I listened to Robert Johnson several times previously with mild interest as far back as 2019 but my blues journey began in early January of 2021 after listening to Charley Patton. Although I have taken a few breaks since, I've continued listening to and adding new blues artists to this page as of 2024. For artists with two or more albums below, I listed their albums by recording date rather than release date because that's the order you should listen to them. For the first few artists I listened to, I was not yet doing extensive research beforehand to determine the best compilations to check out. If I could go back, I'm quite sure I would have chosen different albums from Big Joe Williams, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lead Belly, and Memphis Minnie, all of whom I'm fairly certain have better compilations. Same goes for Son House, whom I've never quite figured out and whom I initially found so difficult to listen to that I barely got through the compilation I chose.
The Rural Blues - Sacred Tradition 1927-1939 (1973): B
Arthur Crudup: That's All Right Mama (1992): A-
Barbecue Bob: Chocolate to the Bone (1992): B+
Big Bill Broonzy: The Young Big Bill Broonzy 1928-1936 (1991): B
Big Bill Broonzy: Big Bill Broonzy Sings Folk Songs (1956): A
Big Joe Williams: Baby Please Don't Go (The Best of) (2009): C+
Blind Blake: The Best of Blind Blake (2005): A-
Blind Boy Fuller: Truckin' My Blues Away (1978): B+
Blind Joe Taggart: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1926-1928) (1994): B+
Blind Lemon Jefferson: Best of (2014): B+
Blind Willie Johnson: Dark Was the Night (1998): A-
Blind Willie McTell: The Early Years (1990): A-
Brownie McGhee: Be Good to Me (2004): B+
Brownie McGhee: The Folkway Years, 1945-1959 (1991): B+
Buddy Moss: Buddy Moss (1933-1935) (1988): A-
Bukka White: Parchman Farm (1970): A-
Casey Bill Weldon & Kokomo Arnold: Bottleneck Guitar Trendsetters of the 1930s (1992): B+
Charley Patton: The Best of Charlie Patton (2006): A+
Elmore James: The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James (1993): A
Elmore James: Shake Your Money Maker: The Best of the Fire Sessions (2001): A-
Frank Hutchison: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1926-1929) (1997): A-
Frank Stokes: The Victor Recordings (1928-1929) (1990): B
Furry Lewis: Furry Lewis 1927-1929 (1990): A-
Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas: Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas (2022): A-
Henry Thomas: Texas Worried Blues: Complete Recorded Work 1927-1929 (1989): A
Jim Jackson: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1927-1928) (1992): B
John Lee Hooker: The Legendary Modern Recordings (1993): A
Josh White: Blues Singer 1932-1936 (1996): B-
Lead Belly: Absolutely the Best (2000): B+
Leroy Carr: How Long How Long Blues (2008): B+
Lonnie Johnson: Steppin' on the Blues (1990): B
Lonnie Johnson: Blues & Ballads (1960): A-
Memphis Minnie: Queen of the Blues (1997): B-
Mississippi Fred McDowell: Portrait: The First Recordings (1997): B-
Mississippi Fred McDowell: I Do Not Play No Rock 'N Roll (1969): A-
Mississippi John Hurt: Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings (1996): B+
Mississippi John Hurt: Rediscovered (1998): A-
The Mississippi Sheiks: Honey Baby Let the Deal Go Down: The Best of the Mississippi Sheiks (2004): A-
Rev. Gary Davis: The Complete Early Recordings of Reverend Gary Davis (1994): A
Rev. Gary Davis: Harlem Street Singer (1960): B+
Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Singers (1961): A
Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. II (1970): A
Robert Nighthawk: Prowling with the Nighthawk (2005): B+
Robert Wilkins: The Original Rolling Stone (1980): A-
Sam Collins: Jailhouse Blues (1990): B+
Skip James: Complete Early Recordings (2006): A-
Sleepy John Estes: I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More 1929-1941 (1992): B-
Sonny Boy Williamson I: Sugar Mama (1995): B+
Sonny Boy Williamson II: King Biscuit Time (1989): A-
Sonny Boy Williamson II: His Best (1997): B+
Tampa Red: The Guitar Wizard (1975): C+
T-Bone Walker: T-Bone Blues (1959): A-
Tommy Johnson: Essential Blues Masters (2009): B
Tommy McClennan: 1939-1940 Whiskey Head Woman, Vol. 1 (2002): B
Washington Phillips: The Key to the Kingdom (2005): A
The Rural Blues - Sacred Tradition 1927-1939 (1973):
Many of today's most celebrated country bluesmen lived in obscurity during their lives but they were nevertheless recognized as talented and (relatively) commercially successful in their time, which is why they were invited back to the studio and amassed a discography large enough for a compilation to focus on only their recordings. In contrast, many other artists, for a multitude of reasons, were only invited to the studio once or twice and have but a few sides to their name. Such is the case for two of the artists we have here: Mother McCollum and Eddie Head and His Family, who recorded six and four sides respectively. With Rev. Edward W. Clayborn, who recorded over forty sides in his lifetime, these musicians make up the three artists compiled on the single LP The Rural Blues - Sacred Tradition. What brings them together is that all three sang spirituals tinged with the secular blues of the day. McCollum records memorably soulful vocals with accompaniment from a slide guitarist and backup guitarist, one of which may have been herself. Perhaps her greatest side is the seemingly original "Jesus Is My Air-O-Plane." The Head Family also make an impression on their few sides, which features two female vocalists singing with Eddie, an acoustic guitar, and a tambourine. They have the two greatest highlights on the album: "Lord I'm the True Vine" and "Down on Me," the latter likely being the version that inspired Janis Joplin to cover the song. Clayborn's six sides are the weakest of the record. Although he accompanies himself with a slide guitar and roughly sings religious lyrics in a style reminiscent of Blind Willie Johnson, his recordings fall short of the power and emotion that Johnson could conjure at will. B
Arthur Crudup: That's All Right Mama (1992):
Although Arthur Crudup is respected well enough in the blues world, he is sometimes known outside of it because Elvis Presley cited Crudup as one of his favorite blues musicians and his first hit happened to a recording of Crudup's "That's All Right Mama." Coming from a white kid who has constantly been accused of cultural appropriation and stealing black music (often by people who have no credentials whatsoever to weigh into the discussion), this might lead many to wrongly assume that Crudup was an early rocker who is almost indistinguishable from early Elvis recordings. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Crudup was a bluesman through and through, and even as he added a standard Chicago backing in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he still rocked slow and steady. That's not to take away from his legitimate status as an early rock'n'roll influence and an unconventionally strong guitar soloist for the time. Indeed, some of these recordings from 1941 to 1954 with Bluebird get as close to rocking and rolling as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf in the late 1940s. And let's not believe Elvis was the only notable fan of Crudup, Johnny Winter constructed his greatest song "Mean Town Blues" with guitar pieces Crudup wrote. A-
