [00:02:45]

Disc 3

01. Arthur Gunter / Baby Let's Play House [00:02:47]
02. Louis Brooks & The Hi-Toppers / Bus Station Blues [00:02:36]
03. Kid King's Combo / The Brass Rail [00:02:56]
04. Dixie Doodlers / Best Of Friends [00:02:45]
05. Tommy McGhee / Late Every Evening [00:02:51]
06. Shy Guy Douglas / I'm Your Country Man [00:02:48]
07. Arthur Gunter / Blues After Hours [00:02:32]
08. The Blue Flamers / Driving Down The Highway [00:02:42]
09. Louis Brooks & The Hi-Toppers / It's Love Baby (24 Hours A Day) [00:02:40]
10. Louis Campbell / Gotta Have You Baby [00:02:48]
11. Jerry McCain / Courtin' In A Cadillac [00:02:15]
12. Slim Hunt / Lonesome for My Baby [00:02:52]
13. Beulah Bryant / Prize Fightin' Papa [00:02:56]
14. Bernard Hardison / Too Much [00:02:25]
15. Shy Guy Douglas / Wasted Time [00:02:53]
16. Louis Campbell / The Natural Facts [00:02:33]
17. Blues Rockers / Johnny Mae [00:02:54]
18. Good Rockin' Sam / Don't Let Daddy Slow Walk You Down [00:02:56]
19. Little Al / No Jive [00:03:07]
20. Rudy Green / Cool Lovin' Mama [00:02:53]
21. Jerry McCain / That's What They Want [00:02:24]
22. Lillian Offitt / Miss You So [00:02:13]
23. Little Al / Little Lean Woman [00:02:02]
24. Earl Gaines with Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers / I Don't Need You Now [00:02:23]
25. Jimmy Beck & His Orchestra / Pipe Dreams [00:02:09]

Frank Zappa- Zappa In New York (40th Ann. Deluxe Edition) [5 CD, 2019]

 

In December 1976, Frank Zappa performed four sold-out shows at New York City’s Palladium. The career-spanning concerts were “theatrical, outrageous, and raucously funny,” according to Ruth Underwood, who played percussion and synthesizer for the dates. The performances, she says, were “filled with startling and gorgeous music, dating from Frank’s 1960s output to literally the moment the curtain went up.”

It’s from this source material that the live double-album Zappa in New York was created. The album had been set for a 1977 release, but was delayed due to censorship issues involving the rather controversial songs within, especially “Punky’s Whips.” Finally released in 1978, the ten-song collection of mostly new original material has become one of the most beloved in Zappa’s catalogue.

VA - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol.1 - 8 [8 CD, Yazoo Records]

 

A collection of classic recordings fromthe 1920s and 30s featuring many all-time great performances of early American traditional music. This series is a fascinating overview of traditional American musical styles from the Civil War to the 1920s, including fiddle tunes, rags banjo songs, religious selections, old ballads, blues, etc.




Various Artists - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol.1



These are 23 rare 78s from the 1920s and 1930s, chosen to illustrate the wide range of "early American rural music" that made its way onto disc in the early days of the recording industry. This will not get nearly as much press as Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music box, yet it's on par with that ballyhooed re-release as an overview of the roots of American roots music, so to speak. Styles vary from country blues and fiddle hoedowns to banjo music and jug bands. The Memphis Jug Band is the only name here that might be familiar to more than the most well-versed folk historians. Highlights include J.P. Nestor and Norman Edmonds' "Train on the Island," a frenetic string band gallop; the Four Wanderers' eerie gospel tune, "The Fault's in Me"; and Ken Maynard's "Fannie Moore," a direct predecessor of country music in its vocal phrasing.


