Mississippi Fred McDowell - Sleight Of Hand

Album: Sleight Of Hand
Size: 84,0 MB
Time: 36:16
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2024
Styles: Acoustic blues
Art: Front

1. I'm Going Down To The River (4:19)
2. When The Train Comes Along (2:51)
3. Shake 'Em On Down (2:45)
4. Worried Mind (3:35)
5. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning (3:12)
6. What's The Matter Now? (4:58)
7. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (2:58)
8. You Done Told Everybody (6:10)
9. Wished I Was In Heaven Sitting Down (2:11)
10. 61 Highway (3:13)

When Mississippi Fred McDowell proclaimed on one of his last albums, "I do not play no rock & roll," it was less a boast by an aging musician swept aside by the big beat than a mere statement of fact. As a stylist and purveyor of the original Delta blues, he was superb, equal parts Charley Patton and Son House coming to the fore through his roughed-up vocals and slashing bottleneck style of guitar playing. McDowell knew he was the real deal, and while others were diluting and updating their sound to keep pace with the changing times and audiences, Mississippi Fred stood out from the rest of the pack simply by not changing his style one iota.

Though he scorned the amplified rock sound with a passion matched by few country bluesmen, he certainly had no qualms about passing any of his musical secrets along to his young, white acolytes, prompting several of them - including a young Bonnie Raitt - to develop slide guitar techniques of their own. Although generally lumped in with other blues "rediscoveries" from the '60s, the most amazing thing about him was that this rich repository of Delta blues had never recorded in the '20s or early '30s, didn't get "discovered" until 1959, and didn't become a full-time professional musician until the mid-'60s. /Excerpt from biography by Cub Koda, AllMusic

Sleight Of Hand mc
Sleight Of Hand gofile

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - Ann Arbor, 1971 (Live)

Size: 95.2 MB
Time: 40:37
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2021
Styles: Delta Blues
Art: Front

01. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Live) (2:32)
02. Louise (Live) (4:43)
03. John Henry (Live) (3:32)
04. My Babe (Live) (2:55)
05. I Woke Up This Morning (Live) (3:31)
06. (Glory, Glory, Halelujah) When I Lay My Burden Down (Live) (3:27)
07. Jesus On The Mainline (Live) (3:37)
08. You Gotta Move (Live) (3:49)
09. Worried Blues (Live) (4:16)
10. Baby, Take My Rest (Live) (2:38)
11. Mojo Hand (Live) (5:32)

When Mississippi Fred McDowell proclaimed on one of his last albums, "I do not play no rock & roll," it was less a boast by an aging musician swept aside by the big beat than a mere statement of fact. As a stylist and purveyor of the original Delta blues, he was superb, equal parts Charley Patton and Son House coming to the fore through his roughed-up vocals and slashing bottleneck style of guitar playing. McDowell knew he was the real deal, and while others were diluting and updating their sound to keep pace with the changing times and audiences, Mississippi Fred stood out from the rest of the pack simply by not changing his style one iota. Though he scorned the amplified rock sound with a passion matched by few country bluesmen, he certainly had no qualms about passing any of his musical secrets along to his young, white acolytes, prompting several of them -- including a young Bonnie Raitt -- to develop slide guitar techniques of their own. Although generally lumped in with other blues "rediscoveries" from the '60s, the most amazing thing about him was that this rich repository of Delta blues had never recorded in the '20s or early '30s, didn't get "discovered" until 1959, and didn't become a full-time professional musician until the mid-'60s.

He was born in 1906 in Rossville, Tennessee, and was playing the guitar by the age of 14 with a slide hollowed out of a steer bone. His parents died when Fred was a youngster and the wandering life of a traveling musician soon took hold. The 1920s saw him playing for tips on the street around Memphis, the hoboing life eventually setting him down in Como, Mississippi, where he lived the rest of his life. There McDowell split his time between farming and keeping up with his music by playing weekends for various fish fries, picnics, and house parties in the immediate area. This pattern stayed largely unchanged for the next 30 years until he was discovered in 1959 by folklorist Alan Lomax. Lomax was the first to record this semi-professional bluesman, the results of which were released as part of an American folk music series on the Atlantic label. McDowell, for his part, was happy to have some sounds on records, but continued on with his farming and playing for tips outside of Stuckey's candy store in Como for spare change. It wasn't until Chris Strachwitz -- folk-blues enthusiast and owner of the fledgling Arhoolie label -- came searching for McDowell to record him that the bluesman's fortunes began to change dramatically.

Two albums, Fred McDowell, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, were released on Arhoolie in the mid-'60s, and the shock waves were felt throughout the folk-blues community. Here was a bluesman with a repertoire of uncommon depth, putting it over with great emotional force, and to top it all off, he had seemingly slipped through the cracks of late-'20s/early-'30s field recordings. No scratchy, highly prized 78s on Paramount or Vocalion to use as a yardstick to measure his current worth, no romantic stories about him disappearing into the Delta for decades at a time to become a professional gambler or a preacher. No, Mississippi Fred McDowell had been in his adopted home state, farming and playing all along, and the world coming to his doorstep seemed to ruffle him no more than the little boy down the street delivering the local newspaper.

The success of the Arhoolie recordings suddenly found McDowell very much in demand on the folk and festival circuit, where his quiet, good-natured performances left many a fan utterly spellbound. Working everything from the Newport Folk Festival to coffeehouse dates to becoming a member of the American Folk Blues Festival in Europe, McDowell suddenly had more listings in his résumé in a couple of years than he had in the previous three decades combined. He was also well documented on film, with appearances in The Blues Maker (1968), his own documentary Fred McDowell (1969), and Roots of American Music: Country and Urban Music (1970) among them. By the end of the decade, he was signed to do a one-off album for Capitol Records (the aforementioned I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll) and his tunes were being mainstreamed into the blues-rock firmament by artists like Bonnie Raitt (who recorded several of his tunes, including notable versions of "Write Me a Few Lines" and "Kokomo") and the Rolling Stones, who included a very authentic version of his classic "You Got to Move" on their Sticky Fingers album. Unfortunately, this career largess didn't last much longer, as McDowell was diagnosed with cancer while performing dates into 1971. His playing days suddenly behind him, he lingered for a few months into July 1972, finally succumbing to the disease at age 68. And right to the end, the man remained true to his word; he didn't play any rock & roll, just the straight, natural blues. ~Cub Koda

