"They all begin and end with songs whose emotional contour is pretty, happy, light, peaceful, or ecstatic. But after the first two or three songs, the terrain gets rougher and darker, heavier and weirder. . . But then Bola gradually lightens up the spectrum of feeling and leads you out of the cave into the sunlight, and life is paradise." - John Fahey    

Grow Fins - Capt. Beefheart
The long-awaited Capt. Beefheart 5 CD box set release on Revenant!
Revenant remains "a glorified art project, a thesis gone awry,"  a five-disc set that is packaged more expensively than most major-label releases, in tribute to a cult figure who all but disappeared in the early '80s. "This started out as a labor of love, and I want it to stay that way," says Dean Blackwood, Fahey's partner and founder of Revenant Records.  "We've got other projects in the on-deck circle, but maybe after Beefheart we'll just decide that we blew our wad, we're done. And if that were to happen, I would still consider this a great success."

Blues and the Poetic Spirit by Paul Garon Independent Press Editor's Recommended Book  Paul Garon knows the blues, from the music itself to the poetry and psychology that are the impetus of its creation. The author of biographies of such blues icons as Peetie Wheatstraw and Memphis Minnie, Garon focuses on the social and political elements that have evolved the blues over the last several decades, exploring the blues as a "psychopoetic" contribution to American music and history. Included are rare photographs of blues musicians and the world they inhabit.

Chasin' The Devil's Music : Searching for the Blues
by Gayle Dean Wardlow

Comes with a CD of rare blues recordings attached in a sleeve inside the back page.
Tower Records' "Epulse" website, December 7, 1998:
"Clarifies information or solves mysteries regarding dozens of lesser-known musicians...a resonant breath of the real people whose lives came and went, leaving behind performances of beauty and power. The accompanying CD is a generous batch of rare recordings with interview excerpts interspersed."

The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music : Concise Edition
by Colin Larkin
A remarkable book for the money.  By including more than 3,000 entries, Larkin is able to cover far more than the usual laundry list of popular music performers. Thus, record producers and label founders can be found within the 1,344 pages of this volume, as well as many lesser known yet worthy performers.
 
 
 

American Magus Harry Smith : A Modern Alchemist
with a partial list of things he gathered 
Edited by Paola Igliori, Harry Smith

It is fascinating to me that this incredible book has not recieved a single review on Amazon.com. Filled with Smith's drawings, photographs and artwork, a treasuretrove of amazing stuff.  Bill Breeze, Rani Singh, Jordan Belson, Lionel Ziprin, Debbie Freeman, Jonas Mekas, Moe Asch, Rosebud, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Frank, John Cohen, Dr. Joe Gross, Jim Wasserman, Khem Caigan, Harvey Bialy, Henry Jones, Philip Smith, Kasoundra Kasoundra, Paola Igliori & Bill Morgan on Harry Smith.
 

Think of the Self Speaking: Harry Smith, Selected Interviews
by Harry Smith, Rani Singh (Editor), Darrin Daniel, Steve Creson (Introduction), Allen Ginsberg

This collection of interviews spans Harry Smith's long and influential life in American arts and letters. They cover a quarter-century, touching on the full range of Smith's activity as a groundbreaking experimental filmmaker, obsessive collector, folk music anthologist, visionary painter, student of Native American lore, anthropologist, cosmographer, alchemist, hermetic scholar, occultist, autodidact, classic American eccentric, and all-around explorer of the possibilities of human consciousness and creativity. Jordan Belson writes, "THINK OF THE SELF SPEAKING is the next best thing to being with Harry himself-perhaps better, certainly safer. The interviews are remarkably similar to his collage films. A brilliant mind unhinged." Includes an introduction by Allen Ginsberg.
 
 

Anthology Of American Folk Music Edited By Harry Smith
6CD set, the reissue of the 1952 Harry Smith Anthology.

