Description
DISC ONE
RESTORED & REMASTERED
The Library of congress sessions 1941 and 1942
Recorded at Klack’s Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi between 24th & 31st August 1941
1.Levee Camp Blues
2.Government Fleet Blues
3.Walking Blues
4.Shetland Pony Blues
5.Fo’ Clock Blues
6.Camp Hollers
7.Delta Blues
Recorded in Robinsonville , Mississippi, on 17th July 1942
8.Special Rider Blues (Test)
9.Special Rider Blues
10.Low Down Dirty Dog Blues
11.Depot Blues
12.Alan Lomax talking
13.American Defense
14.Am I Right Or Wrong
15.Walking Blues
16.County Farm Blues
17.The Pony Blues
18.The Jinx Blues – part 1
19.The Jinx Blues – part 2
rec. by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress
DISC TWO
The Complete PARAMOUNT Recordings May 28th 1930 Grafton Wisconsin
RESTORED & REMASTERED
1.Dry Spell Blues Part 1
2.Dry Spell Blues Part 2
3.Preachin’ the Blues Part 1
4.Preachin’ the Blues Part 1
5.My Black Mama Part 1
6.My Black Mama Part 2
7.Clarksdale Moan ( B side to Mississippi Blues )
8.Mississippi County Farm Blues
9.Walking Blues
•The Complete Son House Recordings from his early pre war days before his re-discovery in the early sixties
•Restored & Re mastered from rare original 78 records of which only 1 0r 2 copies still exist today.
•The next record House cut was 23 years later in 1965
•Includes Son House pre-war years essay by noted writer Dick Porter
Design By Les Moanin’ Clark
gordon (verified owner) –
At long last! A complete early Son House collection to add to my other early blues collections such as Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson and Skip James. Yes it was only in 2005 that the last Son House Paramount record (Clarksdale Moan) was discovered. This is a "must have" collection for lovers of early blues. It is definitely in my "top ten" list. The presentation and the sound quality are excellent.
erik steevens (verified owner) –
Eddy ‘Son’ House is a remarkable guitarist and singer songwriter and this album proves it all, knowing that the recordings are recorded between 1930 & 1942 doesn’t bother the authentic value of it, because although the sound is better than ever time didn’t have made these recordings ‘old fashioned’, they still have a great value for anyone who loves the blues
liz jones (verified owner) –
Very early sound recordings raw and fresh sounding. Well worth a listen – wish I had bought it on vinyl though to get into the era
john m wilson prt1 (verified owner) –
Easy Action Records/The Devil’s Tunes have done a great service for blues lovers by releasing this stunning 2-CD set of 1930s and 40s music. I have been waiting for several years for someone to produce a compilation of all known early Son House material and am very impressed by this new release. The tracks are Mississippi Blues of the highest standard. One CD brings together all nine tracks recorded for Paramount Records, and this is the first time that the recently found copy of Pm13096 Clarksdale Moan/Mississippi County Farm Blues has appeared alongside the other Paramount material. This rarest-of-rare 78s was available on two other multi-artist compilations, but collectors have had a bit of a wait to hear all the nine Paramount tracks together. Sound quality is good on this CD with some of the hiss removed from the original 78s without losing all the dynamics of the vocals and guitar work of the early recordings.
john m wilson prt 2 (verified owner) –
. I compared the three two-part tracks My Black Mama, Preachin’ the Blues and Dry Spell Blues with my vinyl album versions on Origin Jazz Library 2, 5 and 11 and there are clear gains in sound quality. But for me, just to hear the unissued Walking Blues followed by Pm13096 for the first time is a revelation. It becomes so clear to me that Son House is the musical link between Charley Patton and Robert Johnson – he was a contemporary of Patton, with some overlaps in style, but his own style is the foundation of what was to come a few years later from Johnson.
john m wilson prt3 (verified owner) –
The other CD brings together all the 1940s field recordings Alan Lomax made of Son House. Five tracks are new to me in the set of 19 as they did not appear on the Roots RSE-1 vinyl album of the Lomax tracks issued while the artist was still alive, though all 19 have been available on other CD sets. Again sound quality has been improved on from the vinyl days without loss of atmosphere – for instance Shetland Pony Blues was quite scratchy on vinyl, but is now much less so on the CD. The set of 19 recordings mixes some fragments and outtakes with generously long performances such as the rolling Government Fleet Blues which stretches to over six minutes, in keeping with Son House recordings and powerful live performances from the 1960s when he broke from the earlier confines of 3 minute long recordings. Interestingly RSE-1 was released `after exclusive contractual agreement with Mr Eddie "Son" House’. No such claims for the new CD!
john m wilson prt4 (verified owner) –
Although over 10 years elapsed between the Paramount and the field recordings, Son retained the power to overwhelm the listener with his singing and playing. The final two tracks on the CD – The Jinx Blues Parts 1 & 2 – are outstanding and sum up why Son House was such an important bluesman.
The CD set is well-presented with good artwork and a helpful booklet. In keeping with current trends, the 1930s tracks are also being made available as a vinyl album. In whichever form you buy the tracks you are in for a treat.