Barbecue Bob: Chocolate to the Bone (1992):
Robert Hicks was born in 1902 not far from Atlanta, where he would become an important stateman to the city's blues scene. By 1927, Hicks was a local attraction as a barbecue cook who would perform his twelve string guitar (sometimes with a slide) for customers. Columbia talent scout Dan Hornsby discovered him that year, dubbed him "Barbecue Bob," took pictures of him dressed in his cooking garments and playing guitar, and sent him off to his first recording session. After his first single "Barbecue Blues" made a splash, Hicks was frequently invited back to the studio and recorded some sixty sides from 1927 to 1930. Having many friends within the Atlanta blues scene (especially Curley Weaver, young up-and-comer Buddy Moss, and his brother Charlie) and perhaps spending some time in the Delta (one of his early singles was "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues," yet another blues song documenting the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927), Hicks developed a mastery of many guitar stylings and had many guest appearances on studio recordings. While his ease on guitar, his smooth vocal delivery, and his track record as a best selling bluesman for Columbia in the 1920s made him a ripe candidate to return to the studio once the music industry recovered from the Great Depression, Hicks died at the age of 29 in 1931 from tuberculosis and pneumonia. Although his career was unfortunately cut short, his extensive recordings make it easy to assemble a strong compilation of his work and that's exactly what this twenty song track-list from Yazoo does. Barbecue Bob does not level up to other Atlanta great Blind Willie McTell and arguably is even outshined by his protege Buddy Moss but he is a worthwhile musician to explore, especially utilizing a well-selected compilation such as this. B+
Big Bill Broonzy: The Young Big Bill Broonzy 1928-1936 (1991):
Born in Arkansas (probably) and moving to Chicago early in his career, Big Bill Broonzy developed a unique mix of folk and country blues--a cross between Lead Belly and, say, Tommy Johnson. His guitar playing is accomplished, his singing is good but lacks wisdom, and his songwriting is okay. I don't like the female that sings with him at all and there are times when his playing too closely resembles Blind Blake, who does the style better. I look forward to the maturity that will come with his later recordings. B
Big Bill Broonzy: Big Bill Broonzy Sings Folk Songs (1956):
During the 30s and 40s, Broonzy experimented with many different styles but by the 1950s, he was back to his roots and cut this collection of songs in 1956, two years before his death. These recordings are remarkably consistent, impassioned, and clear. Once a slightly hesitant singer, Broonzy's voice has deepened and with the time that passed, he has developed the full confidence to utilize it perfectly. Combining all his influences, his style is hard to pinpoint--AllMusic thinks he's more delta blues now than ever before while I think it's right in the title and he’s just as folk as Lead Belly even. Either way, he's clearly at the top of his game. A
Big Joe Williams: Baby Please Don't Go (The Best of) (2009):
Recording primarily from 1935 to 1945, Williams was a stubborn and hot-headed delta blues singer. Although he was gifted and influential, he, less than any other bluesmen on this page, failed to carve out a unique sound in the genre. His guitar player is not particularly impressive, his voice is no doubt emotive but forgettable, and the majority of songs aren't worth exploring unless you already love the blues. Instead, you're best only checking out his most popular songs: "Baby Please Don't Go," "Someday Baby," "49 Highway Blues," and "Crawling King Snake." C+
Blind Boy Fuller: Truckin' My Blues Away (1978):
Fuller's Piedmont guitar style is pretty similar to that of Blind Blake but his repertoire is pretty unique and his originals showcase some impressive songwriting chops. This compilation, while skipping two of his best cuts ("Step It Up and Go" and "Get Your Yas Yas Out"--you recognize the latter's title, don't you?), sums up Fuller's career in a concise forty minutes, which is about all you need from this underrated blues guitarist. B+
Blind Blake: The Best of Blind Blake (2005):
Beginning his recording career in 1926--which puts him among the earliest generation of blues guitarists to be recorded--Blind Blake pioneered a fingerpicking style that was renowned for resembling ragtime piano. More than later renowned fingerpickers Rev. Gary Davis and Blind Willie McTell, Blake favored jumping and melodic guitar playing that could be danced to--whether it's "Dry Bone Shuffle" or his fantastic instrumental "Blind Arthur's Breakdown," he knew how to boogie. Because his recordings are some of my favorite finds in my blues journey, I wish this compilation were a little shorter even though almost all the included songs are excellent. A-
Blind Joe Taggart: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1926-1928) (1994):
As controversial as the blues was amongst the church-going black community in the early 20th century, there were more than a handful of God fearing 1920s musicians who nevertheless dabbled in what was widely believed to be the devil's music. Blind Joe Taggart was one such musician, recording spiritual standards of the time under his own name and recording blues songs under several different pseudonyms. Although there are certainly many suggested reasons for this--many blues players did similar activities to get around exclusive recording contracts but AllMusic makes the bold claim that it was a sneaky attempt to hide his sinful recordings from the Lord--perhaps the simplest explanation is that he and/or his record labels realized that it was an easy way to hide it from the record buying public: to effectively sell the two opposing genres to their very different clientele. This is further backed by the fact that his blues side as Blind Joe Amos was recorded with Vocalion, where he also released spiritual music. Today, we can see that these genres are in fact not that irreconcilable, especially now that Document has brought all of Taggart's recordings together on their Complete Recorded Works series. On his initial sessions for Vocalion (tracks 1-11), the South Carolinian's dexterous guitar strumming and passionate singing is occasionally joined by his wife's or his son's. The sole side "C&O Blues" as Blind Joe Amos in 1927 is his first blues recording. The next four songs feature an accompanying fiddler and are amongst the most fun and dynamic songs of his career. The remaining songs (tracks 19-24) feature Josh White as a second guitarist and similarly delight as Taggart fervently returns to spiritual recordings. Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1929-1934) picks up with recordings by Six Cylinder Smith in 1929 (believed to be Taggart) and Taggart's final recordings with Paramount in 1934. Although Taggart is neither a mind blowing guitarist or one of the best blues singers of his generation, his music remains lively and his enjoyable output highlight the crooked trails that blues players often followed in their studio careers. B+