1. Prince Albert Hunt / Blues In A Bottle
2. Charlie Jordan / Dollar Bill Blues
3. Bascom Lamar Lundsford / Lost John Dean
4. A.A. Gray & Seven Foot Dilly / Streak of Lean, Streak of Fat 5. Richard "Rabbit" Brown / Sinking Of The Titanic
6. Dykes Magic City Trio / Tennessee Girls
7. Bob Campbell / Shotgun Blues
8. J.P. Nestor & Norman Edmonds / Train On The Island
9. The Four Wanderers / The Fault's In Me
10. Happy Hayseeds / The Tail Of Halley's Comet
11. Oaks Family / Wake Up You Drowsy Sleeper
12. Louie Lasky / How You Want Your Rollin' Done
13. Frank Blevins & His Tar Heel Rattlers / Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
14. Memphis Jug Band / On The Road Again
15. Buell Kazee / The Dying Soldier
16. Buddy Boy Hawkins / Voice Throwin' Blues
17. Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles / Been On The Job Too Long
18. Ken Maynard / Fannie Moore
19. Nugrape Twins / I Got Your Ice Cold Nugrape
20. Carson Brothers & Sprinkle / The Old Miller's Will
21. Winston Holmes & Charlie Turner / Skinner
22. Southern Moonlight Entertainers / How To Make Love
23. Grayson & Whitter / Old Jimmie Sutton


Various Artists - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol.2


Like volume One, this presents 23 examples of early American rural music, mastered from rare 78s of the 1920s and 1930s. And like volume one, the names here will challenge the expertise of all but the most fanatical collector; only Uncle Dave Macon, Cannon's Jug Stompers, Henry Thomas, and maybe Blind Alfred Reed will be familiar. It's a valuable sampler of non-urban sounds as captured in the early days of the recording industry, when primitive technology and marketing naivete ensured that the music was virtually unadulterated. Fiddles, banjos, and plaintive, spirited vocals abound. Bobby Leecan's jugband romp "Washboard Cut Out" is the most exuberant track; Rev. D.C. Rice's gospel number "Lord Keep Me with a Mind" starts off in a more somber mood, but soon evolves into a jubilant New Orleans-styled arrangement.

1. Earl Johnson & His Dixie Entertainers / John Henry Blues
2. Allen Shaw / Moanin' the Blues
3. Ernest Stoneman & Kahle Brewer / Lonesome Road Blues
4. Bobby Leecan & His Need More Band / Washboard Cut Out
5. Henry Thomas / Bob McKinney
6. Fiddling John Carson & His Virginia Reelers / Swanee River
7. Richard "Rabbit" Brown / James Alley Blues
8. Uncle Dave Macon & His Fruit Jar Drinkers / Sail Away Ladies 9. Cannon's Jug Stompers / The Rooster's Crowing Blues
10. A.A. Grey & Seven Foot Dilly / Tallapoosa Bound
11. The Shelor Family / Billy Grimes the Rover
12. The Massey Family / Brown Skin Girl Down the Lane
13. Joe McCoy / You Know You Done Me Wrong
14. Sid Harkreader & Gradey Moore / Old Joe
15. Blind Alfred Reed / Beware
16. Wilmer Watts & The Lonely / Knocking Down Casey Jones
17. Tommy Bradley / Four Day Blues
18. Georgia Crackers / Riley the Furniture Man
19. Emmett Lundy & Ernest Stoneman / Piney Woods Girl
20. Louie Blue / State Street Rag
21. Tweedy Brothers / Sugar In The Ground
22. Southern Moonlight Entertainers / Then I'll Move To Town 
23. Rev. D.C. Rice / Lord Keep Me With A Mind



Various Artists - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol.3



Another one of Yazoo's superb and essential old time anthologies, this one taking in all kinds of styles and genres, but having in common the fact that every track is a musical gem and all are presented with the best possible sound. Taken from 78s of the 1920s & 30s, the 23 tracks include cuts by Luke Highnight, Uncle Dave Macon, Oscar Harper, East Texas Serenaders, Son House, Wilmer Watts, Frank Hutchison, Fruit Jar Guzzlers, Skip James, Lowe Stokes, and Sleepy John Estes among others