Ann Arbor, 1971 (Live) MP3
Ann Arbor, 1971 (Live) FLAC

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Fred & Annie Mae McDowell - My Home Is In The Delta

Size: 128,9 MB
Time: 54:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1965/1995
Styles: Delta Blues
Art: Full

01. Waiting For My Baby (3:22)
02. I'm In Jail Again (4:06)
03. The Girl I'm Loving (2:54)
04. Going Down South, Carry My Whip (3:05)
05. Diving Duck Blues (4:36)
06. The Sun Rose This Morning (4:56)
07. Six White Horses (2:29)
08. Down On Dankin's Farm (4:11)
09. Get Right Church (3:01)
10. Amazing Grace (3:21)
11. Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed (2:31)
12. Where Could I Go But To The Lord (3:16)
13. The Lord Will Make A Way (2:55)
14. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning (2:52)
15. When The Saints Go Marching In (2:19)
16. Big Road Blues (1:52)
17. When I Lay My Burden Down (2:23)

Mississippi Fred McDowell's home may have been in the Delta, but his music belonged to the world. This is heartfelt, raw, glorious country blues, delivered without an ounce of pretension or nostalgia. ~Ron Wynn

My Home Is In The Delta

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VA - 50 Years Of Como MS Blues: Greatest Blues Songs Vol. 1 (Live)

Size: 169,4 MB
Time: 72:37
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Acoustic Delta Blues, Country Blues
Art: Front

01. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Go Back To Your Used To Be (Live) (2:27)
02. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Shame On You Part 2 (Live) (2:44)
03. Mississippi Fred McDowell - Frisco Line (Live) (4:00)
04. Mississippi Fred McDowell - You Gotta Move (Live) (3:20)
05. Ranie Burnette - I Wonder Why (Live) (4:20)
06. Ranie Burnette - I Call My Baby (Live) (4:44)
07. R.L. Boyce - Gonna Boogie-Poor Black Mattie (Live) (3:58)
08. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Train, Train (Live) (2:53)
09. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Eagle Bird (Live) (3:39)
10. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Shake It, Shake It (Live) (2:49)
11. Fred McDowel & Ellie Green - Brooks Run Into The Ocean (Live) (5:42)
12. Fred McDowel & Ellie Green - Bull Dog Blues (Live) (3:53)
13. Rannie Burnett - I`m Going Away (Live) (5:04)
14. Rannie Burnett - Moonshine Blues (Live) (4:08)
15. Rannie Burnett - Come On Baby (Live) (3:41)
16. Othar Turner - Rooster Blues (Live) (2:42)
17. R.L. Boyce - Child Of God - One Of These Days (Live) (4:34)
18. R.L Boyce - Baby Please Don’t Go Lonesome Road (Live) (4:12)
19. Jessie Mae Hemphill - Shame On You Part 1 (Live) (3:35)

Fred McDowell, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Eli Green, R.L Boyce, Ranie Burnette & Othar Turner. These musicians are definitely the best of Country Blues and a must have for all the blues fans out there! The sound of original country blues on this CD is just amazing, real feelings and emotions. The whole Wolf Records Team worked on this CD to put all impressions of Country Blues, especially from Como Mississippi into this CD! The origin of the modern popular blues comes from the country, like Como MS, so this is the real Blues.

50 Years Of Como MS Blues

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - First Recordings: The Alan Lomax Portrait Series

Size: 119,0 MB
Time: 50:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Delta Blues
Art: Full

01. I'm Going Down The River (4:19)
02. 61 Highway (3:12)
03. Wished I Was In Heaven Sitting Down (2:11)
04. When The Train Comes Along (With Rose Hemphill & Sidney Carter) (2:51)
05. Shake 'em On Down (With Rose Hemphill & Sidney Carter) (2:45)
06. Worried Mind (With Rose Hemphill & Sidney Carter) (3:35)
07. Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind On Jesus) (3:18)
08. You Done Told Everybody (6:10)
09. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning (With Annie Mae McDowell) (3:12)
10. What's The Matter Now (4:58)
11. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (2:58)
12. I Want Jesus To Walk With Me (With James Shorty) (3:08)
13. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning (0:38)
14. You're Gonna Be Sorry (6:41)

In September, 1959, these 14 seminal tracks were recorded by Alan Lomax. Traversing the South with a bulky reel-to-reel tape recorder, this part of his field trip documents the very first recordings (and subsequent "discovery" in folk circles) of McDowell. The recordings were captured outdoors on a front porch, and even though Lomax was recording him at a semi-professional speed on his tape deck (7 1/2 inches per second as opposed to the then-standard 15 ips), seldom did McDowell's subsequent recordings capture this much ambience. Loose and informal, these sides showcase Fred solo and working in tandem with guitarist Miles Pratcher ("I'm Going Down the River," "Shake 'Em On Down," "You're Gonna Be Sorry"), the utterly surreal tissue-paper-and-comb work of Fanny Davis and -- at various times -- his wife Annie Mae ("Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning"), James Shorty ("I Want Jesus to Walk With Me"), Sidney Carter and Rose Hemphill ("When the Train Come Along") on background vocals. As an added bonus for fans and historians alike, ten of the 14 tracks are previously unissued and include some of the best sides Fred ever recorded. ~Cub Koda

First Recordings

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - Shake 'Em On Down: The Alan Lomax Recordings 1959 (The Remastered Edition)

Source: CD
Size: 186,8 MB
Time: 78:49
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues
Art: Full

01. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Remastered) (2:59)
02. Shake 'Em On Down (Remastered) (3:20)
03. Drop Down Mama (Remastered) (2:51)
04. Worried Mind Blues (Remastered) (3:34)
05. Fred Mcdowell's Blues (Remastered) (4:11)
06. When The Train Comes Along (Remastered) (2:51)
07. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning (Remastered) (2:44)
08. Wished I Was In Heaven Sitting Down (Remastered) (2:10)
09. You Done Tol' Everybody (Remastered) (6:09)
10. Woke Up This Morning With My Mind On Jesus (Remastered) (3:17)
11. Goin' Down To The River (Remastered) (4:18)
12. When You Get Home, Please Write Me A Few Of Your Lines (Remastered) (3:25)
13. You Gonna Be Sorry (Remastered) (6:42)
14. Lord Have Mercy (Remastered) (1:54)
15. 61 Highway Blues (Remastered) (3:09)
16. Soon One Mornin' (Remastered) (3:13)
17. Germany Blues (Remastered) (3:11)
18. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning (Alt.Version) (Remastered) (3:10)
19. Been Drinkin' Water Out Of A Hollow Log (Remastered) (2:57)
20. I Want Jesus To Walk With Me (Remastered) (3:07)
21. Freight Train Blues (Remastered) (3:05)
22. Shake 'em On Down (Alt.Version) (Remastered) (2:43)
23. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning (Instrumental) (Remastered) (0:37)
24. You Gotta Move (Live) (Remastered) (3:02)

Personnel:
Mississippi Fred McDowell, vocals and guitar, plus:
Occasionally featuring Miles Pratcher (second guitar), Fanny Davis (tissue paper and comb), Annie Mae McDowell, Rosalie Hill, or Sidney Hemphill Carter (vocals), among others.
Recorded in Como, Mississippi, September 21-25, 1959.

Legendary bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell was one of the most important rural guitarists and songwriters to come out of the 1960s blues revival. He was discovered in 1959 (at age 55), when he was first taped by music historian and folk researcher, Alan Lomax (with assistance from a young Shirley Collins). This newly remastered CD includes those mythical recordings that would launch McDowell’s career as a professional musician, and announce him to a new legion of fans. In addition, this collector’s release contains a bonus track – a live recording of McDowell’s classic number, “You Gotta Move” (later famously covered by The Rolling Stones).

Shake 'Em On Down

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VA - Voices Of Mississippi: Artists And Musicians Documented By William Ferris

Size: 181,2+180,5+165,5 MB
Time: 76:44+76:32+69:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Blues Gospel
Art: Front

CD 1:
01. James 'Son Ford' Thomas - 44 Blues (3:43)
02. Lovey Williams - I Feel So Good (2:02)
03. Wallace 'Pine Top' Johnson, Maudie Shirley, & Jasper Love - Stackalee And Billy Lyons (2:41)
04. Scott Dunbar - Lil' Liza Jane (2:56)
05. Mississippi Fred McDowell - Big Fat Mama (2:24)
06. Louis Dotson - Bottle Blowing (0:49)
07. Sonny Boy Watson - Bring Me My Shotgun (3:05)
08. Sam Myers - Eyesight To The Blind (2:21)
09. James 'Son Ford' Thomas - Cairo (2:46)
10. Scott Dunbar - Jaybird (8:31)
11. Tom Dumas - Cotton Eyed Joe (2:20)
12. Lovey Williams - Coal Black Mare (2:33)
13. Unidentified Musician With Mississippi Fred McDowell - I Dreamed I Went To The U.N' (2:26)
14. Walter Lee Hood - Darling If You Must Leave (1:02)
15. Mississippi Fred McDowell - I Got A Letter From Hot Springs (3:51)
16. Wallace 'Pine Top' Johnson, Maudie Shirley, & Jasper Love - Baby Loves To Boogie (3:09)
17. Wash Heron & 'Big' Jack Johnson - Nothing (1:33)
18. James 'Son Ford' Thomas - Dust My Broom (2:28)
19. Scott Dunbar - The Memphis Mail (3:27)
20. Sonny Boy Watson - Have You Seen My Baby (3:45)
21. James Hughes - Instrumental Guitar Piece In A (1:33)
22. Lovey Williams - Train I Ride (1:53)
23. Unidentified Musician With Mississippi Fred McDowell - Little Red Rooster (2:58)
24. Leland Musician - Darlin' Why You Treat Me So' (2:15)
25. Inmates At Parchman Farm - Water Boy Drowned In The Mobile Bay (1:53)
26. George Lee 'Sun Bud' Spears - I Ain't Gonna Live It No More (4:06)
27. James 'Son Ford' Thomas With Sonny Boy Watson - I Cannot Stay Here Baby (4:01)

CD 2:
01. Mary & Amanda Gordon - Lord, I'm In Your Hand (2:55)
02. The Southland Hummingbirds - You Don't Know Like I Know (3:44)
03. Lovey Williams - I'm Standing In The Safety Zone (0:46)
04. Reverend Smith & Family - Children, Go Where I Send Thee (3:23)
05. Liddle Hines - What Could I Do (3:19)
06. Providence Missionary Baptist Church - So Glad I Got Good Religion (3:17)
07. Church Of God In Christ - I Know The Lord Will Make A Way (Yes He Will) (2:04)
08. Walter Lee Hood & Parchman Inmates - Home On High (2:24)
09. Fannie Bell Chapman - We're So Glad To Be Here (3:48)
10. Mary Alice & Alan McGowan - My Mother's On That Train (1:32)
11. Reverend Ott & Family - You Don't Knock, You Just Walk On In (2:26)
12. Walter Lee Hood - They Tell Me Of An Uncloudy Day (1:29)
13. Rose Hill Church - Thanks For Bill Ferris (0:31)
14. Rose Hill Church - Over Yonder Where The Sun Will Never Shine (2:45)
15. The Southland Hummingbirds - I've Been Born Again (3:14)
16. Lovey Williams & Family - The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow (2:48)
17. Providence Missionary Baptist Church - How Did You Feel When You Come Out Of The Wilderness (4:07)
18. Church Of God In Christ - I Don't Have To Worry About Where I Spend Eternity (2:52)
19. Fannie Bell Chapman & Family - He's My Rock, My Sword, And Shield (3:54)
20. Walter Lee Hood & Parchman Inmates - Thank You Jesus (2:22)
21. Mary & Amanda Gordon - Cross Of Calvary (2:46)
22. Church Of God In Christ - My Grave's Gonna Be Decorated On That Day (2:53)
23. The Southland Hummingbirds - There Are Days (2:55)
24. Church Of God In Christ - You Can't Hide Sinner (2:39)
25. Reverend Isaac Thomas & Rose Hill Church - Lord, Remember Me (2:48)
26. Church Of God In Christ - Glory, Glory (Lay My Burden Down) (8:37)