Blind Willie Johnson: Dark Was the Night (1998):
One of the two Blind Willie's, Johnson has one of the most challenging voices of anyone on this page or this blog--here at Isaac's Musical Thoughts, Bob Dylan's voice is considered entry-level--which is why it took time for me to get into him. The other reason I eased into him is because he's exclusively a gospel blues singer and I usually don't enjoy religious music much. However, his scratchy and deep voice, which is sometimes contrasted with the soft voice of an unknown female singer, has grown on me significantly (I enjoy entertaining the fringe opinion that Dylan's "Blind Willie McTell" was really about Johnson), his slide guitar playing is effortless, and his reverence rings true. A-
Blind Willie McTell: The Early Years (1990):
In comparison to the harsh and deep voices of delta blues singers, McTell's voice is soft, friendly almost. Born in Georgia, McTell played the Piedmont blues, which has ragtime-based rhythms and comes from the Appalachia and East Coast. As a result, his songs groove more and his guitar playing, although just as impressive, is more melodic than the delta blues. AllMusic opinioned that this compilation was unessential because it doesn't include any of his later recordings but any insinuation that McTell wasn't a full package in his early years is sacrilegious--"Love Changing Blues" is an all-time song. A-
Brownie McGhee: Be Good to Me (2004):
Brownie McGhee was born in 1915 and grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee. Having learned blues guitar from his father and older brother, McGhee began taking the hobby seriously after contracting polio and suffering from a limp in his youth. He got his initial start as a traveling musician on the road, where he met Blind Boy Fuller, who became McGhee's newest musical mentor. In 1940, he signed with OKeh (subsidiary of Columbia at this time) and recorded prolifically in that year and into the next. Towards the end of these sessions, McGhee recorded for the first time with harmonicaist Sonny Terry whom he also had met during his travels and whom he would form a longstanding partnership with. The pair moved to New York City in 1942 and became friendly with much of the folk scene there, eventually restarting their recording careers in 1945. While The Complete Brownie McGhee collects the forty-seven recordings McGhee did with OKeh, its excessive length led me to this Jazz League Music release, which is seemingly a streaming platform exclusive (that is, it has no critical reviews or release information online), for a dose of McGhee's pre-WWII recordings. Be Good to Me doesn't always sample this era as well as it could--most notably excluding all of his early duets with Terry--but it does round off this era in only thirteen tracks and rightly includes early standouts like "Not Guilty Blues," "Me and My Dog Blues," "Prison Woman Blues," his version of Fuller's "Step It Up and Go," and his tribute to Fuller (who died in 1941) "Death of Blind Boy Fuller." B+
Brownie McGhee: The Folkway Years, 1945-1959 (1991):
When Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry moved to New York City in the 1940s, it wasn't just bumping shoulders with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly that led them to embrace the folk scene. It was a commercial choice. White people, who made up much of the folk revival audience, indiscriminately paired blues guitarists with acoustic instruments, even if it didn't totally agree with the artists' skill set. But while it was sinful for Lightnin' Hopkins--who was much too talented in all blues forms--to be limited to an acoustic guitar, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for McGee, who embraced the folk scene and whose strengths work best in the intimate and relaxed setting. McGhee didn't only record with Folkways during this time period but it was the choice record label for folk musicians at the time and remains in high regard today, leading this compilation to be one of the better circulated in McGhee's discography. The Folkway Years has an impressive seventeen song track-list, featuring great songs--many originals--that will be mostly new to listeners. And hey hey my my, this one actually has Sonny Terry duets! B+
Buddy Moss: Buddy Moss (1933-1935) (1988):
Buddy Moss got his start as a young harmonicaist in Atlanta, Georgia and almost immediately found himself in the studio. At the age of sixteen, Moss joined legendary Piedmont guitarists Barbecue Bob and Curley Weaver as the Georgia Cotton Pickers for a Columbia recordings session in December 1930. His strong connections in the Atlanta blues scene led him to quickly pick up the guitar and by 1933, his playing rivaled his two presumed teachers. What's most impressive is his effortless strength in the especially difficult ragtime rhythms that Blind Blake championed. This skill is immediately present from the beginning of his recording career, highlighted by "Daddy Don't Care" which was cut at his first recording session with the American Record Company in January 1933. But Moss was not limited to this style. He recorded emotional, slower blues like "T.B. Blues" with Weaver joining on slide and his second session in September saw him joined by another Atlanta blues legend Blind Willie McTell. Although these are surely impressive collaborations on paper, Moss's early guitar duets slightly muddle the talents of both parties and stand as less essential works than his solo sides. 1934 saw more recordings opportunities for Moss who entered the studio alone and made the most of it, showing off his skill and restraint on guitar and recording such strong cuts as "Tricks Ain't Walking No More," "Oh Lordy Mama," "Too Dog Gone Jealous," "Someday Baby," and "Shake It All Night Long." Moss's recording fortunes continued into 1935--when he recorded fifteen songs, some with another guitar legend Josh White--before a prison sentence in the next year rocked his music career and kept him behind bars until 1941. He returned to the studio in that same year to record one final time before the folk revival, again accompanied by a new legendary blues guitarist Brownie McGee. As they often do, Document Records released Buddy Moss's complete early sessions as a compilation broken up into several chronological volumes, but quite out of the ordinary, they also released this fifteen song sampler of that period. What's most pleasing about this sampler is that it too favors the solo guitar pieces that Moss recorded--with nine of the chosen songs coming from his 1934 sessions--rather than his more hit-or-miss guitar duets. For this reason, it is highly suggested to skip out on Document's thorough and tedious three volumes and instead rejoice for this brilliantly chosen sampler that perfectly balances historical considerations and strong playability. A-