1.Blind Willie Johnson / I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole
2.Ashleys  Melody Men/ Bath House Blues
3.Frank Hutchinson / Worried Blues
4. Jelly Jaw Short / Snake Doctor Blues
5. East Texa Serenders / Acorn Stomp
6. Carlisle Brothers / Sal Got A Meatskin
7. Sleepy John Estes / Streetcar Blues
8. Luke Highnight& His Ozark Strutters / Fort Smith Breakdown
9. Wilmer Watts & His Lonely Eagles / Sleepy Desert
10. Son House / Walking Blue
11. Allison's Sacred Harp Singers / Sweet Rivers
12. Williamson Brothers & Curry / Gonna Die With My Hammer In My Hand
13. Charlie Patton / Mean Black Cat
14. Lowe Stokes / Billy In The Lowground
15. Jelly Roll Anderson / Good Time Blues
16. Fiddling John Carson & His VirginiaI Reelers / Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over
17. Fruit Jar Guzzlers / Steel Driving Man
18. Skip James / I'm So Glad
19. Uncle Dave Macon & His Fruit Jar Drinkers /Rock About My Sara Jane
20. Cap, Andy, and Flip / I'm Taking My Audition To Sing Up In The Sky
21. Buster Johnson & James Cole's Washboard Band / Undertaker Blues
22. Oscar Harper’s Texas String Band / Sally Johnson
23. Fa Sol La Singers / I'll Stay On The Right Road Now




Various Artists - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol.4



1. Lowe Bonnie - Jimmie Tarlton
2. Early Morning Blues - William Harris
3. Billy In The Lowground - Burnett & Rutherford
4. Rambling Gambler - Dixon Brothers
5. Every Day In The Week Blues - Pink Anderson/Simmie Dooley
6. I Got A Bulldog - Sweet Brothers
7. Tom Cat Blues - Cliff Carlisle
8. Preacher Blues - Hi Henry Brown
9. Salt River - Kessinger Brothers
10. Blushing Bride - Golden Melody Boys
11. Kiss Me Quick - Georgia Yellow Hammers
12. Magnolia Blues - Charlie Patton
13. Perrodin Two Step - Angelas Le Jeunne
14. Bachelor's Hall - Fiddling John Carson
15. Walking Shoes (Button Up Shoes) - Tommy Johnson
16. Wolves Howling - Stripling Brothers
17. Mistreated The Only Friend You Had - James Cole & His Washboard Band
18. Havana River Glide - Martin & Hobbs
19. I Want Two Wings To Veil My Face - Cotton Top Mountain Sanctified Singers
20. Make Down The Bed And We'll All Sleep Together - Jess Hillard & His West Virginia Hillbillies
21. Special Rider Blues - Skip James
22. Walk Right In Belmont - Watts & Wilson
23. Leaving All To Follow Jesus - Rev. Rice & Congregation



Various Artists - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol.5



Vol. 5 includes such gems as Sam McGee's bright "Railroad Blues," Skip James' classic and striking "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues," a breakneck version of "Black-Eyed Susie" by string band great J.P. Nestor, and a unusually hopeful blues treatment of "Some Happy Day" from Charley Patton. Since everything is drawn from exceedingly rare 78s, many of which were played to death by their original owners, there is a fair amount of ambient needle noise on several of these tracks, but that only adds to the overall feel of history actually coming alive that is inherent to these kinds of compilations. Well selected, varied, and artfully sequenced, Times Ain't Like They Used to Be, Vol. 5 is yet another welcome addition to a hopefully never-ending series.

01. Sam McGee – Railroad Blues
02. Floyd County Ramblers – Step Stone
03. Skip James – Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues
04. Weems String Band – Greenback Dollar
05. Jimmie Davis – Doggone That Train]
06. Eli Framer – Framer’s Blues
07. Roy Harvey & Jess Johnston – No Room for a Tramp
08. Garland Brothers & Grinstead – Just Over the River [2:49]
09. Ben Covington – Mule Skinner Moan
10. Reaves White County Ramblers – Shortening Bread
11. J.P. Nestor & Norman Edmonds – Black-Eyed Susie
12. Buddy Boy Hawkins – A Rag Blues [3:00]
13. Roy Harvey & Jess Johnston – Railroad Blues
14. Grayson County Railsplitters – Way Down in North Carolina 15. The Swamp Rooters (A.A. Gray & Lowe Stokes) – Citaco
16. Unknown Artist – Pistol Blues [3:02]
17. Murphy Brothers Band – Boat Song March
18. Frank Blevins & His Tar Heels Rattlers – I’ve Got No Honey Babe Now
19. Wilmer Watts and The Lonely Eagles – Bonnie Bess
20. Blind Joe Reynolds – Cold Woman Blues
21. Wyzee, Tucker & Lecroy – Hamilton’s Special Breakdown 22. Bull Mountain Moonshiners – Johnny Goodwin
23. Charley Patton – Some Happy Day