CD 3:
01. Barry Hannah - On Bill (1:32)
02. Alice Walker - Regions Of The Mind And Heart (0:42)
03. Alex Haley - The South (1:42)
04. Ray Lum - A Trader Is (1:14)
05. Bobby Rush - The Blues To Me (1:22)
06. Barry Hannah - On Son Thomas And Tradition (1:45)
07. James 'Son Ford' Thomas - I Know It's Wrong To Be Playin' The Blues (2:51)
08. Sonny Boy Watson - Jitterbug Comes To Town (2:02)
09. James 'Son Ford' Thomas - You Whistlin' (2:15)
10. Joe 'Skeet' Skillet - Mule Toast And Pool Hall Toast (2:58)
11. Joe Cooper - The Preacher (1:24)
12. Wallace 'Pine Top' Johnson, Jasper Love, & Maudie Shirley - Lyin' (1:01)
13. Shelby 'Poppa Jazz' Brown - Two Brothers, Heaven And Hell (5:22)
14. Shelby 'Poppa Jazz' Brown - Creekman Killed Charlie Kirkland (3:23)
15. B.B. King - Lucille (3:17)
16. Allen Ginsberg, James 'Son Ford' Thomas & Bill Ferris - On Blues Composition (4:37)
17. Robert Penn Warren - The Decline In Human Values (2:42)
18. Pecolia Warner - The Bible Salesman (5:04)
19. Ray Lum - Fast Traders Disguising Mules (2:41)
20. Ray Lum - Horses Too Tall To Drown (0:58)
21. Ray Lum - The Ark And The Cats (1:51)
22. Ray Lum - The Panther (1:32)
23. Victor Bobb - Fixing Charles Lindbergh's Engine (7:39)
24. Barry Hannah - Lying About Being From Mississippi (0:54)
25. Pete Seeger - We Shall Overcome (2:09)
26. James 'Son Ford' Thomas - Cemetery Conversations (6:49)

This watershed release represents the life’s work of William Ferris, an audio recordist, filmmaker, folklorist, and teacher with anunwavering commitment to establish and to expand the study of the American South. William Ferris was born in Vicksburg, Mississippiin 1942.

Growing up on a working farm, Ferris began at a young age documenting the artwork, music, and lives of the people on thefarm and in his local community. The archive of recordings that he created and the documentary films that he had a hand in producinghave served as powerful tools in institutions of higher learning for decades. It is with great excitement that we present these films andrecordings. Our hope is that the enjoyment and educational value that has been received by Ferris’s students over the years will betransmitted to listeners around the world and further the understanding of Southern culture.

Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris includes three CDs -- two of the CDs feature blues and gospel recordings (1966-1978), and the final CD features interviews and storytelling (1968-1994).

Voices Of Mississippi

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VA - Slide Guitar Blues

Size: 249,0 MB
Time: 106:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01 Chuck E. Weiss - Devil With Blue Suede Shoes (5:00)
02 Kelly Joe Phelps - House Carpenter (6:43)
03 John Hammond - Shake Your Money Maker (1:58)
04 Delaney & Bonnie & Friends - Come On In My Kitchen - Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean Going Down The Road Feeling Bad (4:15)
05 Bjoern Berge - Look On Yonder Wall (3:16)
06 Faces - Around The Plynth (5:48)
07 Mississippi Fred McDowell - Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning (2:44)
08 Blind Willie McTell - Motherless Children Have A Hard Time (2:54)
09 60,000,000 Buffalo - American Money Blues (5:36)
10 Little Feat - A Apolitical Blues (3:25)
11 Honey B. & T-Bones - Hawaiian Groupie (2:25)
12 Slaptones - Little Red Rooster (3:36)
13 John Fahey - Steamboat Gwine 'Round De Bend (4:14)
14 Danny O'Keefe - Steel Guitar (4:04)
15 Tom Rush - If Your Man Gets Busted (3:30)
16 Doug Sahm - Blues Stay Away From Me (4:47)
17 Foghat - Terraplane Blues (5:45)
18 Low Budget Blues Band - Tennessee Plates (3:10)
19 Robert Randolph & The Family Band - Run For Your Life (4:53)
20 Bjoern Berge - Who Do You Think You Are (4:51)
21 Delta Cross Band - Key To Highway (7:50)
22 Alvin Youngblood Hart - Mama Don't Allow (5:34)
23 Mississippi Fred McDowell - When You Get Home, Write Me A Few Little Lines (3:24)
24 Faces - Jerusalem (1:41)
25 Kelly Joe Phelps - Roll Away The Stone (4:49)

Slide Guitar Blues

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:54
Size: 123.4 MB
Styles: Delta blues
Year: 1994/2016
Art: Front

[5:20] 1. White Lightnin'
[3:29] 2. You Got To Move
[5:02] 3. Louise
[4:21] 4. Baby Please Don't Go
[3:30] 5. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
[3:16] 6. You Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Anymore
[5:16] 7. John Henry
[7:27] 8. Mercy
[2:55] 9. I Asked For Whiskey, She Brought Me Gasoline
[4:24] 10. Evil Hearted Woman
[4:37] 11. Shake 'Em On Down
[4:11] 12. What's The Matter With Papa's Little Angel Child

Beginning with the release of two Mississippi Fred McDowell albums in 1965 and 1966, Arhoolie Records became permanently identified with the man and his music. Released in 1994, Arhoolie's Good Morning Little School Girl combines secular and sacred material from sessions that took place in 1964 and 1965. This portion of the McDowell legacy more or less picks up where the earlier Alan Lomax recordings left off. On most of the spirituals ("Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning," "Get Right Church," "I'm Going Over the Hill," "Amazing Grace," "You Got to Move," "It's a Blessing," and "I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down"), McDowell's wife Annie Mae McDowell sings with him in a shrill and passionate voice. The other tracks are solo Delta blues rituals of great hypnotic power and depth. ~arwulf arwulf

Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - I Do Not Play No Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete Sessions (2-CD Set)

By the time acoustic blues master Mississippi Fred McDowell finally plugged in for the first time, something this recording captures, his songs were already a major part of the emerging blues-rock scene of the late 1960s. The slide-guitar genius was a Delta blues purist of the first degree who ignored all else, even while serving as a significant influence on a new generation of blues players. His influence endures, and his music, in its original form, remains riveting. The best example is the timeless classic "You Got to Move," covered by the Rolling Stones in a surprisingly faithful rendition on 1971's Sticky Fingers and radically reconfigured by adventurous jazz diva Cassandra Wilson three decades later on Belly of the Sun. Both versions are excellent, but McDowell's original, saturated with searing sincerity and electrifying licks, is better. In similar style, McDowell demonstrates the inspiration behind "Kokomo Me Baby" (popularized by his protégé Bonnie Raitt), "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," and "Baby Please Don't Go," all core material of the modern blues-rock repertoire. All have since been done in different styles, but none have been done better. If you're looking for the real roots of modern blues and you haven't explored McDowell's ragged but righteous creations, you need to immediately redefine your search and hear his inspirational source music firsthand. ~Michael Point

Album: I Do Not Play No Rock 'n' Roll (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:14
Size: 105.8 MB
Styles: Delta blues
Year: 2007

[4:48] 1. Baby Please Don't Go
[4:25] 2. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
[3:00] 3. Kokomo Me Baby
[5:03] 4. That's All Right
[4:03] 5. Red Cross Store
[9:11] 6. Everybody's Down On Me
[4:42] 7. 61 Highway
[2:46] 8. Glory Hallelujah
[3:38] 9. Jesus On The Mainline
[4:32] 10. Someday

I Do Not Play No Rock 'n' Roll (Disc 1)

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Album: I Do Not Play No Rock 'n' Roll (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:21
Size: 101.5 MB
Styles: Delta blues
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[3:34] 1. Write Me A Few Of Your Lines
[4:25] 2. Mortgage On Your Soul
[4:30] 3. Baby Let Me Down (In Your Cool Iron Bed)
[3:41] 4. Drop Down Mama
[8:18] 5. Rap Louise
[3:30] 6. Somebody Keeps Callin' Me
[4:37] 7. Eyes Like An Eagle
[2:40] 8. My Baby She Gonna Jump And Shout
[5:54] 9. Long Line Skinner
[3:07] 10. Baby Please Don't Go (Alt)

I Do Not Play No Rock 'n' Roll (Disc 2)

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - Shake 'Em On Down: Live In NYC

Size: 110,4+124 MB
Time: 47:16+52:38
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Delta Blues
Art: Front

CD 1:
01. Shake 'em On Down (Live) (3:29)
02. Fred's Worried Blues (Live) (4:26)
03. Jesus Is On The Mainline (Live) (7:11)
04. Mercy (Live) (3:45)
05. When The Saints Go Marchin' In (Live) (2:42)
06. Someday Baby (Live) (4:06)
07. The Lovin' Blues (Live) (4:06)
08. You Got To Move (Live) (3:01)
09. White Lightnin' (Live) (5:13)
10. Louise (Live) (5:22)
11. Baby Please Don't Go (Live) (3:50)

CD 2:
01. Goin' To The River (Carry My Rocking Chair) (Live) (5:23)
02. Shake 'em On Down (Live) (3:56)
03. 61 Highway (Live) (5:38)
04. John Henry (Live) (5:21)
05. My Babe (Live) (3:26)
06. I'm Crazy 'bout You Baby (Live) (4:55)
07. Red Cross Store (Live) (4:15)
08. Levee Camp Blues (Live) (5:38)
09. Good Mornin' Little Schoolgirl (Live) (4:27)
10. Don't Mistreat Nobody (Cause You Got A Few Dimes) (Live) (4:53)
11. Get Right Church (Live) (4:20)
12. Good Night (Spoken Outro) (Live) (0:22)

Personnel:
Bass – Tom Pomposello
Guitar, Vocals – Fred McDowell

Bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell managed to fly under the radar throughout the pre-war era and remained unrecorded right through the postwar rise of jump blues and the rock and roll explosion of the '50s. With a young Bonnie Raitt claiming him as one of her primary influences on slide guitar and the Rolling Stones covering his "You Got To Move" on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers, McDowell enjoyed the highest profile of his career during his final years on the planet. He was riding that wave when he stopped off at the Gaslight Café in Greenwich Village NYC on November 5, 1971. Fred was playing electric guitar with bassist Honest Tom Pomposello.

McDowell's Gaslight sets were taped by Fred Seibert and initially intended for broadcast over the airwaves of Columbia University's WKCR-FM. Nine songs were selected for the 1972 album Live in New York, the inaugural release of Seibert, Pomposello, and third partner Dick Pennington's Oblivion Records label. A great many more additional selections recorded that night have surfaced since then, and they're also included on this bountiful reissue.

Shake 'Em On Down CD 1
Shake 'Em On Down CD 2

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - S/T

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:23
Size: 145.1 MB
Styles: Delta blues
Year: 1971/1995
Art: Front

[3:24] 1. Done Left Here
[3:06] 2. All The Way From East St. Louis
[2:32] 3. Shake 'em On Down
[3:15] 4. The Girl That I'm Lovin'
[2:55] 5. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
[4:56] 6. Left My Baby Standing
[2:59] 7. On The Frisco Line
[3:56] 8. Write Me A Few Lines
[4:44] 9. Going Down The River
[3:19] 10. I Rolled And I Tumbled
[2:12] 11. Trouble Everywhere I Go
[2:59] 12. Red Cross Store Blues
[3:05] 13. John Henry
[2:31] 14. Kokomo Blues
[1:44] 15. Milk Cow Blues
[2:08] 16. Trouble Everywhere I Go [alternate Version]
[3:39] 17. I've Been Drinking Water Out Of A Hollow Log
[4:24] 18. Highway 61
[3:07] 19. Someday Baby
[2:18] 20. Como