Bukka White: Parchman Farm (1970):
White is a master storyteller and, after being released from the infamous Parchman Farm Jail in 1940, he used this ability and his mastery of the delta blues to write twelve masterpieces that beautifully reflect the human experience. First and foremost, the songs convey the wretched conditions of prison so vividly and simply--he snarls "I wonder how long 'fore I can change my clothes" and he moans "I hope some day you will hear my lonesome song" to his wife after being sentenced to life--but his evocative lyrics aren't limited to his prison experience. White mourns his mother's death on "Strange Place Blues" and contemplates his own death on "Fixin' to Die Blues." His picking and slide guitar show an obvious influence from his hero Charley Patton but, with eight years separating the two's recordings, White's playing is much closer to the modern approach to the guitar. A-
Charley Patton: The Best of Charlie Patton (2006):
The man who started it all. Before Patton, I had listened to Robert Johnson several times but I didn't really see the magic of the man--maybe you had to be a guitarist to dig the delta blues, I thought. Months later, I listened to "Shake It and Break It" by Patton and was instantly hooked. While the rest of Patton's material (particularly his masterpiece "High Water Everywhere Pt. 1") takes longer to sink in, none of it secondary. Patton's gravely, hoarse, and powerful voice, which probably still echoes throughout Mississippi, and his stinging guitar strums combine to make some of the greatest blues music ever recorded--"Down the Dirt Road Blues," "Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues," "A Spoonful Blues," and "Pony Blues" just to name a few. "My mama's getting old, her head is turnin' grey/Don't you know it'll break her heart to know I'm livin' this-a way?" he cries on "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues" because, dammit, playing the blues is a sin. A+
Elmore James: The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James (1993):
Elmore James got his commercial break in 1951 with his debut single, a startling rewrite of Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom," that shook the blues world to its core. He quickly cashed in, naming his band the Broomdusters and frequently recording derivative works that prominently featured the same shimmering slide riff. Because many laud James's riff as one of the greatest blues inventions of all time, music labels will often include several of the musician's rewritings on a single compilation. While Howlin' Wolf recorded many derivative works as well, they rarely show up on his 60 minute retrospectives, leaving many casual fans completely unaware of these lazy duplications. But for the uninitiated who chooses an arbitrary compilation from James, they may be unsure about how complete of an artist James really was. But fear not. The Sky Is Crying beautifully captures James's most varied compositions in chronological order while featuring the earth-shattering riff as infrequently as possible (the compilation even selects James's earliest recording of "Dust My Broom" rather than the more recognizable version from 1959). Thus, this one hour compilation, which covers his entire recording career from 1951 to his early death in 1963, properly highlights the impassioned and powerful vocalist Elmore James was, his slide guitar for all its versatility and amazing feel, and his songwriting as regularly original, breathtaking, and visionary. A
Frank Hutchison: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1926-1929) (1997):
Hailing from West Virginia, Hutchison is said to be the first white performer to record country blues. Although his singing may give away his race, his guitar playing does not. Most effective using a slide, he recorded many folk standards--including "Stackalee," which remains his best remembered track for its inclusion on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music--but he also recorded many gorgeous guitar rags as well as foot-stomping instrumental guitar pieces while accompanying himself on harmonica. He even recorded a few well-written originals. Although this compilation title suggests that it is the first in a series, Hutchison only recorded 32 songs from 1926 to 1929 and this houses 24 of them, making it a nearly complete view of the artist. Although a little too complete for some fans at one hour and sixteen minutes, this compilation nevertheless highlights the high standard that Hutchison recorded at every time he entered the studio. A-
Frank Stokes: The Victor Recordings (1928-1929) (1990):
As a young blues guitarist, Stokes joined a medicine show in the mid-1910s that brought a refinement in his act. During this time, his talents caught the eye of an early Jimmie Rodgers. By the 1920s, he teamed up with guitarist Dan Sane as the Beale Street Sheiks and the two collaborated for many years. Stokes and Sane eventually recorded in 1927 and Stokes recorded for the first time on his own in 1928. Although it seems as though there might not be any good compilations of the Beale Street Sheiks on streaming platforms, supposedly they are worth checking out. I only learned of the Sheiks after starting this compilation, which has a few recordings with Sane and a few with fiddler Will Batts, but mostly consists of his solo recordings. I mostly enjoy Stokes's repertoire of blues but I don't believe that his polished playing elevates his recordings and this compilation is a bit too complete for my taste (it includes a few alternate takes), even though it only runs 56 minutes. B
Furry Lewis: Furry Lewis 1927-1929 (1990):
Lewis was born around the turn of the century and, in 1927, became among the first solo blues guitarists to be recorded (Blind Lemon Jefferson was recorded only a year before and the first Delta bluesmen were recorded in 1928). He was quick to pick up a guitar as a teenager and became a traveling street performer in his formative years, where he was exposed to a wide variety of styles. He fingerpicks, plays slide, and often includes folk songs in his repertoire. This compilation covers all of his earliest recordings. On one hand, it's a little irritating that it includes several second takes of songs. On the other hand, I haven't been so excited about a new blues discovery in quite a while. A-
Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas: Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas (2022):
