File: MP3 @ 320K/sTime: 57:20
Size: 131.3 MB
Styles: Acoustic Chicago blues, Country blues
Released: 2005
Art: Front
1. The New 'frisco Train (2:56)
2. The Panama Limited (2:40)
3. I Am In The Heavenly Way (2:35)
4. The Promise True And Grand (2:49)
5. Pinebluff Arkansas (2:42)
6. Shake 'em On Down (2:51)
7. Sic 'em Dogs On (2:24)
8. Po' Boy (2:40)
9. Black Train Blues (2:52)
10. Strange Place Blues (3:00)
11. When Can I Change My Clothes (2:52)
12. Sleepy Man Blues (2:58)
13. Parchman Farm Blues (3:07)
14. Good Gin Blues (2:30)
15. High Fever Blues (3:01)
16. District Attorney Blues (2:49)
17. Fixin' To Die Blues (3:07)
18. Aberdeen Mississippi Blues (3:06)
19. Bukka's Jitterbug Swing (3:09)
20. Special Stream Line (3:03)
One disc 57 minutes in length approximately. The sound is good for recordings of this age - clean and fairly crisp. The tracks recorded in prison suffer somewhat in comparison to the studio recordings, but are okay, and they have a feel all their own. This set contains the complete (20 tracks) recordings done by White in the period 1930-1940. There are other collections that say "complete" (most notably Sony's "Complete Bukka White"), but they usually omit 6 or so tracks, which makes this the set to own. It's a shame that music of this caliber is becoming harder to find, so pick this up soon from one of the few sellers that have it in stock.
Bukka (real name-Booker T.Washington White) White was one of the most important pre-war blues singer/guitarists of that era. His voice was rough and immediate sounding, and combined with his National steel-bodied guitar (oftentimes using a slide) style, which sounded like he was attacking his instrument, made for a very visceral listening experience. White was one of a small group of performers (Lighnin' Hopkins was another) who could make up a (good) song while he played it. Like many blues singers of the time, his song themes were about personal remembrances, death, religion, and prison, where he spent time for shooting a man. Two of the tracks heard here, "Sic 'Em Dogs", and "Po' Boy", were recorded during his incarceration in the infamous Parchman Farm by the great chronicler of indigenous music John Lomax.
There are a couple of tracks where White is accompanied by a second guitarist - Napoleon Harrison, and a couple with "Miss Minnie" (possibly Memphis Minnie), two more tracks with an unknown guitarist, and the remaining 14 tracks have the underrated Washboard Sam accompanying him on (what else?) a washboard. Sam is not known widely,but he recorded quite a few tracks of his own, which are worth hearing.
All of these tracks are pretty equal in worth, so picking out favorites is useless - you either like his style or you don't. ~Stuart Jefferson
Bukka (real name-Booker T.Washington White) White was one of the most important pre-war blues singer/guitarists of that era. His voice was rough and immediate sounding, and combined with his National steel-bodied guitar (oftentimes using a slide) style, which sounded like he was attacking his instrument, made for a very visceral listening experience. White was one of a small group of performers (Lighnin' Hopkins was another) who could make up a (good) song while he played it. Like many blues singers of the time, his song themes were about personal remembrances, death, religion, and prison, where he spent time for shooting a man. Two of the tracks heard here, "Sic 'Em Dogs", and "Po' Boy", were recorded during his incarceration in the infamous Parchman Farm by the great chronicler of indigenous music John Lomax.
There are a couple of tracks where White is accompanied by a second guitarist - Napoleon Harrison, and a couple with "Miss Minnie" (possibly Memphis Minnie), two more tracks with an unknown guitarist, and the remaining 14 tracks have the underrated Washboard Sam accompanying him on (what else?) a washboard. Sam is not known widely,but he recorded quite a few tracks of his own, which are worth hearing.
All of these tracks are pretty equal in worth, so picking out favorites is useless - you either like his style or you don't. ~Stuart Jefferson
Aberdeeen Mississippi Blues: The Vintage Recordings 1930 - 1940
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