If you do not own this yet, get it!  Enough said.  This is the collection for which John Fahey won a Grammy for Best Liner Notes in 1998.  An  original 1952 vinyl release. The Smithsonian's 6 CD reissue is painstakingly researched, annotated and packaged (even boasting an enhanced disc for the techno-capable). Unlike field recorders, eccentric filmmaker/collector/musicologist Harry Smith assembled the Anthology from commercially released (though obscure) 78 rpm discs issued between 1927 and 1935. Its broad scope--from country blues to Cajun social music to Appalachian murder ballads--was monumentally influential anyone with more than a passing interest in American roots music definitely should have this collection.
 

Invisible Republic : Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes
by Greil Marcus

From Kirkus Reviews , March 1, 1997
Ostensibly about the recordings Bob Dylan made in the house called ``Big Pink'' in upstate New York, in 1967, veteran rock critic Marcus's study in fact uses the tapes more as a departure point for an innovative view of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, and folklore in general in an attempt to show that it shaped Dylan's imagination and career.
 
 

  World Gone Wrong - Bob Dylan 
Dylan in the old style - with just himself, a harmonica, and an acoustic guitar singing traditional blues, occasionally blowing the  harmonica, he is in his element...Dylan delivers "Love Henry" as a funeral march and surrounds it with songs of similar sentiment. A modern acoustic blues classic. --Rob O'Connor

Good As I Been To You - Bob Dylan 
Rolling Stone (1/7/93)
...proves once again that Dylan can still be every bit as good as he's been to us in the past. Which is, of course, as good as it gets.
 
 

| Worthwhile Books | Harry Smith | Bob Dylan | Dock Boggs | American Primitive | Charley Patton | Skip James | Bill and Charlie Monroe |
| The Stanley Brothers | Mac Wiseman | Bukka White | Mississipi John Hurt | Uncle Dave Macon | Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Series |
| John Fahey |

Country Blues: Complete Early Recordings 

With his dark genius lauded by the literary likes of Greil Marcus in this compilation's accompanying 64-page hardcover booklet, Dock Boggs is remembered as a grim and tortured man who barely managed to save his soul with a banjo and a handful of songs. Originally recorded in the late 1920s, this collection illuminates the history of murder ballads like "Pretty Polly" from their origins in the English countryside to their more contemporary expressions (see "Polly" by Nirvana). While Boggs experienced popularity when these recordings were made, he retired from music for more than 30 years until being "rediscovered" in the early 1960s. Along with 12 classic Boggs performances, Country Blues includes five unreleased outtakes and four cuts with Dock as an instrumental sideman. --Mitch Myers

American Primitive, Vol. 1: Raw Pre-War Gospel (1926-36)


 
 
 

The Stanley Brothers Earliest Recordings,
on Rich-R-Tone -  a Revenant release containing the earliest Stanley recordings, pre-1950
Click here to see the rest of our Stanley Brothers CD picks.
 
 
 
 

| Worthwhile Books | Harry Smith | Bob Dylan | Dock Boggs | American Primitive | Charley Patton | Skip James | Bill and Charlie Monroe |
| The Stanley Brothers | Mac Wiseman | Bukka White | Mississipi John Hurt | Uncle Dave Macon | Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Series |
| John Fahey |

Charlie Patton and the Delta Blues

Founder of the Delta Blues - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Complete Recorded Works Vol.1
Also available in this series:
Complete Recorded Works Vol.2
Complete Recorded Works Vol.3
 
 
 
 

King of the Delta Blues CD not rated
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Life and Music of Charlie Patton
This book title is out of print. Although it is no longer available from the publisher, Amazon'll query their network of used bookstores for you and send an update within one to two weeks.  Calt remains mean-spirited toward Fahey with added intensity to what we saw in "I'd Rather be the Devil", Calt's book on the life of Skip James.  However, no one should ever take anything away from Gayle Wardlow's contribution to this one.
An Amazon reviewer writes:
Great research by Wardlow marred by Calt's poor presentation This book is fairly essential to those interested in the music of Patton and his contemporaries, as it is based on the comprehensive research on the subject by Gayle Dean Wardlow, research which is largely unavailable elsewhere. Unfortunately, Calt's presentation of this information is poor at best, and downright malicious at times. His writing is typically peppered with ad homien attacks at his subjects, and this book is no exception. The book is also in desperate need of thorough editing... one sometimes wonders how it got published at all. 