Although they were of course outnumbered by male blues guitarists, many female blues guitarists and singers came from the Delta but very few were recorded and the ones that were have very few surviving sides. Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas were on the same session in 1930, traveling all the way from Texas to Wisconsin. This compilation covers these recordings: "Last Kind Words Blues" and "Skinny Leg Blues" (with Wiley singing and Thomas playing a second guitar) and "Motherless Child Blues" and "Over to My House" (with the roles reversed). There is some uncertainty if the remaining two tracks were also recorded at this session or later in 1931. Little more is known about these women's earlier or later lives but their recordings remain remarkable and haunting pieces of music, some of which have had their fair share of covers. A-
Henry Thomas: Texas Worried Blues: Complete Recorded Work 1927-1929 (1989):
Henry Thomas was born in Big Sandy, Texas in 1874, making him one of the oldest blues musicians to get the chance to record after record executives began descending upon black rural communities. As a songster and traveling musician, Thomas's repertoire was expansive and he was talented both on the guitar and the quills, a unique instrument that frequently appears on his recordings. While not playing complex guitar like Blind Lemon Jefferson or employing harsh vocals like Charley Patton, Thomas's feel for melody, delightful vocals, and wonderful self-accompaniment with quills made him have one of the most consistent discographies in all of early country blues. His personable and irresistible dance songs are some of the most accessible and finest recording of the era. This compilation covers all of Thomas's preciously few recordings before he disappeared into obscurity, likely dying not long after in 1930. From Bob Dylan's reworking of "Honey, Won't You Allow Me One More Chance" to Canned Heat's use of the quills solo from "Bull Doze Blues" to the Holy Modal Rounders' revitalization of "Fishing Blues," Thomas's work has been consistently mined for inspiration but by no means has this well been used dried. A
Jim Jackson: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1927-1928) (1992):
Jim Jackson was a blues musician born around the 1880s near Mississippi's border to Tennessee. He earned a living as a traveling act for vaudeville and medicine shows alongside notable blues musicians such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. In 1927, he became one of the earliest male blues guitarists to record and put to wax several compositions of an eclectic variety, most notably "Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues." This recording quickly became a huge seller (with some claiming it sold over a million copies) that proved to be highly influential. Charley Patton soon recorded a similar song "Going to Move to Alabama" and Hank Williams eventually adapted the melody for "Move It On Over." Other substantial works include "Old Dog Blue" (later canonized in Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music), a version of the traditional "In the Jailhouse Now" (with lyrics that differ from Jimmie Rodgers's more popular recording), and "Wild About My Lovin'," (which the Lovin' Spoonful would include on their debut album in 1965). Although these are not the only strong recordings by Jackson, his best work has yet to be distilled onto a compilation that offers an easy introduction for casual fans of the blues. Instead, his material has only been widely released under Document's Complete Recorded Works series, the first of which includes three sequels to "Kansas City Blues" as well as several alternative takes. For an artist of such stature, influence, and undeniable talent, Jim Jackson deserves better. B
John Lee Hooker: The Legendary Modern Recordings (1993):
Because John Lee Hooker was taught guitar by his step father, many Delta greats including B.B. King note that Hooker plays an older style of blues than the one that Patton, House, and Tommy Johnson cemented as the dominant technique of the Delta. His songs are often boogies, hypnotically centered around a single riff. Though he pioneered Chicago blues along with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, he mostly plays his electric guitar without accompaniment because his fluid tempo changes and improvisation made it difficult for other musicians to follow his lead. Thus, his early recordings hinge entirely on his powerful guitar timber, his stomping foot, and his Mississippi drawl. Hooker was highly prolific, never playing a song the same way and recording for many labels under different names to maximize his profit from record sales. Though this makes it difficult to compile his best songs onto a single album, it is generally agreed that his most essential recordings were released by Modern Records, whom he signed with in 1948. This compilation collects all of his most well known early recordings and features his blues beautifully untethered. Because the blues without accompaniment is so powerful, it's great to hear the blues continuing to be performed in this manner as backing bands sweep the blues scene. A
Josh White: Blues Singer 1932-1936 (1996):
Josh White grew up a street performer who quickly became exposed to some of the most legendary players of the urban blues scene including Blind Blake, Leroy Carr, and Lucille Bogan. White began recording in the late 1920s when he was still underage and this compilation covers much of his recording career before a short retirement and before he broke through commercially. Despite the impeccable influence he apprenticed under, White plays and sings in a style that is often indistinguishable from other soporific performers in urban blues. B-
Lead Belly: Absolutely the Best (2000):
Huddie William Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, was a pretty popular black musician during much of his career. Because he was more folk than most of his blues contemporaries, his repertoire of traditional songs--"Midnight Special," "House of the Rising Sun," and "The Gallis Pole"--is unlike most artists off this page. His originals showcase his strong songwriting and his guitar playing is just as complimentary to the music he played. Perhaps most important though, his voice is powerful and moving, properly conveying the emotion of every song. B+
Leroy Carr: How Long How Long Blues (2008):
Leroy Carr was an influential blues pianist who became one of the earliest in the genre to record in 1928. Born around 1905 in Nashville and growing up in Indianapolis, Carr plays a style of urban blues. His seminal songwriting effort "How Long How Long Blues" in his first year of recording remains one of the most important and widely covered tracks in blues history and became the basis for the Mississippi Sheiks's even more widely known "Sitting on Top of the World." Carr has a great deal of vocal charisma and plays piano with delightful skill alongside frequent collaborator and guitarist Scrapper Blackwell. Although this compilation doesn't have a reputation as being one of the better choices in Carr's discography, it summarizes his short career (he died in 1935) more briefly than the generally favored forty song The Essential, which just has to be overkill: I mean, even this one dedicates four of its twenty three songs to variations on its title track. B+
Lonnie Johnson: Steppin' on the Blues (1990):
