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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

CHARLIE PATTON


CHARLIE PATTON (1891 - 1934)

Charlie Patton was the first great Delta bluesman; from him flowed nearly all the elements that would comprise the region’s blues style. Patton had a course, earthy voice that reflected hard times and hard living. His guitar style - percussive and raw - matched his vocal delivery.

He often played slide guitar and gave that style a position of prominence in Delta blues. Patton’s songs were filled with lyrics that dealt with more than mere narratives of love gone bad.
Patton often injected a personal viewpoint into his music and explored issues like social mobility (pony Blues), imprisonment (High Sheriff Blues), nature (High Water Blues), and morality (Oh Death) that went far beyond traditional male - female relationship themes.

Patton defined the life of a bluesman. He drank and smoked excessively. He reportedly had a total of eight wives. He was jailed at least once. He travelled extensively, never staying in one place for too long.

Patton’s standing in blues history is immense; no country blues artist, save Blind Lemon Jefferson, exerted more influence on the future of the form or on its succeeding generation of stylists than Patton. Everyone from Son House, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson or Muddy Waters up to John Lee Hooker and Elmore James can trace their blues styles back to Patton.

In a since, Charlie Patton, in addition to being a bluesman of the highest calibre, might also be the first rock & roller. Patton was far from passive when he performed in front of an audience. It was not uncommon for him to play the guitar between his knees or behind his back. He also played the instrument loud and rough. Patton jumped around and used the back of his guitar like a drum. He was a showman and made histrionics part of his act.

Although Patton was a small man at about 5 foot 5 and 135 pounds, the sound of his whiskey- and cigarette-scarred voice was rumored to have carried for over 500 yards without amplification. This gritty voice was a major influence in the singing style of one of his students, Howlin' Wolf.

There apparently exists only one photograph of Charlie Patton, although its authenticity is disputed

He died at the age of 43 of heart failure on the Heathman-Dedham plantation.



Here are some of Charlie Patton's finest recordings




Monday, July 30, 2007

Dion - Bronx in Blue





As doo-wop giant Dion points out in the liner notes to Bronx in Blue, there was no rock & roll back when he was growing up in New York, and so it was the Southern sounds of the blues and country coming over the radio that set him off on his brilliant musical career.

Dion, with his guitar and voice that hasn't lessened in age but gained from the years, along with minimalist rhythm accompaniment by Bob Guertin, delivers fourteen enthusiastic and gripping performances.

Pick a song, any song. Dion's takes on Robert Johnson's long haunted Walkin' Blues, Travelin' Riverside Blues and Terraplane Blues humbles Clapton's millionaire impersonations. Though he makes Crossroads his own, no one's ever going to blow away Johnson's original or Cream's fire-breathing version. Howling Wolf's Built For Comfort provides mucho swagger, as does the train-kept-a-rollin' take on Bo Diddley's perennial Who Do You Love and Jimmy Reed's Baby What You Want Me To Do. Blind Willie McTell’s Statesboro Blues, owned by The Allman Brothers, gets a gritty read. And if I Let My Baby Do That sends you looking through your blues collection for its author, look no further.

Finally The Wanderer comes home to where it belongs, the Blues.

At age sixty-six, Dion has made a moving, graceful piece of work and proved that the Bronx actually is part of the country.

I’m down on my knees

**http://rapidshare.com/files/45879104/Dion_-_Bronx_in_Blue.rar**

Love

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The Roots of Rock


Many of the most popular rock stars drew from the repertoires of the greatest traditional bluesmen.


Here are the original recorded versions of some of rock's biggest blues hits. Hear the originals of Statesboro Blues (recorded by the Allman Brothers), I'm so Glad and Outside Woman Blues (Recorded by Eric Clapton and Cream), When the Levee Breaks and Shake 'Em On Down (Led Zeppelin), Diddie Wah Diddie (Ry Cooder and Hot Tuna) and "Bull Doze Blues," the basis for Canned Heat’s "Goin' Up The Country").