Various Artists - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol.6



Each volume in Yazoo Records' Times Ain't Like They Used to Be series collects 1920s and '30s commercial 78s, and taken together they project a vital and energetic early-20th century rural America of jug and string bands, country blues players, fiddlers, banjoists, sacred singers, and musical roustabouts of every conceivable rustic style imaginable. This process makes each volume remarkably similar even as the particular artists and songs included on each may be tremendously different. Vol. 6 includes such rare gems as Isaiah Nettles' (listed here under his moniker "the Mississippi Moaner") quirky "It's Cold in China Blues," Skip James' haunting "Cherry Ball Blues," an energetic "Davy" by the Weems String Band, and the second part of Charley Patton's two-part 78-rpm recording of "Prayer of Death."

01. Birkhead & Lane - Robinson County
02. Floyd County Ramblers - Aunt Dinah’s Quilting Party
03. Mississippi Moaner - It’s Cold in China
04. Parker & Dodd - Sail Away Lady
05. Uncle Dave Macon and his Fruit Jar Drinkers - I’m Going Away in the Morn
06. Tenderfoot Edwards - Seven Sister Blues [2:55]
07. Virginia Mountain Boomers - Cousin Sally Brown
08. Girls of the Golden West - Whoopee Ti-Yi-Yo Git Along Little Dogies
09. Skip James - Cherry Ball Blues
10. Roy Harvey & Jess Johnston - Milwaukee Blues
11. Weems String Band - Davy
12. Eli Framer - God Didn’t Make Me No Monkey Man
13. Eck Robertson - Sally Gooden
14. Jess Johnston & Byrd Moore - My Trouble Blues
15. Charley Patton - Prayer of Death, Part 2
16. Red Headed Fiddlers - Cheat ’Em
17. Dewey & Gassie Bassett - Jesus Paved the Way
18. Louis Lasky - Caroline
19. The Swamp Rooters - Swamp Cat Rag
20. Reaves White County Ramblers - Ten Cent Piece
21. Blind Joe Reynolds - Ninety Nine Blues
22. Jess Hillard and his West Virginia Hillbillies - Rolling River
23. Turney Brothers - At the Cross





Various Artists - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol.7



Volume 7 includes such rare gems as Jimmie Tarlton's impressive "Dixie Mail," Skip James' haunting "Hard Luck Child," an unhinged fiddle and banjo duet by Ben Jarrell and Francis Jenkins on "Jack of Diamonds" and the first part of Son House's classic two-part 78 rpm recording of "Dry Spell Blues."

1. Dilly & His Dill Pickles - Bust Down Stomp
2. Jimmie Tarlton - Dixie Mail
3. King Solomon Hill - Times Has Done Got Hard
4. East Texas Serenaders - Meneola Rag
5. Sheffield Male Quartet Christ Arose
6. "Gitfiddle Jim" - Rainy Night Blues
7. Three Tobacco Tags - Good Gal Remember Me
8. Red Headed Fiddlers - Texas Quickstep
9. Ed Bell - Ham Bone blues
10. David Miller _ Cannonball Rag
11. Fiddlin John Carson & His Virginia Reelers - Little More Sugar in the
12. Bo Weavil Jackson - Devil and my Brown Blues
13. Stripling Brothers - Horseshoe Bend
14. Daniels-Deason Sacred Harp Singers - Primrose Hill
15. Skip James - Hard Luck child
16. Uncle Dave Macon & Sam McGee - Go On, Nora Lee
17. Dennis McGee - Jeunes Gens Campagnard
18. Jay Bird Coleman - I'm Gonna Cross The River Of Jordon Some Of These Days
19. Uncle Pete & Louise - Only A Tramp
20. Ben Jarrell & Frank Jenkins - Jack of Diamnds
21. Son Houe - Dry Spell Blues - Park 1
22. "Ted" Sharp, Hinman & Sharp - Pike's Peak
23. Old Southern Sacred Singers - I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go