Johnson is a very talented guitarist and an okay vocalist but this compilation, recorded in the 1920s and consisting of songs like "Sweet Potato Blues," "Mean Old Bedbug Blues," and "Toothache Blues," leans too heavily on silly novelty lyrics. B
Lonnie Johnson: Blues & Ballads (1960):
Like many blues players, Johnson's talent level has risen now that he has passed 60 years of age. Here, the influential jazz guitarist returns to the blues but his many years in the other genre gives the final product a unique touch. Nobody sings the blues with this much learned technique, nobody plays the blues with this much grace, and if anyone ever did, they probably didn't get away with it the way Johnson does. An undeniable talent, here he highlights his soothing charm and emotional performances. A-
Memphis Minnie: Queen of the Blues (1997):
The premier female blues guitarist of the 1930s has a lot of terrible compilations. If it includes "When the Levee Breaks," it doesn't include "Me and My Chauffeur Blues." If it includes "Bumble Bee," it doesn't include "If You See My Rooster." This one appears to mostly compile her later recordings. Besides "When the Levee Breaks," the first few songs start the album weakly and the piano jams will be only be of interest to serious fans. Afterwards, the album picks up and closes with a string of twelve decent songs I probably won't listen to again. A part of me wonders if I simply chose the wrong compilation--"Bumble Bee" and "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" (both not included on this album) represent an older guitar and singing style that I much prefer. Minnie has a decent amount of good material to offer--the songs I've already mentioned are as great as anything off this page--but the best of it mostly isn't here (or, so it seems, on any one compilation that's under two hours long). B-
Mississippi Fred McDowell: Portrait: The First Recordings (1997):
Though of the same generation as Robert Johnson and others born around the turn of the century, McDowell was first recorded much later in life: 1959 to be exact. McDowell has a reputation of being one of the masters of slide guitar and though he is certainly a talent, I wouldn't name him as one of my favorite slide guitarists simply off this compilation. The song selection is weak but I enjoy his voice even when the comb has no business being that pervasive. B-
Mississippi Fred McDowell: I Do Not Play No Rock 'N Roll (1969):
Although McDowell's early recordings weren’t terribly impressive, the highlights off this record are true masterpieces. With an electric guitar in his hand, a bass player by his side, and a drummer behind him, McDowell is free to cut loose and truly show off his unbelievable feel on slide, which I wasn't too impressed by until now. But hey, the heavily blues-inspired Rolling Stones are my favorite rock'n'roll band and McDowell plays it just how I like--quite rock'n'roll, I'd say. A-
Mississippi John Hurt: Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings (1996):
As a self-taught guitarist, Hurt resembles no one in the country blues genre. He's more melodically inclined, more folk, and his voice is astronomically more gentle, reflecting what I can only assume is an unassuming and caring personality. Although not a country blues titan, he’s a pleasant and essential oddity. Because its track list differs almost entirely from Rediscovered's, Avalon Blues, which makes up everything he recorded before the 60s, is worth listening to. But, Rediscovered establishes him as one of the only country blues guitarists who reappeared in the 60s unscathed--better even. B+
The Mississippi Sheiks: Honey Baby Let The Deal Go Down: The Best of the Mississippi Sheiks (2004):
Like other one hour long blues compilations, it can sometimes be difficult to sit through the entirety of the Sheiks' album but the quality of the songs rarely fades. The guitar and fiddle is impressive and consistently satisfying--check out my favorite "The Jazz Fiddler" for an example--but Walter Vinson, who sings the majority of the songs, provides perhaps the most important contributions: emotive and powerful lyrics and vocals, highlighted by "Still I'm Traveling On" and "Sitting on Top of the World." Unlike most other artists from the same period, the Sheiks were actually quite popular, performing for both white and black crowds for much of their existence, and it's not hard to see why. A-
Rev. Gary Davis: The Complete Early Recordings of Reverend Gary Davis (1994):
Like Blind Willie Johnson, Rev. Gary Davis was blind since he was an infant and sang mostly gospel songs. And like Johnson, Davis had an uncanny ability to turn his hoarse voice and his guitar into moving music singularly based around his faith. Avoiding slide guitar, his mastery of fingerpicking helped make him one of the most influential blues guitarists and this collection of his early recordings represents one of the most complete and consistent compilations of the blues. For proof, look no further than the long forgotten "O Lord, Search My Heart," with the vulnerable vocal on the simple chorus: "O Lord, search my heart/So I know just when I'm right, when I'm wrong." A
Rev. Gary Davis: Harlem Street Singer (1960):
One of the more prolific bluesmen in later life, Gary Davis moved to Harlem in the 1940s and recorded this batch of songs in 1960. Partially because of the outstanding and widely covered "Samson and Delilah" and "Death Don't Have No Mercy," Davis achieved fame in his later life that has sustained and, as a result, his best remembered recordings are often his later ones. Not surprisingly, Davis's talents are mostly sustained--the only thing that keeps "I Belong to the Band" and "I Am the Light of This World" (and a few other familiar tunes that sport different titles) from being equal to earlier recordings is a slightly deteriorating voice--and the new songs that enter his discography are welcomed with open arms. Though his voice is on the decline, his fingerpicking might just be better with "Death Don't Have No Mercy" being an excellent example. B+
Robert Nighthawk: Prowling with the Nighthawk (2005):
Although Chicago and Memphis would become the more historic cities for the beginnings of electric blues, Robert McCollum was busking the streets of St. Louis, Missouri in the mid-1930s with such prominent names as Big Joe Williams and Sonny Boy Williamson. He first recorded in 1938 and released "Prowling Nighthawk," from which he later derived his stage name Robert Nighthawk. Because his first recordings found little commercial success, Nighthawk did not return to a studio until 1940 after which he disappeared again until 1948. By then, Muddy Waters's success at Chess brought more opportunities to blues players and for the next four years, Nighthawk found himself steadily recording for the first time in his career. Document's Prowling with the Nighthawk does well to present the best recordings from Nighthawk in his first fifteen years but inexplicably chooses not to present the track list in chronological order. Coming from the label that often plainly packages blues artists' entire discographies in sequential order, it's a shocking and disappointing choice, especially when so many years separate Nighthawk's recording dates and each session is markedly different from each other, especially in recording quality. That aside, Nighthawk was an above average guitarist and blues singer in his initial years and hit an impressive stride by the end of the 1940s when he hired a full band and recorded in a style adjacent to the other electric blues musicians of the time. If this compilation focused more tightly on this later period that produced "The Moon Is Rising," "Kansas City Blues," "Feel So Bad," and "Take It Easy Baby," it could easily be a grade higher. B+