Further on “ That’s no way to get along” a Stones Original and Bo Carter’s “Corrina Corrina” .Have Fun



Monday, July 23, 2007

Son House



SON HOUSE : The Original Library of Congress Sessions from Field Recordings, 1941-42

The Sixties folk boom brought a lot of surprises. While new performers grew famous, old figures (bluesmen, etc.) were “rediscovered” and returned to the stage. The biggest surprise was Son House, in 1964 . It was actually the third time he had been rediscovered!


First recorded in 1930, House found music a hard life and became a laborer; Alan Lomax found him in Mississippi and recorded five titles. Lomax returned the following year ; this time Son is alone and has some new songs, including a blues for World War II.

The sound startles: you can almost see the past, and the sharp ring of the National Steel. The songs seem unearthed, new and heartfelt as the blues itself. It is a potent brew, with the passage of time making it only stronger.

The 41 session took place in a general store near Memphis; with Son is his old partner Willie Brown, plus some local musicians. A major presence is Fiddlin Joe Martin; his mandolin trills steady as the grainy voice tells his woe. Some girl cries at the “Levee Camp”; Martin does the weeping.

“Government Fleet” is a simpler plaint: harp gets it going but up close is Son’s guitar, thumping out a bassline. Someone shouts encouragement (Brown?); the words are muffled, though the message is clear.

“Walking” has the tune of “Levee Camp”, and the classic theme of the restless soul. Almost on cue a train rattles through; the tracks ran next to the store. With “Delta Blues” we get a duet: Williams shouts and Son gets busy. (An apparent miscue is fixed with a new rhythm part, seemingly spur of the moment.) He floats big loping notes on the solo; Williams lurches in fevered response. A great effort; the session may be over but, as it turned out, Son House had only begun to play.

The solo tracks are more varied, showing Son’s guitar to good advantage. The low string plays bass, the high one melody and spooky slides when needed. Also new is the voice: deep on “Special Rider”, embellished with trembles. The sound of Muddy Waters, who called House a big influence. (Hear that rooster crow at the end : he approves!)

That wobbly bass string is perfect for “Dirty Dog”; sneaky, tough, and hard to forget. This he answers with high wiggles: unexpected, and ghostly. “American Defense” gets a nice sing-song feel and waltz time! It might be his best lyric: “American defense/ Will earn you some cents/ Just have to take care of your boys.” A different taste, and hardly blues, but welcome in its own way.


“Am I Right or Wrong” has a nice ragtime feel, and a mistreating woman troubling poor Son. It is over too fast, ending on a chord that might be a flub. “Walkin’ Blues” is not the 41 song; this one has cute little chords, splashing like feet through a puddle. He grabs his suitcase and runs down the road; a sad tale, but how cheery the theme sounds! “Pony” starts on a thick hum, answered by snaking strings. (The words are close to “Shetland Pony”, heard earlier.) The tone is quiet, sounding more weary as we go on.

And we close with a stunner: two takes of “The Jinx Blues”, where a blunt snap takes the part of drummer. Notes descend all around the rhythm; Son repeats a short rhyme with weight in his voice. We never find out what the jinx is; elusive for sure, and most compelling. Then the story takes another turn: House did some walkin’ himself, moving to Rochester, New York in 1943. He took a railroad job, and escaped public attention for twenty years, until his last rediscovery. If you weren’t around then, discover him with this disc. You’ll be glad you did.






these are the tapes


peace

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Mississippi Fred McDowell






Mississippi Fred McDowell
(Born January 12, c. 1904, near Rossville, TN; died of cancer, July 3, 1972, in Memphis, TN)



For most of his life he played in the countryside near his home in Como, Mississippi. By the time he was discovered by folklorist Alan Lomax in 1959, McDowell was very much his own man and, in fact, one of the most significant masters of country blues to have emerged since the mid-1930s.

"I couldn't tell you exactly the date I was born. I was born in Rossville, Tennessee... I was about 21 when I left Rossville. There I was plowing with a mule. My father was a farmer and I worked with him. We were working twelve acres, growing cotton, peas and corn. I went to Memphis from there. I just got tired of plowing. I went there to look around, and after I got there I started working the Buckeye Oil Mill, sacking corn. Yellow corn, oats, sweet peas, and all like that. They had a great big plant out there. I stayed there about three years, I think. Then I loafed around, stayed with different people, friends. I worked for the Dixon brothers hooking logs on the track.”