Various Artists - Times Ain't Like They Used to Be Vol.8



Volume 8 is a little heavier on the blues side of things and includes such rare gems as Dock Boggs' banjo blues set piece "Sugar Baby," Skip James' haunting rendering of "4 O'Clock Blues" (made especially precious by sounding like it was recorded in a hail storm), Frank Hutchison's sleek and timeless "The Train That Carried My Girl from Town," and Francis Jenkins' ancient sounding fiddle ballad, "Roving Cowboy," which sounds a bit like an inland sea shanty

1. Vaughan Quartet - It's Just Like Heaven
2. Red Headed Fiddler - The Steeley Rag
3. "Gitfiddle Jim" - Paddllin' Blues
4. Dilly & His Dill Pickles - Sand Mountain
5. Dock Boggs - Sugar Baby
6. King Solomon Hill - My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon
7. Stripling Brothers - The Lost Child
8. Frank Hutchison - The Train That Carried My Girl From Town
9. Bo Weavil Jackson - You Can't Keep No Brown
10. Wright Brothers Quartet - Mother Is With The Angels
11. Dick Reinhart - Rambling Lover
12. Skip James - 4 O'Clock Blues
13. Da Costa Woltz's Southern Broadcasters - Yellow Rose of Texas
14. Johnny Barfield - Gonna Ride Till The Sun Goes Down
15. Ed Bell - Mamlish Blues
16. "Ted" Sharp, Hinman and Sharp - Robinson County
17. Dennis McGee - Vaise Des Vachers
18. David Miller - Jailhouse Rag
19. Tommy Johnson - I Want Someone To Love Me
20. Uncle Dave Macon & McGee Bros. - Tennessee Tornado
21. Frank Jenkins - Roving Cowboy
22. Shelor Family - Big Bend Gal
23. Rev. W.M. Mosely - Yes! Tis Me

VA - The George Mitchell Collection Volumes 1 - 45 [7 CD, 2008]

As a high school senior in 1962, George Mitchell began wandering Memphis back alleys and the rural roads of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi in search of the blues. He found them all right, as evidenced by this 7-CD collection of recordings spanning 20 years and including a few familiar names like R.L. Burnside, Robert Nighthawk, and Big Joe Williams, as well as dozens of virtual unknowns. Don't call Mitchell a folklorist, however. In lively liner notes, Sam Sweet derides the field – John and Alan Lomax in particular – as "frosty, insular, uptight types." He contends that Mitchell "radiated warmth and eccentricity" and thus connected with bluesmen he recorded because of his generosity of spirit and a shared Southern culture. Purists offended by Burnside's rocking electro-infused collaborations with Jon Spencer and Kid Rock in the 1990s will no doubt prefer the four dirty Delta originals included here, the first-ever recordings of the Mississippi bluesman. Mitchell's recollections of the sessions are often hilarious and always honest. He remembers the one-string-bass- and kazoo-playing Dewey Corley, recorded 1967 in Memphis, as "a crotchety old motherfucker, very irritable." Cecil Barfield, also recorded that same year in Albany, GA., provides four standout cuts highlighted by his hypnotizing if barely decipherable swampy howl. Excellent sides of Precious Bryant, Rosa Lee Hill, and Jessie Mae Hemphill are among the only known recordings of black female guitarists from the South in the 1960s. Percussion is generally limited to stomping of feet, and children playing and friendly chatter are par for the background on these intimate sessions. Clocking in at more than eight hours and 174 tracks, the collection might be overkill for the casual fan, but for the serious collector, The George Mitchell Collection comes available as 45 7-inches.