Robert Wilkins: The Original Rolling Stone (1980):
Although he was born just east of Delta on the Mississippi-Tennessee border and was well-connected to many big names from the Delta and Memphis, Robert Wilkins was an exceptionally versatile musician, mimicking whatever style he saw fit for a song. On his signature "That's No Way to Get Along" and "Alabama Blues," he plays beautiful fingerpicking guitar and gently sings in a very Piedmont blues style. On "Rollin' Stone," the stinging guitar notes are sparser and he roughly sings in a style fairly adjacent to the Delta blues. This impressive virtuosity caught the attention of talent scouts including famed producer Ralph Peer, who recorded Wilkins's first four songs for Victor Records in 1928. More recording opportunities came in 1929 and 1930 with Vocalion Records before his last session in 1935 when he returned to the studio with a spoons player and a second guitarist. This compilation covers all of these pre-revival sessions with near completion--only skipping three songs he recorded in 1935--for a fourteen song track listing that is short and sweet. Although Yazoo did not chronologically order the track listing--which is a pity because doing so would made it easier to notice the small differences in Wilkins's style during each trip to the studio (the 1929 session produced the Piedmont-style songs)--the album makes a compelling argument for Wilkins's singular talent amongst blues players. A-
Sam Collins: Jailhouse Blues (1990):
Although his style is often described as a "South Mississippi" because that's where he hailed from, don't read too much into this distinction and believe that Sam Collins's music can't be reconciled with the Delta tradition. Many elements of Collins's music can be found in the Delta, particularly his falsetto vocal. Tommy Johnson, a contemporary of Collins, had his own unique spin on it but Skip James replicates Collins's vocal delivery to such a degree it's easy to wonder whether James was aware of and influenced by Collins. Not only did Collins begin his recording career four years before James began his own--giving James ample time to study Collins--but both musicians recorded variations on the religious traditional "Lead Me All the Way" (which James titled as "Jesus Is a Mighty Good Leader"). Although Collins only ever secured two studio dates, one in 1927 (a very early date for country blues) and another in 1931, his discography highlights Collins's mastery of slide guitar and suggest that he came from the songster tradition--recording many folk standards such as "Hesitation Blues," "Midnight Special," and "Salty Dog"--much like Charley Patton and Henry Thomas. Listening to all twenty-two sides that Collins recorded wouldn't be a huge ask but this Yazoo Records collection cuts it down to a more manageable sixteen songs. B+
Sleepy John Estes: I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More 1929-1941 (1992):
With his signature "crying" vocals, Sleepy John was a celebrated individual in the blues and rightly so. The Tennessee native would often team up with a mandolin and harmonica player, making his style quite distinctive. But if you live by the sword, you can also die by it. Hour-long blues compilation can often be notoriously difficult to sit through no matter the artist and Estes's unique approach wares out particularly fast. It also doesn't help that his best recordings--"Milk Cow Blues," "Someday Baby Blues," "Little Laura Blues," and "Drop Down Mama"--populate the first half and leave the second half bare-boned. I recommend listening to the first ten songs, which would be at least a B+ on its own. B-
Sonny Boy Williamson I: Sugar Mama (1995):
Sonny Boy Williamson was born near Jackson, Tennessee in 1914 and, although he was less than one hundred miles away from the prosperous blues scene in Memphis, the harmonica player moved north to Chicago to seek a music career in 1934. Discovered by the well-connected talent scout Lester Melrose, Williamson was set up with Bluebird Records, where he became one of the label's most reliable recording artists. In addition to consistent session work for others, he recorded more than 120 recordings under his own name from 1937 to 1947. For his debut studio session in May 1937, Williamson sang and blew his harmonica to the first known recording of "Good Morning, Little School Girl" as St. Louis-based blues guitarists Big Joe Williams and Robert Nighthawk backed him. Williamson's many subsequent studio sessions always featured a unique backing band generally consisting of no more than four musicians, with Williamson invariably trying out his sound with piano, mandolin, and drums as well as swapping out guitarists (Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red would each pass through his lineup) and occasionally dropping guitar altogether. By 1939, Williamson's harmonica playing was becoming a showstopping lead instrument, which coincides with the first time he's backed by an electric guitar. Although the many recording sessions Williamson was able to secure and his always evolving backing band makes it difficult to give a short and meaningful overview of his career, Sugar Mama's twenty-four song selection does well to cherry pick some of the best recordings from his studio debut up until 1942, six years before he was murdered in a robbery. That Sonny Boy Williamson never had a stable backing band or consistent style makes the sound of this compilation (or any other one you may pick up) a little inconsistent, but Sugar Mama is still arguably the best single-CD compilation for one of the first virtuosic harmonica players in blues. B+
Sonny Boy Williamson II: King Biscuit Time (1989):