Fred was born in 1904 in Rossville, Tennessee (McDowell didn't mind that they called him Mississippi since he ultimately settled in Mississippi in 1940). In his younger years, during the 1920's, he played for tips in Memphis. Finding that the musician hobo life wasn't for him, he settled down in Mississippi-- farming during the week-- and playing house parties, fish fries, and dances near his home for a few dollars and a little something to drink on the weekends.
McDowell learned what he knew studying the Mississippi bluesmasters who came before him in the late 1920s and early 1930s: Charlie Patton, Son House, Big Joe Williams, and Robert Johnson. His own music became part of the folk blues revival of the 1960s, and it was McDowell and those like him who passed the sounds on to the next generation. Legendary rockers the Rolling Stones were impressed with McDowell's early recording of "You Gotta Move." Strongly influenced by his style, they recorded their own version of the track on their Sticky Fingers album. When McDowell received his first substantial royalties from the song, it was the most money he had ever seen.


Even more important to McDowell was the fact that his music had inspired and found new life in another generation of performers. His work had great bearing on the style of northwest blues guitarist and vocalist Mike Russo, and singer Phoebe Snow felt she learned from McDowell's entire musical approach. But McDowell was perhaps closest to blues guitarist and vocalist Bonnie Raitt and is said to have treated her like his own grandchild. Raitt opened for many of McDowell's final gigs and eventually recorded several of his songs. McDowell died of cancer in 1972.



enjoy.

***http://rapidshare.com/files/43383987/Fred_McDowell_-_Long_Way_From_Home.rar***


peace

Blind Willie McTell - His Last Session (1956)


Blind Willie McTell’s Last Session (1956)


Ironically, despite a prolific career of recording under a variety of aliases for any recording scout in town, Blind Willie McTell had to be persuaded to record his last session.

After Ed Rhodes, an Atlanta record storeowner, played a Leadbelly record for a foreign student, the student returned and informed him that a man down the street was singing in a style similar to Leadbelly's. This singer was Blind Willie McTell, playing for tips behind the Blue Lantern Club. Rhodes, who owned some recording equipment, approached McTell about recording a session.

At first, Willie refused, but dropped by Mr. Rhodes's store occasionally over the
next few weeks.


McTell finally relented, and provided Mr. Rhodes with a reprise of material he'd performed over his lifetime, interspersed with anecdotes about his life and music.

The tapes were kept in his store's attic unreleased for a few years. One day while cleaning the attic, well after he had sold his recording equipment, all the tapes Mr. Rhodes made were lying in a trash can. There was only one salvageable tape, which was later released as the Blind Willie McTell's Last Session album on Prestige/Bluesville Records.

Around 1957, according to Kate McTell's 1977 interview, Blind Willie McTell quit singing the blues and became a preacher, singing only spirituals, "He knew he was getting on in age. He said he felt like he was coming to the end of his journey, he was coming back to God". Willie McTell died of a cerebral haemorrhage on August 19, 1959 at the Milledgeville State Hospital in Georgia..

Blind Willie McTell did not live to be "rediscovered" during the early 1960's folk-blues revival. However, he did leave behind a durable body of work that has been appreciated by many blues and rock fans; his song "Statesboro Blues" was exposed to millions via a cover versions by Taj Mahal and the Allman Brothers Band. For listeners who crave the original recordings, most of his work is back in print.

These are the tapes


1. Baby, It Must Be Love
2. The Dyin' Crapshooter's Blues
3. Don't Forget It
4. Kill It Kid
5. That Will Never Happen No More
6. Goodbye Blues
7. Salty Dog
8. Early Life
9. Beedle Um Bum
10. A Married Man's A Fool
11. A To Z Blues
12. Wabash Cannonball
13. Pal Of Mine
14. Kill It Kid
15. Broke Down Engine Blues

enjoy

***http://rapidshare.com/files/43370803/blind_willie_mctell_last_session.rar***

peace

Monday, July 16, 2007

Guitar Wizards


I bought this record around 1969 in an obsure little shop in Brussels.

