VA - Blues, A Smithsonian Collection of Classic Blues Singers [1993] (4 x CD's)

SMITHSONIAN COLLECTION OF CLASSIC BLUES SINGERS

VA - Blues, A Smithsonian Collection of Classic Blues Singers [1993](4 x CD's)

While any collection professing to be a definitive overview of a genre usually falls short of the mark, it's hard to find fault with this excellently researched and compiled four-disc set from the Smithsonian Collection. Running the recorded history of the music chronologically, the first disc explores the early sides by guitarists like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Barbecue Bob, Blind Willie Johnson, and Tommy Johnson, and classic blues singers like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Sippie Wallace. Volume two rounds up sides from Leroy Carr, Mississippi John Hurt, Charley Patton, Memphis Minnie, Son House, and Big Joe Williams, as well as off-the-beaten-track delights from the Memphis Jug Band and the Mississippi Sheiks. The third volume continues in the history of Delta blues with classic entries from Robert Johnson and Bukka White, moving into the Bluebird beat, ending up with the first recordings from John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins. The final disc is a veritable feast of Chicago blues with classic sides galore from Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, and Jimmy Reed, finishing with more contemporary offerings from Ray Charles, Latimore, and a retro style closer from Cephas & Wiggins. The transfers on the really vintage sides are as good as any you're likely to come across, and the song selection throughout is impeccable. Add a sumptuous booklet chock-full of photos and an abundance of historical facts, all well-annotated by W.K. McNeil, and you've got a box set for the ages. Very, very well done. (AllMusic Review by Cub Koda)

===============================================================

Pt.1        Pt.2 

===============================================================

Track list 1

  01. That Black Snake Moan - Blind Lemon Jefferson
  02. Broke And Hungry Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson
  03. Match Box Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson
  04. Shake That Thing - Papa Charlie Jackson
  05. Shave 'Em Dry - Ma Rainey
  06. Countin' The Blues - Ma Rainey
  07. Jailhouse Blues - Bessie Smith
  08. Mama's Got The Blues - Bessie Smith
  09. Back Water Blues - Bessie Smith
  10. Special Delivery Blues - Sippie Wallace
  11. Death Sting Me Blues - Sara Martin
  12. Barbecue Blues - Barbecue Bob
  13. Mean Trouble Blues - Jaybird Coleman
  14. Long Lonesom Day Blues - Texas Alexander
  15. Kansas City BLues (Pts 1 And 2) - Jim Jackson
  16. Why Don't You Come Home Blues - Furry Lewis
  17. Dark Was The Night - Blind Willie Johnson
  18. Minglewood Blues - Cannon's Jug Stompers
  19. Cool Drink Of Water Blues - Tommy Johnson
  20. Big Road Blues - Tommy Johnson
  21. Bull Doze Blues - Henry Thomas
  22. How Long, How Long Blues (Pt 1) - Leroy Carr

Track list2

  01. Blues Before Sunrise - Leroy Carr
  02. Downtown Blues - Frank Stokes
  03. Stack O'Lee Blues - Mississippi John Hurt
  04. Rolling Mill Blues - Peg Leg Howell
  05. Mr. Johnson's Blues No. 2 - Lonnie Johnson
  06. Pony Blues - Charley Patton
  07. Forty-Four Blues - Roosevelt Sykes
  08. Bumble Bee Blues - Memphis Minnie
  09. I'm So Glad - Memphis Minnie
  10. The Dirty Dozens (No 1) - Speckled Red
  11. Diving Duck Blues - Sleepy John Estes
  12. K.C. Moan - Memphis Jug Band
  13. Sittin' On Top Of The World - Mississippi Sheiks
  14. M & O Blues - Walter Davis
  15. Dry Spell Blues (Pt 1) - Son House
  16. Devil Got My Woman - Skip James
  17. Chain Gang Bound - Bumble Bee Slim
  18. Broke Down Engine Blues - Blind Willie McTell
  19. Big Bill Blues - Big Bill Broonzy
  20. I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town - Big Bill Broonzy
  21. Old Original Kokomo Blues - Kokomo Arnold
  22. Strut That Thing - Cripple Clarence Lofton
  23. Crow Jane - Carl Martin
  24. Baby Please Don't Go - Big Joe Williams

Track list 3
  01. The First Time I Met You - Little Brother Montgomery
  02. I Believe I'll Dust My Broom - Robert Johnson
  03. Cross Road Blues - Robert Johnson
  04. Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp - Peetie Wheatstraw
  05. Good Morning, Little School Girl - Sonny Boy Williamson
  06. Sloppy Drunk BLues - Sonny Boy Williamson
  07. Sent For You Yesterday - Jimmy Rushing
  08. Roll 'Em Pete - Joe Turner
  09. Wee Baby Blues - Joe Turner
  10. Fixin' To Die Blues - Bukka White
  11. Step It Up And Go - Blind Boy Fuller
  12. Anna Lou Blues - Tampa Red
  13. Worried Life BLues - Big Maceo
  14. I've Been Treated Wrong - Washboard Sam
  15. T-Bone BLues - T-Bone Walker
  16. Call It Stormy Monday - T-Bone Walker
  17. Mozelle Blues - Tommy McClennan
  18. It's A Low Down Dirty Shame - Louis Jordan
  19. Cherry Red - Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson
  20. That's All Right - Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup
  21. Drifting BLues - Charles Brown
  22. Mr. Blues Jumped The Rabbit - Wynonie Harris
  23. Boogie Chillen' - John Lee Hooker
  24. Tim Moore's Farm - Lightnin' Hopkins
  25. No Rollin' Blues - Jimmy Witherspoon

Track list 4

  01. Louisiana Blues - Muddy Waters
  02. Honey Bee - Muddy Waters
  03. Reconsider Baby - Lowell Fulson
  04. Eyesight to the Blind - Aleck Fulson
  05. Monkey Womam Blues - Jimmy And Mama Yancey
  06. Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton
  07. Mystery Train - Junior Parker
  08. Hoodoo Man - Junior Wells
  09. Every Day I Have the Blues - Joe Williams
  10. Smokestack Lightnin' - Howlin' Wolf
  11. The Sky is Cryin' - Elmore James
  12. Women Blues Boogie - Memphis Slim
  13. Farther Up The Road - Bobby Blue Bland
  14. I'll Take Care of Myself - Bobby Blue Bland
  15. The First Time I Met the Blues - Buddy Guy
  16. Rooster Blues - Lightnin' Slim
  17. So Many Roads, So Many Trains - Otis Rush
  18. Big Boss Man - Jimmy Reed
  19. I Got a Woman - Ray Charles
  20. Join the Army - Henry Johnson
  21. Let's Straighten It Out - Latimore
  22. Dog Days of August - John Cephas/Phil Wiggins

===============================================================
===============================================================