| Worthwhile Books | Harry Smith | Bob Dylan | Dock Boggs | American Primitive | Charley Patton | Skip James | Bill and Charlie Monroe |
| The Stanley Brothers | Mac Wiseman | Bukka White | Mississipi John Hurt | Uncle Dave Macon | Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Series |
| John Fahey |

The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James

Review from Amazon.com
With an unmistakable falsetto delivery, Skip James created some of history's eeriest blues records. His blues sounds dark and mysterious, using odd tunings, structures, and rhythms, and exploring gloomy lyrical themes. Unlike other bluesmen of the day, James's music was personal and bleak, played for his own emotional release and not for purposes of entertainment. "Devil Got My Woman," "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues," "Hard Luck Child," and "Special Rider Blues" convey sorrow and misery like few others can. Uptempo numbers such as the classic "I'm So Glad" and "Drunken Spree," which resembles the hillbilly traditional "Late Last Night," showcase his forceful guitar picking while rags "Little Cow and Calf" and the jumpy "How Long 'Buck'" feature his unique piano work. --Marc Greilsamer

Skip James on Document
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Vanguard Sessions 
Amazon.com Review
Best known as the composer of "I'm So Glad," covered by Cream on their famed debut album, James's distinctive falsetto vocal style and singular guitar technique made his 1931 recordings some of the most haunting Delta blues ever waxed. Long retired from music when be was located in 1964 by guitarists John Fahey and Canned Heat's Henry Vestine, James began performing again and recorded two highly acclaimed albums for Vanguard before his death in 1969. This collection features selections from both those works, as well as several previously unreleased tracks. It's a must for anyone curious about the many tributaries of the Delta tradition. Highlights here include, of course, "I'm So Glad," as well as the oft-covered "Catfish Blues" and "Special Rider Blues," and the otherworldly "Devil Got My Woman." --Billy Altman

I'd Rather be the Devil 
This book is out of print but well worth finding and reading.
Amazon offers used book searches.

Well researched but mean-spirited..
Stephen Calt obviously knows his stuff when it come to Delta blues. Regrettably, his spiteful and unneccessary attacks on fellow blues enthusiasts (John Fahey is a favorite target) and the apparent contempt he has for any white student of that genre detract from this otherwise darkly fascinating portrait of Skip James.
 
 
 

| Worthwhile Books | Harry Smith | Bob Dylan | Dock Boggs | American Primitive | Charley Patton | Skip James | Bill and Charlie Monroe |
| The Stanley Brothers | Mac Wiseman | Bukka White | Mississipi John Hurt | Uncle Dave Macon | Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Series |
| John Fahey |

1928 Sessions - Mississippi John Hurt 
Musician (2/97)
...stunningly beautiful recordings.  These first songs cut in the late 1920s represent Hurt in his youthful prime.  The 1928 recordings represent the greatest presentation of his melancholy voice and hypnotic guitar playing. --Percy Keegan
 
 

Best Of Mississippi John Hurt 
A mid-sixties live performance at Oberlin College.  Pretty darned wonderful - as they say, think how much better the world would be if mothers played John Hurt to their babies in the womb.
 
 
 
 

| Worthwhile Books | Harry Smith | Bob Dylan | Dock Boggs | American Primitive | Charley Patton | Skip James | Bill and Charlie Monroe |
| The Stanley Brothers | Mac Wiseman | Bukka White | Mississipi John Hurt | Uncle Dave Macon | Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Series |
| John Fahey |

Bill and Charlie Monroe

The Essential Bill Monroe & The Monroe Brothers

An essential recording
Despite both the historical importance and high quality of these 25 songs, this collection remains a bit vexing. For one, Bill recorded more than 60 tracks with older brother Charlie between 1936 and 1938, but only 9 appear here. In addition, their two best-known (and earliest) collaborations--"My Long Journey Home" and "What Would You Give in Exchange (For Your Soul)"--are omitted (they can be found at the beginning of the four-CD Music of Bill Monroe instead). The remaining 16 cuts focus on Bill's transitional banjoless "pregrass" recordings from 1940 and 1941, which offer hints--forceful mandolin picking, intricate harmonies--of the more-refined trademark sound to come. Note:  Monroe's "Muleskinner Blues" that you will hear here was the song that made Fahey decide he would become a professional musician. - Marc Greilsamer
 

