Little is known of Arthur Blake's life. In 2011 a resaerch team found his his birth certificate, which states Blake was born in 1896 in Newport News, Virginia. Nothing else of his early life is known until the 1920s, when he emerged as a recording musician. Blake recorded for Paramount Records from 1926 to 1932. He was one of the most accomplished guitarists of his genre and played a diverse range of material. He is best known for his distinct guitar playing, which was comparable in sound and style to ragtime piano. He lived in Jacksonville and in Chicago (for his recordings sessions). He made his final recordings for Paramount, just before the label went out of business. Blake moved to Wisconsin and in april 1933 he was hospitalized with pneumonia and never fully recovered. On December 1, 1934, Blind Blake died; cause of death was listed as pulmonary tuberculosis.
As with many comprehensive pre-1940s blues sets, especially those devoted to artists who recorded on the old Paramount label, the five-CD All the Published Sides set is both a godsend and a study in frustration. Paramount wasn't known for its high-quality pressings when it was in business, and its bankruptcy in the early '30s and the destruction of its masters completed the picture, as far as sound quality. This set is remastered, but there's still plenty of noise on some of the tracks. Nowhere is this more frustrating than what ought to be a highlight of the entire set, "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 1" and "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 2," pairing the almost primordial bluesman Papa Charlie Jackson with Blake -- yet neither side is in good enough shape to yield more than the most minimally audible playing and vocals; it's just possible to make use of that material, and it is followed by two wonderfully clean-sounding sides featuring Blake and "Chocolate Brown" Irene Scruggs, on which every nuance of his playing can be heard, and then two more that are in wretched shape. Those wildly variable tracks, however, pale next to the dazzling displays of music dexterity that pour out of Blake's fingers and off of his guitar -- he may well have been one of the great virtuoso talents of the 20th century and his nearly as impressive vocal skills. The annotation is reasonably thorough if a bit repetitive; there's just not that much known about Blake's life or career -- the producers do appreciate the significance of such matters as his momentary move toward gospel music on "Beulah Land," and provide plenty about his occasional sidemen and collaborators, but basically this set is a lot like his whole legacy, brimming over with talent supported by precious little information. -- Allmusic.
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 2003
Styles: Blues
Time: 66:53
Size: 154,4 MB
Art: Full
(2:49) 1. Dying Blues
(3:00) 2. Ashley St Blues
(2:55) 3. Early Morning Blues
(2:56) 4. West Coast Blues
(3:12) 5. West Coast Blues
(3:11) 6. West Coast Blues
(3:03) 7. Early Morning Blues
(3:02) 8. Early Morning Blues
(2:34) 9. Too Tight
(3:06) 10. Blake's Worried Blues
(2:38) 11. Come on Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around
(2:46) 12. Come on Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around
(2:44) 13. Tampa Bound
(3:08) 14. Skeedle Loo Doo Blues
(3:04) 15. Skeedle Loo Doo Blues
(2:56) 16. Stonewall Street Blues
(3:13) 17. State Street Men Blues
(2:36) 18. Down the Country
(2:48) 19. Back Biting Bee Blues
(2:38) 20. Wilson Dam
(2:56) 21. Bucktown Blues
(2:50) 22. Black Dog Blues
(2:39) 23. One Time Blues
All the Published Sides Disc A Chicago 1926-1927
All the Published Sides Disc A Chicago 1926-1927 artwork
All the Published Sides Disc B Chicago 1927-1928