CD 1 (1:13:35)
01. Cecil Barfield - Lucy Mae Blues (3:32)
02. Cecil Barfield - I Woke Up Crying (1:35)
03. Cecil Barfield - Love Blues (3:15)
04. Cecil Barfield - I Told You Not To Do That (2:37)
05. Buddy Moss - In The Evening (2:21)
06. Buddy Moss - Hey Lawdy Mama (2:25)
07. Buddy Moss - Thousand Woman Blues (1:17)
08. Buddy Moss - Blue Shadow Falling (2:05)
09. Buddy Moss - Cold Rainy Day (1:50)
10. Buddy Moss - Amy (2:46)
11. Leon Pinson - Motherless Child (2:16)
12. Leon Pinson - Hush, Somebody Is Calling My Name (2:59)
13. Leon Pinson - What God Can Do (1:25)
14. Leon Pinson - He'll Understand And Say Well Done (4:26)
15. Houston Stackhouse - Big Road Blues (2:31)
16. Houston Stackhouse - Cool Water Blues (3:20)
17. Houston Stackhouse - Big Fat Mama Blues (2:52)
18. Houston Stackhouse - Take A Little Walk With Me (2:55)
19. Big Joe Williams - Everyone Got A Woman (2:30)
20. Big Joe Williams - What She Need With A Rooster (2:35)
21. Big Joe Williams - Sink Or Swim (2:41)
22. Big Joe Williams - Prison Bound (2:24)
23. John Lee Ziegler - Who's Gonna Be Your Man (4:36)
24. John Lee Ziegler - If I Lose Let Me Lose (4:54)
25. Othar Turner - Black Woman (3:25)
26. Othar Turner - Bumble Bee (4:04)

CD 2 (1:06:02)
01. Lonzie Thomas - Rabbit On A Log (2:24)
02. Lonzie Thomas - Raise A Ruckus Tonight (2:21)
03. Lonzie Thomas - My Three Women (2:49)
04. Lonzie Thomas - Red Cross Store (2:34)
05. Sleepy John Estes - Rats In The Kitchen (1:42)
06. Sleepy John Estes - Special Agent (2:54)
07. Sleepy John Estes - Trying To See (2:52)
08. Sleepy John Estes - Mail Man Blues (1:52)
09. Teddy Williams - Down Home Blues (3:36)
10. Teddy Williams - Catfish Blues (1:44)
11. Teddy Williams - Black Mattie (2:57)
12. Teddy Williams - Sun Don't Shine (2:16)
13. Green Paschal - Trouble Brought Me Down (1:41)
14. Green Paschal - My Lord (2:10)
15. Green Paschal - Mother Is Dead (1:24)
16. Green Paschal - Lay My Burden Down (1:35)
17. Green Paschal - Your Close Friend (1:19)
18. Green Paschal - I'm Gonna Leave You In The Hands Of The Lord (1:52)
19. William ''Do Boy'' Diamond - Hard Time Blues (3:24)
20. William ''Do Boy'' Diamond - Just Want To Talk To You (4:21)
21. Dewey Corley & Walter Miller - Just A Dream I Got On My Mind (2:53)
22. Dewey Corley & Walter Miller - Memphis Is A Wonderful City (1:50)
23. Dewey Corley & Walter Miller - Down To Arkansas (3:47)
24. Bud Grant - Rock Me Mama (2:07)
25. Bud Grant - Freight Train Blues (2:32)
26. Bud Grant - So Sweet (2:54)
27. Bud Grant - Bud Grant's Grunt (2:13)

