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RECOMMENDED LISTENING
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253 To get in the mood for your trip, to listen to as you drive down Highway 61, and to bring back memories when you get home, here are some recordings to get you started in the Mississippi blues. The albums on this list include great music by most of the artists discussed in this book. All are available on CD and highly recommended by the author. Cannon’s Jug Stompers, Cannon’s Jug Stompers (1927–1930). Herwin 208. One of the rare banjo players in the blues (sometimes he even used a slide on it), Gus Cannon worked with the extraordinary harpist Noah Lewis and other musicians to create these charming, often beautiful songs that they stomped out on the streets of Memphis. Bo Carter, Greatest Hits, 1930–1940. Yazoo 1014. The prolific but now-underappreciated Carter was one of the dominant bluesmen of the 1930s, combining dazzling and unusual guitar work with erotically teasing lyrics. This collection includes a few tunes by the Mississippi Sheiks, a string band that Carter belonged to part time. John Lee Hooker, The Legendary Modern Recordings 1948– 1954. Virgin 39658. Hooker, a Clarksdale native, probably made RECOMMENDED LISTENING more recordings and more money than any other bluesman. This is the one to get for a full dose of that heavy, foot-stomping, solo electric-guitar boogie. It’s a sound imitated by many, but no one else does it like this. Mississippi John Hurt, Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings. Sony 64986.“Well sir, I just make it sound like I think it should,” is how Hurt once explained his prodigious, unique talents to an interviewer. Although he remained a fine performer right up to his death in 1966, these recordings (cleaned up sonically ) are the ones that established his warm, folksy style and deceptively intricate guitar playing. Robert Johnson, King of the Delta Blues Singers. Columbia/ Legacy CK 65746. Sixteen tracks by the late-1930s artist whose life, myth, and music epitomize the blues for many people. This clean-sounding collection leaves out the back-to-back alternate tracks that make some other Johnson sets laborious to listen to. Frank Frost, Jelly Roll Blues. Paula 20. In the mid-1960s, when everyone thought the blues’ heart had moved to Chicago, out came this laid-back but thoroughly modern set from Helena, Arkansas bluesman Frost—with the great, rarely recorded Arthur Williams on harp. Skip James, Complete Early Recordings. Yazoo 2009. The eerie, otherworldly sounds of this enigmatic Bentonia singer-guitaristpianist are something everyone needs to hear. James recorded again in the 1960s, but these 1931 recordings are his most brilliant. Some of the tracks are quite scratchy, but the music is masterful. Paul “Wine” Jones, Mule. Epitaph 80305. This album of powerful , 1990s electric jook-joint blues has a raw, unfinished quality that only adds to its appeal. As they used to suggest on 1960s rock albums—play this record at maximum volume! Junior Kimbrough, All Night Long. Fat Possum 1002. With his son Kinney on drums and neighbor Garry Burnside (son of bluesman R. L.) on bass, Junior Kimbrough’s first album, which he didn’t make until he was in his 60s, captures the feel of this North Mississippi bluesman’s hypnotic, deceptively simple sound. Albert King, King of the Blues Guitar. Atlantic 8213–2. This one has King backed by Booker T and the MGs and the Memphis Horns—the Stax sound at its bluesiest. The CD includes all of King’s classic LP Born Under a Bad Sign, plus all of his Stax singles. Recommended Listening 254 [3.94.77.30] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 07:29 GMT) B. B. King, Great Moments with B. B. King. MCA MCAD–4124. There is a baffling array of B. B. King CDs available, but this compilation of his 1960s work is a good one to start with. It includes a live version of his “Gambler’s Blues,” which kicks off with a long, burning guitar solo that might be his best ever. Fred and Annie Mae McDowell, My Home Is in the Delta. Testament 2208 Fred McDowell’s rock-solid North Mississippi sound continues to resonate through his influence on R. L. Burnside , Junior Kimbrough, Bonnie Raitt, and others, as well as through his own large catalog of powerful recordings. This haunting collection, with his wife helping on vocals, offers blues and spirituals. Memphis Jug Band, Memphis Jug Band. Yazoo 1067. On the verge of chaos but somehow...