Friday, May 14, 2010

Blow My Blues Away: Mississippi Delta Blues Vol. 1 & 2 (Arhoolie)


On Vol. 1: George Mitchell still recorded several vibrant, distinctive Delta blues performances here. The artists he chronicled ranged from such legendary greats as Robert Nighthawk, Johnny Woods and Fred McDowell to obscure but exciting performers such as Napoleon Strickland, Peck Curtis and Do-Boy Diamond. Their songs were quite simple; many were reworked tunes they had heard and/or played all their lives. They performed with no fanfare, sophisticated support to cover flaws, or pretension. The songs were about heartbreak, anguish, disappointment and indignation, and sometimes about getting drunk, sexual potency, or whatever else came to mind. There are 12 unreleased cuts among these 23 numbers, and the mastering and notes provide an added bonus to this nice set.
And Vol. 2: Maintaining the same high quality as its predecessor, Mississippi Delta Blues, Vol. 2: Blow My Blues Away compiles more recordings collected by George Mitchell between 1967 and 1968; among the artists included are R.L. Burnside, Joe Callicott and Houston Stackhouse.
(Allmusic)

*R.L. Burnside's first recordings are some of GC's very favorite raw, driving country blues ever put to tape. Here's a couple of clips, just to give you an idea:

"Long Haired Doney"

"poor Black Mattie"

And lets not forget Napoleon Strickland on fife:


Mediafire Download Link- Mississippi Delta Blues: "Blow My Blues Away", Volume 1 & Volume 2 (mp3 192)

VOL. 1
1 Oh Baby - Napoleon Strickland
2 Como Breakdown - Napoleon Strickland
3 Three O'Clock In The Morning - Johnny Woods/Fred McDowell
4 My Jack Don't Need No Water (Long Haired Doney) - Johnny Woods/Fred McDowell
5 Catfish Blues - Teddy Williams
6 Down Home Blues - Teddy Williams
7 Long Haired Doney (My Jack Don't Need No Water) - Do-Boy Diamond
8 Hard Time Blues - Do-Boy Diamond
9 Shaggy Hound, The - Do-Boy Diamond
10 Going Away Blues - Do-Boy Diamond
11 Stuttgart, Arkansas - Walter Miller
12 Vicksburg Blues - Walter Miller
13 Mississippi Goin' To Be My Home - Robert Diggs
14 Dangerous Slim - Robert Diggs
15 Drink, Drink, Drink - Robert Diggs
16 Pork & Beans - Rosa Lee Hill
17 Fishing In The Dark - Dewey Corley
18 Tri-State Bus - Dewey Corley
19 Gonna Bring Her Right Back Home - Tom Turner
20 Death Of Sonny Boy Williamson, The - Peck Curtis
21 Nighthawk Boogie - Robert Nighthawk
22 You Call Yourself A Cadillac - Robert Nighthawk
23 Blues Before Midnight - Robert Nighthawk

VOL. 2
1. Lonesome Katy Blues - Joe Calicott
2. Come Home to Me Baby - Joe Calicott
3. Fare You Well Baby Blues - Joe Calicott
4. Country Blues - Joe Calicott
5. Laughing to Keep From Crying - Joe Calicott
6. Love Me Baby Blues - Joe Calicott
7. I Rolled and Tumbled [#] - Joe Calicott
8. Old Bo Weevil [#] - Joe Calicott
9. Uptown Blues [#] - Joe Calicott
10. Traveling Mama Blues [#] - Joe Calicott
11. Fare Thee Well Blues [#] - Joe Calicott
12. Poor Black Mattie - R.L. Burnside
13. Long Haired Doney - R.L. Burnside
14. Goin' Down South - R.L. Burnside
15. Skinny Woman - R.L. Burnside
16. I's Be Troubled - R.L. Burnside
17. Catfish Blues - R.L. Burnside
18. See My Jumper Hangin' on the Line [#] - R.L. Burnside
19. I Rolled and I Tumbled [#] - R.L. Burnside
20. Walking Blues [#] - R.L. Burnside
21. Nightmare Blues [#] - R.L. Burnside
22. Cool Water Blues [#] - Houston Stackhouse
23. Big Road Blues [#] - Houston Stackhouse
24. Right Around the Corner [#] - Houston Stackhouse
25. Canned Heat - Houston Stackhouse

9 comments:

øשlqæda said...

oh i just wanted to drop by & say tanx for this ;D
what an enthralling post. the vids are such a nice touch. sublime

Anonymous said...

Great blog, really widened my horizons... Thanks.

And the post is great. Only the file with the first compilation seems to be broken. Could you re-up? Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

False alarm, the problem was on my side. Sorry.

Oh, and thanks for telling me about Excavated Shellac - brave new world!

Jamie Garner said...

this (esp v2) is one of my favorite new records of the last few years. thanks for bringing it to my ears!

Deep Gospel said...

Shame on you for ripping off Chris Strachwitz/Arhoolie like this. If you like the music - buy the fucking CDs.

nicholab said...

Hey Deep Gospel- Have you noticed the exhorbitant going rate for these out of print cds? Pretty sure purchasing each one used from Amazon at $30-100+ dollars isn't going to help Arhoolie much either. Have you perchanced to notice that this is the only Arhoolie disc that I have featured for that very same reason. I thank you for your concern and all, but not so much for your tone.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
maybe the CDs got expensive, BUT I just today picked up a box from Arhoolie Records with 15 vinyls all sealed in shrink at my post office in germany, some 60's originals with the old sleeves and dark red logos, and only those were 35 US. Go buy vinyl !!! Cornelius

jasabay said...

Gracias por compartir esta música, muy bella

emile said...

The links are dead....
Could you re-up please?