Tracks drawn from a 1962 recording of McDowell playing in his Como, Mississippi house. The recordings were initially made purely as a document of a performer and a style, but eventually found their way to record and, finally, to compact disc. Somewhat raw, though the sound is actually very good, the recordings caught McDowell at his best, playing just for his own satisfaction. ~Steven McDonald

Mississippi Fred McDowell

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - You Gotta Move

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:59
Size: 146.5 MB
Styles: Delta blues
Year: 1989
Art: Front

[3:37] 1. Write Me A Few Lines
[3:58] 2. Louise
[2:38] 3. I Heard Somebody Call
[5:22] 4. 61 Highway
[2:32] 5. Mama Don't Allow
[2:05] 6. Kokomo Blues
[2:42] 7. Fred's Worried Life Blues
[5:17] 8. You Gonna Be Sorry
[2:38] 9. Shake 'em On Down
[3:33] 10. My Trouble Blues
[2:02] 11. Black Minnie
[3:00] 12. That's Alright
[2:14] 13. When I Lay My Burden Down
[3:06] 14. I Ain't Gonna Be Bad No Mo'
[2:08] 15. Do My Baby Ever Think Of Me
[5:43] 16. Brooks Run Into The Ocean
[3:53] 17. Bulldog Blues
[4:01] 18. Frisco Line
[3:20] 19. You Gatta Move

One of the great exponents of the Mississippi Delta slide guitar style, Fred McDowell was in every respect a blues poet of the very first rank. Each tune (is) a kind of short story with a form, character, and message of its own. This collection is a generous 60+ minutes of the best of McDowell's work. If you're looking for the definitive McDowell CD, this is it. ~Lawrence Hoffman

Fred's mentor Eli Green is heard on "Brooks Run Into the Ocean" and " Bull Dog Blues." Recorded in 1964 & 1965. (All of ARH LP 1021 & most of 1027.) Includes the version of "You Gotta Move" heard and then recorded by the Rolling Stones on their "Sticky Fingers" album.

You Gotta Move mc
You Gotta Move zippy

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Mississippi Fred McDowell & Johnny Woods - Mama Says I'm Crazy

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:08
Size: 96.5 MB
Styles: Delta blues
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[2:49] 1. Shake 'em On Down
[2:50] 2. Goin' Away
[3:51] 3. Mama Says I'm Crazy
[4:37] 4. I Got A Woman
[4:40] 5. Red Cross Store
[4:27] 6. Going Down To The River
[4:48] 7. Standing At The Back Door
[4:20] 8. What's Going To Become Of Me
[2:49] 9. Long Haired Doney
[3:54] 10. John Henry
[2:56] 11. I Walked All Night Long

Since no one could copyright "Mississippi," two major blues performers, Fred McDowell and John Hurt, adopted the state as part of their name. To confuse matters more, both performers made comebacks during the late '50s/early '60s and both specialized in prewar acoustic blues. While a blues novice might find such similarities confusing, the two men's singing and guitar styles are polar opposites. Whereas Hurt's smooth, deep vocals and Piedmont fingerpicking made him easily accessible to the folk revival crowd, McDowell's soulful vocals and forcefully rhythmic guitar represented something more primitive. In 1967, producer George Mitchell brought together McDowell and harp player Johnny Woods for an off-the-cuff session not unlike what one might have heard at a Como, MS, house party. Interestingly, the two men hadn't played together in eight years, but on songs like "Standing at the Backdoor" and the title track, one would never guess it. This isn't a polite affair, with one player holding back while the other solos. Instead, McDowell and Woods trade notes, overlap, and rush forward on "Long Haired Doney" and "Shake Em' on Down" as though they had an unlimited supply of energy. While McDowell's vocals and slashing guitar propel "Goin' Away" and "I Got a Woman" forward, Woods' harp adds pizzazz. Acoustic blues fans will warmly embrace Mama Says I'm Crazy and be thankful that Mitchell went to the trouble required to track down Woods for this earthy set. ~Ronnie D. Lankford Jr

Mama Says I'm Crazy mc
Mama Says I'm Crazy zippy

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - Live at the Gaslight

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2000
Styles: Blues
Time: 47:31 + 52:51
Size: 108,9 MB + 121,1 MB
Covers: Full

CD1: Live at the Gaslight Set One
(3:32) 1. Shake 'Em on Down
(4:28) 2. Fred's Worried Blues
(7:11) 3. Jesus on the Mainline
(3:47) 4. Mercy
(2:42) 5. When the Saints Go Marching In
(4:09) 6. Someday Baby
(4:08) 7. The Lovin' Blues
(5:15) 8. White Lightnin'
(3:03) 9. You Got to Move
(5:22) 10. Louise
(3:49) 11. Baby Please Don't Go

CD2: Live at the Gaslight Set Two
(5:26) 1. Goin' to the River (Carry My Rocking Chair)
(3:59) 2. Shake 'Em on Down
(5:38) 3. 61 Highway
(5:23) 4. John Henry
(3:26) 5. My Babe
(4:55) 6. I'm Crazy About You Baby
(4:15) 7. Red Cross Store Blues
(5:38) 8. Levee Camp Blues
(4:29) 9. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
(4:55) 10. Don't Mistreat Nobody (Cause You Got a Few Dimes)
(4:22) 11. Get Right Church
(0:20) 12. Good Night

