Review:

on 2011-03-04 CharlesMartel Said:

Go on, give it a go. The blues is where it all came from. Go listen to this. OK, there is no Robert Johnson on here; no Son House; no Charlie Patton. There is not enough John Lee Hooker, not enough Muddy Waters. There is no Willie Dixon or Howlin' Wolf either. I think that perhaps there ought to be a volume 2 of this to fill in the gaps and omissions in the history of the Blues left by this album.

In fact, if there is one major flaw with this album, it is that it lacks any real examples from the pre-war delta blues singers who were the precursors for almost all modern music today. Now that is something which is really quite some omission if you are attempting a blues anthology. But then, this is not named "The History of the Blues" or anything like that, so this doesn't purport to be either a complete or a historical record. Just some damn good blues music.

Truth is, this four CD boxed set cannot hope to satisfy everyone. So start with it. See if the electric Chicago Blues is your taste. If it is, go find some white man's blues rock. If not, well what about Texas Blues. Eventually you will find something you like. You will be introduced to it here. A lot of the tracks are recorded live, which is after all the setting where the blues is best performed and best listened to.

But don't look for the authoritative statement on the blues on this album. A four CD boxed set cannot give anything more than a cursory introduction to the blues, apart from the aforementioned omission of a lot of delta blues. Perhaps that is because a lot of the early stuff, especially the delta blues, is of such poor sound quality that it would not be included onto a compilation in the modern era. As a result, most of the stuff here is the electric Chicago blues which most people these days associate and think defines the Blues.

And there is some fine stuff here. Louisiana Red offers some of the highlights, along with a couple of damn good rocking numbers by U.P. Wilson. The list of artists with contributions on here is immense and reads like a roll call of modern blues - two tracks from Luther Allison; three from Billy Boy Arnold; two from King Curtis; two from Paul Delay; four from Buddy Guy; three from Earl Hooker; three from John Lee Hooker; two from King Biscuit Boy; three from Louisiana Red; two from Buddy Reed; two from Jimmy Reed; two from Fenton Robinson; three from Byther Smith; two from Sunnyland Slim; three from Tommy Tucker; five from Muddy Waters; and three from U.P. Wilson, as well a host of others who contributed single tracks.

What is most noticeable perhaps are the three numbers here by the Les Wilson and the Mighty Houserockers. Really, this stuff should have been left out. This is white man's blues and slips just that side of blues as opposed to rock. The stand out feature about it is the vocals - they are sung with so little depth and feeling. Blues came from the heart and the white man really wasn't able to capture the same raw emotion as those who had been through the tough times. Now therein lies a lesson for anyone wanting to make their own music - make it from the heart, your own heart, and don't try to copy others.
Rating: 7/10