I was blown out of my shoes. A new world opened up for me.

This was my first encounter with the early blues and these wonderful men from way back.



I can still feel the emotions of that very first day.


Yazoo 1016
You Gonna Quit Me Blues - Blind Blake
Farewell To You Baby - Carl Martin
Boogie Woogie Dance - Tampa Red
Panther Squall Blues - Blind Blake
Badly Mistreated Man - Carl Martin
Jefferson County Blues - Sam Butler
Wabash Rag - Blind Blake
Bumble Bee Blues - Tampa Red
Ragtime Millionaire - William Moore
Guitar Chimes - Blind Blake
Some Scream High Yellow - Sam Butler
Joe Louis Blues - Carl Martin
Poor Boy Blues - Sam Butler Mill Man Blues - Billy Bird

enjoy





***http://rapidshare.com/files/43212079/guitar_wizards.rar***


peace

Peetie Wheatstraw (December 21, 1902 – December 21, 1941)


Peetie Wheatstraw (December 21, 1902 – December 21, 1941) was the name adopted by singer William Bunch. Although the only known picture of Bunch shows him holding a National brand tricone resonator guitar, his primary instrument was the piano.

According to author Ralph Ellison, who made use of the Wheatstraw legend to model characters in his novels Invisible Man and Juneteenth, "Peetie Wheatstraw" was the evil half of a twin personality whose challenge was invoked at the start of a pool game. He was "the Devil's Son-In-Law" or "the High Sheriff of Hell," in search of his other half, the "Lord God Stingerroy" to shoot him a game.

Nothing is known of the early life of William Bunch, other than that he was born in Ripley, Tennessee and raised in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. In 1929, he arrived in East St. Louis, already using the name Peetie Wheatstraw. Allegedly, as Wheatstraw, Bunch was also spreading the rumor that he had been to the "crossroads" and had sold his soul to the Prince of Darkness in exchange for success as a musician.Without regard for the validity of Wheatstraw's claims, this self-promotion paid off in short order. Peetie Wheatstraw soon became a popular performer in East St. Louis and his fame quickly spread to Chicago. At a time when most record companies were cutting their entire blues rosters in order to survive the depression, Peetie Wheatstraw suddenly became a hot item. Wheatstraw began his recording career singing vocal duets with the unknown "Neckbones" for ARC on September 13, 1930 and continued recording on his own into the early part of 1931.


After an isolated session for Bluebird in September, 1931, Wheatstraw returned to ARC, and then moved to Decca in 1934, where the bulk of his best recordings were made. Peetie Wheatstraw recorded in every year of the 1930s save 1933, ultimately producing 175 sides in all with only one rejection, an enormous total for a blues artist in the pre-war period. This figure does not include recordings made by Wheatstraw sitting in on records made by his frequent partner, Kokomo Arnold, or ones made with Amos Easton, a.k.a. Bumble Bee Slim.In the only known photograph of Peetie Wheatstraw, he is shown holding a guitar; curious, as he was a primarily a piano player, although he may have played his own guitar on a couple of recording dates.


The sheer size of Peetie Wheatstraw's recorded output has worked against his reputation. Some blues experts have expressed the opinion that Wheatstraw's recordings are limited stylistically, lack variety and tend towards repetition. One hallmark of his style was the use of pet phrases for purposes of punctuation, most typically "Oh, well, well" in third verses of songs. On the contrary, it would seem that anyone who was thinking of formalizing aspects of blues songwriting in the 1930s would be hailed a harbinger of things to come, rather than blamed for a lack of imagination. In the later '30s, Peetie Wheatstraw's recording sessions were being held once every two or three months and consisted of six to eight songs per date, so he had to develop formulas in order to keep his content fresh. That Wheatstraw did so successfully was something that affected nearly every blues musician within hearing distance of one of his records.