Recorded on November 5, 1971, Live at the Gaslight stands as the final recording of Delta blues legend Mississippi Fred McDowell. The bottleneck guitarist was 67 years old when this album was cut, but his voice and playing show no signs of age and his passion and conviction seem to have strengthened with the years. At this point in McDowell's career he had shifted to playing electric slide guitar, and during this Gaslight performance he was also supported by sparse bass playing from Tom Pomposello. Accompanying McDowell's gruff voice, the guitar often seems to finish the singer's sentences for him; it's like listening to an old married couple. The setting is very intimate, allowing for friendly interaction with the audience and warm reactions to McDowell's occasional introductions and commentary. Throughout the two-disc set there is a real sense of inspiration as if the singer was releasing this music from his soul for the first time. One of the first things McDowell admits is that he "don't play no rock & roll," but the raw power of even his soundcheck nearly contradicts that statement. While there are slight distractions on the first disc (an out-of-tune rendition of "When the Saints Go Marchin' In," a confusing tracklisting error on the back cover), there are certainly points of interest including the plaintive cry of "Baby Please Don't Go" and the righteous crunch of "You Got to Move." While the first CD has a few minor trouble spots, disc two really shines. The soulful moan of "Goin' to the River" blasts into the fiery punch of "Shake 'Em on Down," openly disputing his proclamation that he doesn't play rock & roll. The reverential conviction of "Good Mornin' Little Schoolgirl" precedes the last two songs, both inspirational numbers in true blues style: "Don't Mistreat Nobody" instructs his audience to be kind to their fellow man, and "Get Right Church" is almost a duet with his familiar bottleneck slide, chillingly foretelling his upcoming journey "home." Live at the Gaslight is a bright example of the raw power of Delta bottleneck blues by one of the genre's masters, and is not to be missed.

Live at the Gaslight Set One Disc 1
Live at the Gaslight Set Two Disc 2
Live at the Gaslight artwork

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Mississippi Fred McDowell 3 albums: My Home Is in the Delta / Amazing Grace / Levee Camp Blues

Album: My Home Is in the Delta
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1965
Styles: Blues
Time: 54:19
Size: 124,6 MB
Covers: Full

(3:22) 1. Waiting for My Baby
(4:06) 2. I'm in Jail Again
(2:54) 3. The Girl I'm Loving
(3:05) 4. Going Down South, Carry My Whip
(4:36) 5. Diving Duck Blues
(4:56) 6. The Sun Rose This Morning
(2:29) 7. Six White Horses
(4:11) 8. Down on Dankin's Farm
(3:01) 9. Get Right Church
(3:21) 10. Amazing Grace
(2:31) 11. Jesus Gonna Make up My Dying Bed
(3:16) 12. Where Could I Go But to the Lord
(2:55) 13. The Lord Will Make a Way
(2:52) 14. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning
(2:19) 15. When the Saints Go Marching In
(1:52) 16. Big Road Blues
(2:23) 17. When I Lay My Burden Down

Mississippi Fred McDowell's home may have been in the Delta, but his music belonged to the world. This is heartfelt, raw, glorious country blues, delivered without an ounce of pretension or nostalgia. --Allmusic.
Let me tell you this is his best on the Arhoolie label; his stuff doesn't feel as raw as this (no offense Fred) when I hear this album Fred McDowell almost scares me I get chills down my back when I hear the songs "Six White Horses"(which can only be found here), "The Girl I'm Loving", and "Diving Duck Blues" Fred McDowell is right up their or even above Son House & other Delta Bluesmen (yes I just went there) and when he pairs up with his wife Annie McDowell on "Get Right Church", "Keep your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" there right up there with Blind Willie Johnson and his wife Angeline Johnson. All right enough rambling, if your new to Fred McDowell or haven't got it yet, also after you buy this get "Live at the GasLight"(thats a whole other story).p.s. Fred McDowell had been around just as long as Son House, Robert Johnson and others he was just never recorded until the early 60's. --Amazon

My Home Is in the Delta

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Album: Amazing Grace
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1966
Styles: Blues, Gospel
Time: 39:09
Size: 89,9 MB
Covers: Full

(2:13) 1. Jesus on the Mainline
(1:44) 2. When I Lay My Burden Down
(3:05) 3. I'm So Glad I Got Good Religion
(2:03) 4. Going over the Hill
(2:46) 5. I Know I've Been Converted
(2:57) 6. Just a Little More Faith
(1:48) 7. Back Back Train
(2:46) 8. You Got to Move
(0:55) 9. Jesus Gonna Make up My Dying Bed
(3:42) 10. Amazing Grace
(3:06) 11. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning
(2:16) 12. Tell the Angels
(1:45) 13. When You Come Out of the Wilderness
(3:20) 14. The Lord Will Make a Way
(2:26) 15. It's a Blessing
(2:09) 16. This Little Light of Mine

The connection between rural blues and spiritual music is sometimes overlooked. This 1966 recording, featuring McDowell, his guitar, and the Hunter's Chapel Singers of Como, Mississippi (including his wife Annie Mae), is one of the best illustrations of how closely the styles can be linked. McDowell and company perform what the record subtitle calls "Mississippi Delta spirituals" on this stark and moving set, which includes a version of one of his signature tunes, "You Got to Move." The CD reissue adds three previously unreleased tracks. --Allmusic.
Every track on this collection is solid rural blackgospel blues. Fred McDowell is joined in his vocals by his wife and three members of Hunter's Chapel in Como, Miss. McDowell accompanies the group on bottleneck guitar. This is the powerful, raw blues polished not in the recording studio but in life. Their voices blend in an emotional range ranging from rough and raw to nearly lyrical. Jesus Is On the Main Line could have easily come off a recording from the teens or twenties. You Got to Move has a smoother, more forties and beyond sound. Amazing Grace is a wonderful rendition with the voices interweaving - somewhat as if you merged the call and response style with a lining out style -- the result is absolutely spectacular. -- Amazon.

Amazing Grace

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Album: Levee Camp Blues
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1968
Styles: Blues
Time: 45:28
Size: 104,3 MB
Covers: Full

(3:50) 1. Levee Camp Blues
(3:43) 2. Let Me Lay Down in Your Cool Iron Bed
(2:21) 3. My Baby Don't Treat Me Like Humankind
(4:38) 4. My Baby Has Eyes Like an Eagle
(2:53) 5. Jim, Steam Killed Lulu
(2:12) 6. Pea Vine Special
(5:49) 7. Dark Cloud Rising
(2:39) 8. My Baby Has Eyes Like an Eagle
(3:43) 9. Will Me Your Gold Watch and Chain
(2:26) 10. Worried Now, Won't Be Worried Long
(3:43) 11. Down on Dankin's Farm
(2:27) 12. Bye and Bye, Goin' to See the King
(2:25) 13. Goin over the Hill
(2:31) 14. When I Lay My Burden Down