With Rice Miller's birth date and place of birth still heavily disputed decades after his death, the harmonica player was in good shape to pull off a case of stolen identity for the ages. In 1941, Miller began performing on KFFA's King Biscuit Time radio show in Arkansas as Sonny Boy Williamson, despite the fact there already was a successful harmonica blower Sonny Boy Williamson from Chicago. While the radio show made the clever suggestion as a means to capitalize on the inevitable confusion, Miller continued to use the name long after leaving the radio show and was probably beyond delighted when his Chicago twin was murdered in 1948, giving him an easy claim to being the "original Sonny Boy Williamson." Only in later years to help distinguish the two musicians have scholars and fans christened Miller as Sonny Boy Williamson II. In 1951, he entered the studio for the first time, recording for the next three years under Trumpet Records, a company which would go defunct in 1955 and pass along their catalog to Chess Records. Miller would then begin recording for Chess, achieving great success, but this compilation King Biscuit Time samples his early Trumpet recordings, includes his backing on Elmore James's 1951 breakout hit "Dust My Broom," and features a brief live set Miller did on KFFA in 1965. With a fantastic blues band of bass, drums, piano, and guitar emboldening his recordings, Williamson's chirpy, energetic vocal and his shimmering harmonica playing steal the show as he moves through sharp and distinct songwriting. "Eyesight to the Blind" still sounds prophetic but other lost gems also stand up: "Stop Crying," "I Cross My Heart," "Crazy About You Baby," "Mighty Long Time," and "Stop Now Baby." Nicely covering the best of Williamson's Trumpet recordings, King Biscuit Time is ultimately the best place to start a chronological exploration of Sonny Boy Williamson II, even despite its inclusion of a radio show from eleven years down the road. A-
Sonny Boy Williamson II: His Best (1997):
Williamson began his career at Trumpet Records, where he made recordings still deemed amongst his best, but it was after the label went under and Williamson's contract was eventually passed to Chess Records that Miller hit a commercial peak. With Chess's talented session musicians in and out of his recordings--early sides such as "Don't Start Me Talkin'" feature Muddy Waters on guitar, Willie Dixon on bass, and Otis Spann on piano, later recordings featured guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr., who became a frequent collaborator, and by the 1960s, he was taking young guitarist Buddy Guy a spin--and Chess's experienced producers giving him a cleaner sound than on his Trumpet recordings, Williamson continued outdoing himself with memorable songs that featured his distinctive singing, his singular harmonica playing, and his strong songwriting. In spite of these impressive upgrades, many fans--such as myself--will still find his rough and rowdy Trumpet recordings to be a more invigorating setting for Williamson's talents. Nevertheless, this Chess twenty-track retrospective does well to collect some of his strongest moments, which include several songs notably resurrected by classic rock artists in the 1960s ("Bring It on Home," "Help Me," and "One Way Out"). B+
Tampa Red: The Guitar Wizard (1975):
Delta blues are back-breaking songs with weighty subject matters and harsh, emotional vocals. Urban and hokum blues often provide a nice counter balance. The guitars are played melodically and fast, the vocalists sing lightly and softly, and the subject matters are often inconsequential. However, none of Tampa Red's strengths are in playing this type of music. Red's songs are too playfully racy, his choruses are plodding and irritating, and his vocals reveal very little personality. C+
Tommy Johnson: Essential Blues Masters (2009):
In addition to breaking ground as being one of the first from the delta to be recorded, Tommy Johnson is sometimes said to be only behind Patton and Son House in being the most influential bluesmen before Robert Johnson. I don't hear it. A few of these tracks unlistenable because of the poor recordings quality while the others start sounding the same. And this time I can't blame it on the compilation I chose--Johnson only recorded thirteen songs in his lifetime (four of which have two takes) and this complies everything. He does have two blues essential recordings--"Big Road Blues" and "Canned Heat Blues"--as well as two minor classics--"Bye Bye Blues" and "Cool Drink of Water Blues"--but the rest of all his influence was either not captured on recording or came from the fact that this Johnson was the first delta bluesmen to proclaim that he got his talents from selling his soul to the devil. B
Tommy McClennan: 1939-1940 Whiskey Head Woman, Vol. 1 (2002):
McClennan grew up in the Delta and recorded for Bluebird Records during a short period from 1939 to 1941 before supposedly being dismissed for a drinking problem. McClennan's hoarse voice is immediately grabbing and he has a pretty strong selection of blues standards, each with an original twist. But a lot of time his strong vocal is unsettling and at best in small doses. B
Washington Phillips: The Key to the Kingdom (2005):
Although there is little biographical information about George Washington Phillips, much legend has been built up around him. The Texan preacher that showed up to the studio five times for Columbia from 1927 to 1929 has nothing concrete on the books before his first recordings and practically disappeared off the face of the earth after he left the studio for the last time. A death certificate from a George Washington Phillips who entered a mental hospital in 1930 and died there was long thought to be the recording artist but a death certificate from another George Washington Phillips who died in 1954 is more widely accepted today as the musician who captured our hearts with "Denomination Blues." Even his studio sessions produce scant details, such as the record company’s labeling of his instrument of choice as "novelty accompaniment." Apparently, a comment from a Columbia executive long after the fact led many to believe the celestial sounds came from an extremely rare instrument called a dolceola but a picture of Phillips in the late 1920s with two zither-like instruments hasn't exactly converted all away from the dolceola tall tale. What has obviously converted all, however, is the music that Phillips put to 78s. While the zithers back him up with heavenly results, Phillips sings plainly and thoughtfully, clearly annunciating his sermons which remain as moving, enlightening, and powerful today. His criticisms of the factions within Christianity on "Denomination Blues" are especially well-constructed and the song remains his most widely known piece because of a successful cover by Sister Rosetta Tharpe as "That's All." Not only was Phillips's gospel recordings an early example of religious lyrics put to the secular blues of the time, but many of his songs appear to be completely original, which puts him well ahead of his time in the 1920s when most musicians recorded well-known standards or slight variations on them. It's particularly incredible considering the singularity of every single one of the sixteen sides from Phillips which has survived. This Yazoo compilation of Phillips's complete discography is the preferred choice for many Phillips fans because it also includes four songs by A.C. and Mamie Forehand. The Forehands prove to be informative as to the local talent that may have surrounded Phillips on the streets of East Texas but their sides are at least partially ruined by the incessant and monotoned bell that Mamie rings as A.C. beautifully plays slide guitar. A
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