He was overwhelmingly popular throughout the 1930s, and he is credited in some quarters with being the artist who carried the blues from its lowly status as rural "devil's music" into the cities where, in time, it would grow, thrive and change to suit the needs of a new, urban audience.Peetie Wheatstraw would not personally live to witness these future changes. Since his death, researchers have probed arduously in an attempt get at more information about him, interviewing his acquaintances and reviewing civic records.

But even more than sixty years after his death practically nothing substantive is known about him or his life, despite his ambitious recording schedule and tremendous popularity. For someone cultivating the legend of a deal with the devil, Wheatstraw's death was eerily appropriate — celebrating his 39th birthday, Wheatstraw and some friends decided to drive to the local market to pick up some liquor, and on their way out they tried to beat a railroad train that was coming down the tracks at full speed. Needless to say, they didn't make it.



Here is some of his finest music


***http://rapidshare.com/files/43194794/Peetie_wheatstraw.rar***

Friday, July 13, 2007

the roots of Led Zeppelin


Here are the roots of Led Zeppelin - enjoy


01 - Ritchie Valens - Ooh! My Head
02 - John Redbourn - Nobody's Fault But Mine
03 - Owen Hand - She Likes It
04 - Little Richard - Long Tall Sally
05 - Sonny Boy Williamson II - Bring It on Home
06 - Spirit - Taurus
07 - Joan Baez - Babe, I'm Gonne Leave You
08 - Robert Johnson - Travelling Riverside Blues
09 - Garnet Mimms - As Long As I Have You
10 - Muddy Waters - You Need Love
11 - Santo & Johnny - Summertime
12 - Howlin' Wolf - Killing Floor
13 - The Yardbirds - Knowing That I'm Losing You
14 - Bukka White - Shake 'Em On Down
15 - Leadbelly - The Gallis Pole
16 - Memphis Minnie - When the levee breaks
17 - Josh White - Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying
18 - Blind Willie Johnson - In My Time Of Dying
19 - Spirit - Fresh Garbage
20 - John Fahey - Dance Of The Inhabitants..
21 - Bert Jansch - The Waggoner's Lad
22 - Bobby Parker - Watch Your Step
23 - Bert Jansch - Blackwater Side
24 - Small Faces - You Need Loving
25 - Davey Graham - She Moved Thru The Fair

Oh Brother, where art thou ?




I'm a Man of Constant Sorrow
Vintage Versions of Songs Made Popular in the Movie

“Oh Brother Where Art Thou” and Other American Roots Music


1. I'm A Man Of Constant Sorrow - Stanley Brothers
2. Keep On The Sunny Side - Carter Family
3. Big Rock Candy Mountain - McClintock, Harry 'Mac'
4. Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues - James, Skip
5. You Are My Sunshine - Davis, Jimmie (1)
6. I'll Fly Away - Humbard Family
7. I'm Blue I'm Lonesome - Monroe, Bill
8. Lonesome Valley - Sanctified Group
9. Indian War Whoop - Ming, Hoyt & His Pep-Steppers
10. In The Jailhouse Now - Rodgers, Jimmie (1)
11. In The Highways - Carter Family
12. Sandy Land - Long, Sam
13. Uncle Pen - Monroe, Bill
14. John The Revelator - Johnson, 'Blind' Willie (1)
15. Way Down The Old Plank Road - Macon, 'Uncle' Dave
16. Blue Yodel No 8 - Rodgers, Jimmie (1)
17. St Louis Blues - Smith, Bessie
18. Country Blues - Boggs, Dock
19. Golden Gate Gospel Train - Golden Gate Quartet
20. White Dove - Stanley Brothers

This is for all those who went crazy when they saw the movie.

These are the originals.

Reverend Gary Davis - Pure Religion and Bad Company


This is the man I owe so much. He is my inspiration.


Reverend Gary Davis (or "Blind Gary Davis", as he used to be called on his earlier recordings) was born on Apr 30, 1896 in Laurens, SC; he died on May 5, 1972 in Hammonton, NJ.
Either blind at birth or partially blind and losing his eyesight completely during his teens (details about his early life are rather sketchy), he taught himself to play harmonica, banjo, and guitar, performing for parties and picnics in his hometown area before moving to Durham, NC, where he played blues on street corners. In the early 1930s, he turned to religious music and was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1933.