The Music Of Bill Monroe 1936-1994 [BOX SET]
Amazon.com essential recording
It's the rare artist who virtually invents a genre single-handedly, and there's no artist in any genre whose work has remained as dominant a force as Bill Monroe. The songs here not only define bluegrass, they remain the core of any bluegrass band's repertoire. Monroe added a dose of sophistication to traditional hillbilly music--intricate group harmonies, expert musicianship--and he rehearsed his Blue Grass Boys for hours on end. MCA's lavish 4 CD set covers 60 years and 98 songs, adding detailed notes and anecdotes. Begins with 1936 duets with brother Charlie. --Marc Greilsamer

The Stanley Brothers

Stanley Brothers Complete Columbia Recordings 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Stanley Brothers Angel Band

Essential recording
After waxing their seminal Rich-R-Tone and Columbia recordings from 1947 to 1952, Carter and Ralph Stanley actually broke up their band, even joining Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys for a short stretch. By 1953, they were back recording for Mercury and continuing to fuse raw, mountain music with Monroe's urgent, propulsive style. When it comes to two-part bluegrass harmonies, the Stanleys are without question the pair to beat.
 

The Mac Wiseman Story
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mac Wiseman-The Early Dot Recordings

Mac Wiseman, the bluegrass legend with the extraordinary, beautiful voice is a delight.  Here are his best early works compliled on 2 CDs.
 
   

The Complete Bukka White
Amazon.com
Using the simplest melodies as his canvas, Delta bluesman Bukka White painted vivid pictures of his own life in the rural South, punctuating his words with a highly percussive steel-guitar attack. Among his subjects: trains, booze, sex, prison, and death. After shooting an old Mississippi rival during a roadside showdown, White had allegedly jumped bail to record his first two songs in 1937. The bawdy "Shake 'Em On Down" was a hit, but White spent two years in prison for his indiscretion. When White returned to Chicago in 1940 to record again, producer Lester Melrose rejected his roster of cover tunes, giving him two days to come up with his own material. Under the gun, White created the 10 autobiographical gems that round out this collection. --Marc Greilsamer

Go Long Mule 
Amazon.com
Born just five years after the Civil War in the beautifully named Smart Station, Tennessee, the Country Music Hall of Famer David Harrison Macon didn't even have a stage career until he was nearly 50 years old. A born showman, he soon became the Grand Ol' Opry's first bona-fide star, amusing audiences with antics like clogdancing, high kicking, and throwing his banjo into the air and passing it between his legs while continuing to play. Go Long Mule is vintage Dixie Dewdrop, showcasing his old-time clawhammer banjo on string band ensemble numbers like "Rock About Saro Jane" and "She's Got the Money, Too." One of country music's first and most influential stars, Macon continued to play the Grand Ol' Opry until just three weeks before his death at the age of 81.

Southern Journey, Vol. 2: Ballads And Breakdowns
- Songs From The Southern Mountains
Alan Lomax, Southern Journey (Rounder Series)

This Alan Lomax Southern Journey Series is comprised of 13 Vols, so numerous that it is recommended that you search the database for "Southern Journey" and see the many titles for yourself. They are all wonderful.  Songs of the past that would have been lost forever were it not for John and Alan Lomax spending years searching out the real American music in its most raw forms and making field recordings.
 

Southern Journey, Vol. 9: Harp Of A Thousand Strings - All Day Singing From The Sacred Harp
If you had to choose just one Sacred Harp disc to own, this would be it. Volume 10 in the Southern Journey series may have more fuguing selections, but this is the best overall for its startling, briskly recorded stereo sound--no mean feat for a field recording from 1959! In addition to songs like "Cussetta," the always great "Weeping Mary," and "Montgomery," there are snippets of testimonials and confessions placed throughout. So you get to hear Harp singer Joyce Smith declare, "A lot of times a preacher will get up and preach and it don't seem like it has any effect on anybody. But you let a band of God's children get together and get to singing--people's gonna feel it." --Mike McGonigal
   

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