Search - Various Artists :: Roots N' Blues: Retrospective 1925-1950

A Dazzling, but Overlooked Collection

Gavin B. | St. Louis MO | 02/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This exhaustive collection of American roots music has been around for over ten years, but I only came across it recently. Record companies don't really have an advertising budget for collections of this kind, so unless you are looking for it, it's likely that you have never be exposed to "Roots N' Blues", a retropective of roots music from the years 1925-1950. Even the most jaded collector of roots music will find plenty of choice cuts amoung the 109 titles presented here. Lawerence Cohn made the wise decision to not use a bunch of collection perennials, but instead he selected more esoteric titles that he deemed worthy of another hearing. I've been collecting pre-WW II blues for over thirty years and there's very little in that area I haven't heard, but Mr. Cohn has pulled several from the vault that are new to me. His inclusion of the brilliant Mississippi Shieks and cuts by the Carter family of Mississippi prove that the Shieks and their offspring were the Carter family that everyone forgot. Harry Smith's great contribution to roots music was his inclusiveness in his selection of music. To Harry, good music was good music, be it blues, gospel, cowboy, hillbilly or boogie-woogie. A similar ecunemical spirit prevades the "Roots N' Blues" collection. There are no arbitrary catergories separating the music so you are likely to hear a delta blues song, followed by a yodeling cowboy song. It may displace the listener accustomed to listening to music in neat categories, but for me it's a strength instead of a liability. If you listen to a lot of this kind of music, you will probably understand that most roots music has a lot more similarities than differences. Dividing the music into genres tends to undermind the educational value of a project as wide in scope as "Roots N' Blues".The remastering is the finest I've ever heard and it is a daunting task to clean up ancient original masters without adding a layer of white noise, that to the a listener with a good set of ears, is as distracting as a vacum cleaner running in the background.This collection may not be the best introduction to roots music for the novice. There are plenty of less pricey single and double CD collections out there for the newbie. For the collector, however, this collection is essential and if "Roots N' Blues" isn't sitting on your shelf right next to your Harry Smith collection, you are missing a vital piece of roots music history. The jewels in this collection are the equals of any of their predecessors."

Incredible variety 78 rpm recordings

Gavin B. | 02/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best anthology of 78s ever published! It is similar to the venerable Anthology of American Folk Music (Folkways) but better in that it is longer, has more variety, and cleaner production. It cover whole genres not toutched by the Folkways anthology, such as Western Swing and jazz piano numbers. Plus outstanding blues and old-time tunes with every possible combination of the two! Rare recordings include a tune by a 15 year old piano prodigy (Hersal Thomas), who died a year later. This is one of those rare items that make one realize there is an American cultural tradition, and it is deep and rich."