CD 3 (1:09:53)
01. Bud White - Go Ahead On (2:51)
02. Bud White - You've Been Gone So Long (2:26)
03. Bud White - White Horses (4:05)
04. George Henry Bussey - When I'm Sober I'm Drunk Blues (2:52)
05. George Henry Bussey - Mean Mistreater (3:06)
06. George Henry Bussey - Blues Around My Bed (3:54)
07. George Henry Bussey - Looking For My Woman (1:39)
08. Jim Bunkley - Old Red #2 (3:02)
09. Jim Bunkley - Jack Of Diamonds (1:52)
10. Jim Bunkley - Them Greasy Greens (2:42)
11. Jim Bunkley - Rocking Chair (1:42)
12. Tom Turner - Old Breakdown (4:23)
13. Tom Turner - Drop Down Mama #1 (3:34)
14. James Shorter - Search Me Lord (2:36)
15. James Shorter - My Mother Died And Left Me (2:28)
16. James Shorter - Consolation (1:41)
17. James Shorter - Home Going (3:02)
18. Abe McNeil - Better Than Myself (4:16)
19. Abe McNeil - Steady Rollin' Man (2:30)
20. Abe McNeil - Drink Drink Drink (2:20)
21. Joe Callicot - Country Blues (3:24)
22. Joe Callicot - River Blues (2:50)
23. Johnny Woods - 3 O'Clock In The Morning (3:55)
24. Johnny Woods - I's Be Troubled (2:41)

CD 4 (1:08:34)
01. Robert Diggs - Someday Baby (2:50)
02. Robert Diggs - Racehorse Charleston (2:01)
03. Robert Diggs - Done Lost My Health (3:36)
04. Robert Diggs - Drive Your Car (1:38)
05. Cliff Scott - Woke Up This Morning (2:57)
06. Cliff Scott - Long Wavy Hair (2:23)
07. Cliff Scott - Please Come Home (2:55)
08. Cliff Scott - Pole Pattin' (2:10)
09. Jimmy Lee Harris - I Wanna Ramble (4:33)
10. Jimmy Lee Harris - Sitting Here Looking 1000 Miles Away (3:55)
11. R.L. Burnside - Just Like A Bird Without A Feather (3:12)
12. R.L. Burnside - Skinny Woman (2:12)
13. R.L. Burnside - Goin' Down South (2:37)
14. R.L. Burnside - Poor Black Mattie (2:08)
15. Robert Johnson - Hold My Body Down (2:41)
16. Robert Johnson - Trying To Make It Home (2:57)
17. Robert Johnson - Precious Lord (2:00)
18. Robert Johnson - He'll Make A Way (3:17)
19. Robert Longstreet - Sugar Mama (2:59)
20. Robert Longstreet - Black Gal (2:59)
21. Robert Longstreet - Sloppy Drunk (2:41)
22. Robert Longstreet - Decoration Day (3:06)
23. Fred McDowell - Shake 'Em On Down (2:55)
24. Fred McDowell - Mama Says I'm Crazy (3:54)

CD 5 (1:17:01)
01. John Henry Barbee - That Ain't It (3:36)
02. Johny Henry Barbee - Gonna Lose Your Mind (3:37)
03. Albert Macon & Robert Thomas - Flat Foot Boogie (4:05)
04. Albert Macon & Robert Thomas - Mama Can I Lay It Down (1:35)
05. Albert Macon & Robert Thomas - How Can You Do It (2:51)
06. Jessie Clarence Gorman - John Henry (1:36)
07. Jessie Clarence Gorman - Goin' Up To The Country #1 (1:57)
08. Jessie Clarence Gorman - Goin' Up To The Country #2 (1:46)
09. Will Shade - Dirty Dozens (2:44)
10. Will Shade - Won't You Send Me John (2:16)
11. Will Shade - Wine Headed Man (2:47)
12. Will Shade & Charlie Burse - K.C. Blues (3:03)
13. Georgia Fife & Drum Band - Every Time I Come Around (3:11)
14. Georgia Fife & Drum Band - J.W.'s Special (1:51)
15. Georgia Fife & Drum Band - Old Hen Cackle (3:20)
16. Georgia Fife & Drum Band - Buck Dance (1:26)
17. Como Fife & Drum Band - Hey Freddie (1:56)
18. Como Fife & Drum Band - Late In The Evening (2:20)
19. Como Fife & Drum Band - Punky Tony (2:35)
20. Como Fife & Drum Band - Shimmy She Wa (3:05)
21. Maxwell Street Jimmy - You Got Reap What You Sow (3:55)
22. Maxwell Street Jimmy - Everything's Gonna Be Alright (3:05)
23. Precious Bryant - That's The Way The Good Thing Go (2:17)
24. Precious Bryant - Georgia Buck (2:26)
25. Precious Bryant - When The Saints Go Marching In (2:51)
26. Rosa Lee Hill - Pork & Beans (3:29)
27. Rosa Lee Hill - Count The Days I'm Gone (1:42)
28. Rosa Lee Hill - Roll & Tumble (3:44)
29. Rosa Lee Hill - Bullying Well (1:56)

