Search - Various Artists :: The Best of the Blues Tradition, Vol. 1

THESE Are The Blues

10/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You're sitting around with some friends who know of your affinity for all genres of music and someone asks "what do they mean when they speak of the blues tradition?" You simply reach for this 3-CD set and slap on some Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins [1912-1982 and a Texas chain-gang survivor] if you want to give the best example of Country Blues, perhaps choosing his hilarious Long Gone Like A Turkey Through The Corn. But the pain is there too in Rainy Day Blues and the classic See See Rider. This one has five full pages of background notes written by Mark McCormick.



Then you can add in a little Mississippi Fred McDowell [1904-1973],the master of the Steakbone Slide Guitar who, to borrow a quote from the great five pages of liner notes by noted producer Anton Glovsky, said "Kill the blues and what have you got left? Nothin' Know why? 'Cause the blues is the story of life and the spice of life." That comes across vividly in each of his 10 selections, but especially in The Train I Ride and Levee Camp Blues.



And finally, for your by-now enthralled audience, you throw on Big Bill Broonzy [1898-1958], THE classic blues guitarist whose vocal rendition of Leroy Carr's In the Evenin' [When The Sun Goes Down] is simply the best. The other nine aren't too shabby either, especially his instrumental versions of See See Rider and St. Louis Blues. For this volume the five pages of background notes were also written by Glovsky.



In 1980 the Blues Hall Of Fame was founded, and among the 20 initial inductees were Hopkins and Broonzy. McDowell was honoured in 1991 - 11 years too late in my humble opinion.



Given to me as a gift by one of my sons, all in all this is a highly-recommended fabulous collection of "traditional blues" with excellent sound quality that will not fail to deliver many hours of pleasure."