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 2003
Styles: Blues
Time: 61:01
Size: 140,8 MB
Art: Full
(2:31) 1. Bad Feelin' Blues
(2:41) 2. Dry Bone Shuffle
(2:37) 3. Dry Bone Shuffle
(2:43) 4. Dry Bone Shuffle
(3:04) 5. That Will Happen No More
(2:40) 6. Brownskin Mama Blues
(2:39) 7. Brownskin Mama Blues
(2:39) 8. Hard Road Blues
(3:12) 9. Hey Hey Daddy Blues
(3:05) 10. Sea Board Stomp
(2:46) 11. You Gonna Quit Me Blues
(3:14) 12. Steel Mill Blues
(2:54) 13. Southern Rag
(2:47) 14. He's in the Jailhouse Now
(2:55) 15. Wabash Rag
(3:19) 16. Doggin' Me Mama Blues
(2:32) 17. C C Pill Blues
(3:05) 18. Hot Potatoes
(3:23) 19. Southbound Rag
(2:54) 20. Pay Day Daddy Blues
(3:12) 21. Elzadie's Policy Blues
All the Published Sides Disc B Chicago 1927-1928
All the Published Sides Disc B Chicago 1927-1928 artwork
All the Published Sides Disc C Chicago 1928
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 2003
Styles: Blues
Time: 74:14
Size: 171,3 MB
Art: Full
(2:49) 1. Good-Bye Mama Moan
(3:03) 2. Tootie Blues
(2:43) 3. That Lovin' I Crave
(3:12) 4. That Lonesome Rave
(3:00) 5. Terrible Murder Blues
(2:52) 6. Leavin' Gal Blues
(3:05) 7. No Dough Blues
(2:37) 8. Lead Hearted Blues
(2:31) 9. Let Your Love Come Down
(2:52) 10. Rumblin' and Ramblin' Boa Constrictor Blues
(2:58) 11. Bootleg Rum Dum Blues
(3:09) 12. Detroit Bound Blues
(3:11) 13. Beulah Land
(2:56) 14. Panther Squall Blues
(3:16) 15. Elzadie's Policy Blues
(3:10) 16. Pay Day Daddy Blues
(3:08) 17. Walkin' Across the Country
(3:02) 18. Search Warrant Blues
(2:51) 19. Rambin' Mama Blues
(2:40) 20. New Style of Loving
(2:49) 21. Back Door Slam Blues
(2:49) 22. Notoriety Woman Blues
(2:52) 23. Cold Hearted Mama Blues
(3:12) 24. Low Down Loving Gal
(3:15) 25. Sweet Papa Low Down
All the Published Sides Disc C Chicago 1928
All the Published Sides Disc C Chicago 1928 artwork
All the Published Sides Disc D Richmond & Chicago 1929
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 2003
Styles: Blues
Time: 57:52
Size: 133,4 MB
Art: Full
(2:44) 1. Poker Woman Blues
(2:39) 2. Doing a Stretch
(2:56) 3. Fightin' the Jug
(2:57) 4. Hookworm Blues
(2:47) 5. Slippery Rag
(3:14) 6. Hastings St
(2:57) 7. Diddie Wah Diddie
(2:59) 8. Diddie Wah Diddie
(2:56) 9. Too Tight Blues, No. 2
(2:49) 10. Chump Man Blues
(3:00) 11. Ice Man Blues
(2:53) 12. Police Dog Blues
(3:17) 13. I Was Afraid of That, Pt. 2
(3:23) 14. Georgia Bound
(3:18) 15. Keep It Home
(2:50) 16. Keep It Home
(3:01) 17. Sweet Jivin' Mama
(3:39) 18. Lonesome Christmas Blues
(3:22) 19. Third Degree Blues
All the Published Sides Disc D Richmond & Chicago 1929
All the Published Sides Disc D Richmond & Chicago 1929 artwork
All the Published Sides Disc E Chicago & Grafton 1929-1932
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 2003
Styles: Blues
Time: 65:45
Size: 151,7 MB
Art: Full
(3:04) 1. Guitar Chimes
(3:00) 2. Blind Arthur's Breakdown
(3:02) 3. Baby Lou Blues
(2:58) 4. Cold Love Blues
(3:17) 5. Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 1
(3:19) 6. Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 2
(3:25) 7. Stingaree Man Blues
(3:19) 8. Itching Heel
(2:32) 9. You've Got What I Want
(3:04) 10. Cherry Hill Blues
(3:28) 11. Diddie Wah Diddie, No. 2
(2:37) 12. Hard Pushin' Papa
(2:58) 13. What a Lowdown Place the Jailhouse Is
(3:14) 14. Ain't Gonna Do That No More
(2:27) 15. Playing Policy Blues
(2:38) 16. Righteous Blues
(2:58) 17. Fancy Tricks
(2:48) 18. Rope Stretchin' Blues, Pt. 2
(2:21) 19. Rope Stretchin' Blues, Pt. 1
(3:01) 20. Rope Stretchin' Blues, Pt. 1
(2:30) 21. Chapagne Charlie Is My Name
(3:33) 22. Depression's Gone from Me Blues
All the Published Sides Disc E Chicago & Grafton 1929-1932
All the Published Sides Disc E Chicago & Grafton 1929-1932 artwork