CD 6 (1:08:13)
01. Furry Lewis - Good Morning Judge (5:33)
02. Furry Lewis - Furry Lewis' Careless Love (5:06)
03. Jimmy Lee Williams - What Makes Grandpa Love Grandma So (4:03)
04. Jimmy Lee Williams - Have You Ever Seen Peaches (4:18)
05. J.W. Warren - Hoboing Into Hollywood (3:37)
06. J.W. Warren - Sundown Blues (2:00)
07. J.W. Warren - Rabbit On A Log (2:37)
08. J.W. Warren - You're Gonna Miss Me (2:46)
09. Eddie Harris - House On The Hill (3:37)
10. Eddie Harris - I Have To Love Somebody (4:58)
11. James Davis - Old Country Rock #1 (3:46)
12. James Davis - Instrumental #1 (2:56)
13. James Davis - Who Stole The Lock Off The Henhouse Door (3:16)
14. James Davis - Instrumental #4 (2:07)
15. Robert Nighthawk - Canned Heat (3:26)
16. Robert Nighthawk - Nighthawk Boogie (2:53)
17. Robert Nighthawk - Down By The Woodshed (2:59)
18. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Home Going (2:24)
19. Jessie Mae Hemphill - I Want To Be Ready (1:50)
20. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Interview (4:00)

CD 7 Bonus (1:03:25)
01. Jessie Lee Vortis - Miss Maybelle (4:35)
02. Jessie Lee Vortis - When My Baby Got On Board (4:07)
03. George Hollis - Them Greasy Greens #1 (3:39)
04. George Hollis - Rock And Roll To Milledgeville (1:41)
05. Willie Rockomo - Black Rat Swing (2:32)
06. Bruce Upshaw & Willie Rockomo - Tease Me Baby #2 (2:47)
07. Bruce Upshaw - Someday Baby #1 (2:44)
08. Bruce Upshaw - Wonder Why My Baby Treat Me So Bad (2:23)
09. Bruce Upshaw - Rosa Lee (2:20)
10. Buddy Hubbard - I Got A Woman (2:35)
11. Buddy Hubbard - So Sweet (2:08)
12. Ira ''Tiny'' Coney - You're Gonna Miss Me (2:29)
13. Ira ''Tiny'' Coney - Mamie (3:03)
14. Ira ''Tiny'' Coney - I'm So Lonesome (3:59)
15. Eddie Hodge - Blood Red River (2:57)
16. Eddie Hodge - Sitting On Top Of The World (1:41)
17. Eddie Hodge - Glory Hallelujah (2:35)
18. Pettis Sisters - Jesus Is Coming Back To Me (2:49)
19. Pettis Sisters - Bound For Zion (3:22)
20. Houston & Sara Mae Stovall - You Told Me Baby (2:26)
21. Houston & Sara Mae Stovall - Sweet As An Apple On A Tree (1:39)
22. Houston & Sara Mae Stovall - Juke #2 (1:10)
23. Houston & Sara Mae Stovall - Woke Up This Morning (1:58)
24. Houston & Sara Mae Stovall - Tell Me You Love Me (1:49)

Grateful Dead - Digital Download Series Vol.01-12

 

Digital Download series

In the summer of 2005 the Dead began offering download versions of both their existing live releases, and a new Internet-only series, The Grateful Dead Download Series. Not surprisingly, these Internet-only albums have met with the same success as their CD-based brethren.

Info and setlists