When Mississippi Fred McDowell recorded these sides in March of 1968, producer Pete Welding encouraged McDowell to recall the earliest material he had learned when he first started playing. The result is a selection of tunes that simply don't show up on his other recordings, both stylistically and because of their previously unreleased status. Highlights include "Let Me Lay Down In Your Cool Iron Bed," "My Baby Don't Treat Me Like Humankind," "Jim Steam Killed Lula," "Will Me Your Gold Watch and Chain," "Dark Clouds A-Rising" and "Pea Vine Special." Also included are two previously unissued tracks recorded in 1966 before the bulk of this session. -- Allmusic.
Fred McDowell was an eccentric among blues musicians. At the surface, his sound was similar to most of the Mississippi-based acoustic players, but his melodies and solos were far more elaborate than even Robert Johnson's. In some ways, then, his work is reminiscent of Lonnie Johnson, who was among the first blues guitarists to fit in equally well with jazz players. McDowell's work, though, had much less of the polished, urbanized sound. It was Mississippi, through and through. Slide-wiz Kelly Joe Phelps cites McDowell, along with Robert Pete Williams, as a primary influence, and on this album, you can see why. What makes this album particularly special, though, is that it is one of the cleanest recordings by McDowell. McDowell, like Robert Pete Williams, had a tendancy to sound sloppy every once in a while. It is a small price to pay for the unique beauty of his music, but on this album, it isn't an issue. Hardly a note is out of place here, and unlike several of McDowell's early recordings, there are no side-musicians playing combs or doing anything to distract from the man himself. If you want to hear one of the greatest visionaries of the Mississippi bluesmen playing the songs that inspired him, this is the place to turn. -- Amazon.

Levee Camp Blues

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Mississippi Fred McDowell - Come And Found You Gone: The Bill Ferris Recordings

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 56:54
Size: 130.3 MB
Styles: Acoustic blues
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[2:08] 1. Big Fat Mama, Meat Shakin' On Her Bones
[1:45] 2. Shake 'em On Down
[2:03] 3. Baby Please Don't Go
[2:29] 4. Find My Suitcase
[3:31] 5. Letter From Hot Springs
[2:59] 6. John Henry
[2:45] 7. Hello Darling What Have I Done
[2:39] 8. Dream I Went To The Un
[2:03] 9. The Boogie
[3:03] 10. Little Red Rooster
[2:38] 11. Get Right Church
[2:24] 12. Death Came In
[2:30] 13. Dialogue
[3:51] 14. I Got Religion
[6:26] 15. Come And Found You Gone
[3:13] 16. Where Could I Go
[2:42] 17. You Gonna Meet King Jesus
[7:35] 18. Interview With Bill Ferris

“Mississippi” Fred McDowell was a legendary bluesman, and the master of the slide or “bottleneck” style. Extremely popular in his lifetime, Fred McDowell became a hero to blues enthusiasts worldwide, and his popularity has ballooned posthumously. No one has ever paralleled McDowell’s skill or style, as he used his bottleneck on the high strings to create a melody while constantly thrashing the open low strings to create a driving rhythm.

This release, the first from Devil Down Records, provides never before heard recordings of McDowell, and also include his wife Annie Mae, friend Napoleon Strickland (a legendary blues harmonica and fife player in his own right), and another unidentified musician. These recordings are different from any other of Fred McDowell due to their very nature: rather than conducted with the production of a record in mind, the recordings were made casually over the course of a night. McDowell is here heard at his best, relaxed and energetic, performing many of his most famous songs as well as songs never before recorded.

With McDowell's foot tapping on the hardwood floor and laughter in the background, “Come and Found You Gone” brings listeners into that night in August, 1967, immersing us in the world of the blues house party, and guiding us through the night as it unfolded.

Come And Found You Gone: The Bill Ferris Recordings mc
Come And Found You Gone: The Bill Ferris Recordings zippy

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Various - Blues With A Message

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 72:01
Size: 164.9 MB
Styles: Assorted blues
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[2:46] 1. Sam Chatman - I Have To Paint My Face
[3:50] 2. John Jackson - John Henry
[3:04] 3. Mercy Dee - Walked Down So Many Turn Rows
[3:37] 4. Mance Lipscomb - Tom Moore's Farm
[4:55] 5. Lightnin' Hopkins - Tom Moore's Blues
[5:13] 6. Lowell Fulson - River Blues
[5:31] 7. Mississippi Fred Mcdowell - Levee Camp Blues
[3:58] 8. Essie Jenkins - The 1919 Influenza Blues
[5:55] 9. Willie Eason - Why I Like Roosevelt
[2:59] 10. Doctor Ross - Little Soldier Boy
[5:09] 11. Robert Pete Williams - Prisoner's Talking Blues
[3:11] 12. Johnie Lewis - I Got To Climb A High Mountain
[4:41] 13. Herman E. Johnson - Depression Blues
[3:19] 14. Johnny Young & Big Walter Horton - Stockyard Blues
[3:26] 15. Juke Boy Bonner - What Will I Tell The Children
[2:55] 16. Juke Boy Bonner - It's Enough
[3:06] 17. Bee Houston - Things Gonna Get Better
[4:19] 18. Big Joe Williams - Back Home Blues

Blues With a Message isn't just about lost love and the toils of specific lives, the blues (particularly within the folk-blues traditions) spent some time dealing with sociopolitical issues on the side, primarily before the rise of electric blues. Here, Arhoolie has compiled a set of pieces related to a surprisingly large number of issues. Among them: Minstrel shows, the mechanization of cotton farming, and its related exodus to the North, sharecropping, segregation, the Korean War, the influenza epidemic, the New Deal, civil rights movements, Chicago employment opportunities -- all are given a song or two here. The music quality is roughly equivalent to many of the folk-blues recordings available, though the "big name" artists are largely absent from this one (Lightnin Hopkins does make an appearance singing about sharecropping, however). The songs are deliberately focused on the issues more than the music, but the music can still carry its soul. This one probably won't be on many highest-sales lists in the blues, but it's both historically important and musically enjoyable. ~Adam Greenberg

Blues With A Message mc
Blues With A Message zippy

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