In the mid-1930s, he teamed up with Blind Boy Fuller in Durham. Both artists travelled to New York City and recorded several sides for the ARC (=American Record Company) label (a subsidiary of Columbia) in 1935.

In 1940, Gary Davis made New York City his permanent residence and subsequently made numerous recordings for the Folkways, Stinson, Riverside, and Prestige-Bluesville labels, while also preaching the gospel and playing his songs in the streets of Harlem.

He also acquired a reputation as the person to see if you wanted to learn to play guitar. As a teacher, Davis was exceptionally patient and thorough, making sure students would learn and adapt his original left-hand fingerings (such as a root position chord which he informed was an "F sharp diminished 7th", illustrating his knowledge of theory.) The folk revival of the 1960s re-invigorated Davis' career, culminating in a performance at the Newport Folk Festival and the recording by Peter, Paul and Mary of "Samson & Delilah." Also known as "If I Had My Way," it was originally a Blind Willie Johnson recording that Davis had popularized.

This is a stunning mixture of gospel vocals and deftly played blues and ragtime instrumentals from the guitar playing evangelist. These recordings from 1957 demonstrate Davis's amazing ability to both sing and play with a passion and skill unparalleled. They also contain the first recorded performances of the Davis classics Hesitation Blues and Cocaine Blues. Reverend Gary Davis remains one of America's truly great folk artists.



1. Pure Religion
2. Mountain Jack
3. Right Now
4. Buck Dance
5. Candy Man
6. Devil's Dream
7. Moon Goes Down
8. Cocaine Blues
9. Runnin' To The Judgement
10. Hesitation Blues
11. Bad Company
12. I Didn't Want To Join The Band
13. Evening Sun Goes Down
14. Seven Sisters
15. My Heart Is Fixed
16. Time Is Drawing Near
17. Crucifixion


Peace.

**http://rapidshare.com/files/42644452/rev_gary_davis_-_pure_religion___bad_company.rar**

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Nehemiah "Skip" James (June 21, 1902 – October 3, 1969)



Nehemiah "Skip" James was born on Woodbine Plantation outside Bentonia, Mississippi on the ninth of June, 1902. Raised on the plantation Skip was interested in music early and had learned guitar by age 8. After learning piano in high school he dropped out to hobo around and began earning a living from music around 1918. He worked parties, roadhouses, jukes, and barrelhouses in the South and Midwest, notably Memphis into the 1920's. He attended divinity school and became active in ministry work from the mid-twenties. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1932 supporting himself preaching and playing churches and concerts in the forties. James was ordained a Methodist minister in 1946 and worked outside music preaching until 1964 when he started working the folk festival and college circuit riding the blues revival wave.

An influence to Robert Johnson, Skip James recorded 17 selections for Paramount in 1931. His surviving works of this time demonstrate a masterful and unique style on both guitar and piano. Skip's haunting delivery was created by his falsetto singing over a rythymic and erratic instrumental accompaniment. The Depression suppressed his record sales and left him in obscurity until rediscovered in 1964. Illness curtailed Skip James' performing career in 1968 and he died of cancer on October 3, 1969.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of


My God,

What happens if you discover the dead sea scrolls of record collecting?

Is this the first step leading to madness, or is it the beginning of something big?
Let's face it, it must be some kind of illness.
Anyway, here is my first post in this blog.I hope to share my favourite music and things with the world.

And remember, these are just some goodies for listening purpose. If you like it, buy it.

Enjoy!

CD1 - http://rapidshare.com/files/42347303/STDAMO_-_CD1.rar
CD2 - http://rapidshare.com/files/42358280/STDAMO_-_CD2.rar

Welcome to Merlin in Rags!

Hello!
Welcome to my new blog, Merlin In Rags!

This is a music blog.

The MUSIC is only posted here for listening purposes...
If you like it... PLEASE BUY IT. Thank you!

August 2007 Home