Mississippi John Hurt : Avalon Blues / Worried Blues

In December 1928, a Mississippi bluesman composed a song he called "Avalon Blues" ("Avalon, my home town, always on my mind") and recorded it in a Columbia Records studio in New York. The song quenched his homesickness for the place he would return after the session, and it probably pleased the record makers to get a tune straight from the heart, something different from the ballads and polished folk songs others played into their machines. "Avalon Blues" would become a lucky strike, a secret told, a blaze on a trail that led somewhere, the key to a language that still lived. The song was composed by John Hurt, a 36 year old tenant farmer from Carroll County. Thirty-five years later, a blues collector found the singer in a three-room house, 10 miles from Greenwood. John Hurt was assumed dead and already a legend to everyone who had heard his 1928 recordings. His rediscovery marked a start of a classic American tale and it inspired record makers and musicians to dig deeper for the roots of the blues. Hurt's guitar playing was tight and clean. The music tumbled off his strings in perfect timing with his voice, which was clear and pleasant. This was sophisticated music from an unschooled musician, but none as beautiful as this. Unlike many bluesmen from Mississippi, Hurt was sedentary and happy. He was not like the other bluesmen and he probably had no contact with other ones who made their way through these parts of the country. A white farmer and fiddler named Willie Narmour, recommended John Hurt to a talent scout for OKeh. On February 14th 1928, Hurt recorded 8 songs in Memphis, but only 2 did see a release ("Frankie","Nobody's Dirty Business"). They sold well for OKeh and the December sessions followed. John Hurt recorded some more fine blues and almost the whole session was released. The Depression made an end to Hurt's recordings career until 1963.

Album: Avalon Blues
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 1963;1991
Styles: Blues
Time: 34:09
Size: 78,8 MB
Covers: Full

(2:23) 1. Avalon Blues
(3:41) 2. Richland Woman Blues
(2:30) 3. Spike Driver Blues
(1:44) 4. Salty Dog
(6:04) 5. Cow Hooking Blues
(1:18) 6. Spanish Fandango
(3:47) 7. Casey Jones
(2:17) 8. Louis Collins
(2:58) 9. Candy Man Blues
(1:53) 10. My Creole Belle
(1:58) 11. Liza Jane (God's Unchanging Hand)
(3:33) 12. Joe Turner Blues

This is the first in a series devoted to the Piedmont recordings Hurt made upon his rediscovery in the early '60s. They capture him with his playing and singing still intact, untouched by the world around him, a world that had changed so much since he initially recorded back in the '20s. Many of his best-known tunes are here -- "Candy Man Blues," "Salty Dog," "Spike Driver Blues," "Louis Collins," "Spanish Fandango," and the title track -- and although Hurt was to re-record them for other labels, these versions are as fine as any. There's really no one else in the blues with the gentle wistfulness of John Hurt, and this collection makes a wonderful addition to anyone's blues or folk music collection. -- Allmusic.

Avalon Blues

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Album: Worried Blues
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 1963;1991
Styles: Blues
Time: 40:32
Size: 93,3 MB
Covers: Full

(3:22) 1. Lazy Blues
(3:53) 2. Farther Along
(5:12) 3. Sliding Delta
(3:41) 4. Nobody Cares for Me
(3:49) 5. Cow Hooking Blues, No. 2
(4:54) 6. Talking Casey
(4:14) 7. Weeping and Wailing
(4:45) 8. Worried Blues
(3:29) 9. Oh Mary, Don't You Weep
(3:10) 10. I Been Cryin' Since You Been Gone

This second of two sessions devoted to Mississippi John Hurt's first recordings followed the same pattern as its predecessor. Hurt did mostly blues, with an occasional spiritual number like "Oh Mary Don't You Weep." He sang in a fragile yet powerful manner, backing his vocals on acoustic guitar in an equally simple, gentle manner with lines and riffs that often surpassed passages with far more intricate voicings. These two CDs restored into public circulation very valuable recordings. -- Allmusic.

Worried Blues

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