The Sonet Blues Story

Booker White (his name was misspelled on the label for Shake 'Em on Down when it was issued on Vocalion in 1937, and it stuck) turned his vigorous guitar style, heavy voice, and considerable songwriting abilities into 20 classic blues tracks between 1930 and 1940. Then, following a last session for Vocalion in 1940 when he recorded the striking and passionate group of songs on which his reputation rests (including the ultimately revelatory "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues"), White effectively dropped off the public radar. Until 1963, that is, when graduate students and blues fans John Fahey and Ed Denson sent a letter addressed to "Bukka White, Old Blues Singer, c/o General Delivery, Aberdeen, MS," in an effort to locate the man who had recorded a 78 rpm called "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues" some 20 years earlier…

Booker White (his name was misspelled on the label for Shake 'Em on Down when it was issued on Vocalion in 1937, and it stuck) turned his vigorous guitar style, heavy voice, and considerable songwriting abilities into 20 classic blues tracks between 1930 and 1940. Then, following a last session for Vocalion in 1940 when he recorded the striking and passionate group of songs on which his reputation rests (including the ultimately revelatory "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues"), White effectively dropped off the public radar. Until 1963, that is, when graduate students and blues fans John Fahey and Ed Denson sent a letter addressed to "Bukka White, Old Blues Singer, c/o General Delivery, Aberdeen, MS," in an effort to locate the man who had recorded a 78 rpm called "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues" some 20 years earlier. Amazingly, the letter actually reached White, who was still alive, although he had since moved from Mississippi to Memphis. The two budding blues scholars rushed to Memphis to meet him, recording the songs found on this collection one afternoon in the singer's room. These historic recordings. released as The Sonet Blues Story, reveal that White's robust guitar playing and his gruff, thundering voice had lost none of their vitality in the intervening years, and the bluesman delivers impassioned versions of some of his key tunes, including "Shake 'Em on Down," and the song that led to his rediscovery, "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues." White even takes a surprisingly nimble turn at the piano for "Drunk Man Blues." These sessions were originally released on Fahey's Takoma label, and although White went on to do other recording dates for small labels, he never sounded quite this intimate and impassioned again. The only minor complaint about this reissue is that the haunting version of "When Can I Change My Clothes" included here is mislabeled as "Parchman Farm Blues." Blues historian Samuel Charters eventually included these recordings in his Legacy of the Blues series, which in turn were released by a small Stockholm jazz and blues label founded in the '50s called Sonet Records. Listeners should start with White's stunning 1940 sides to get a real sense of this powerful musician, but these initial rediscovery tracks are only a notch or two less combustive, and are easily the best of White's later years. - Steve Leggett (AMG)

Recorded in London in 1971, this is Champion Jack Dupree with a small group of unknown British blues musicians. Sonet, begun in the '50s as a company to issue and distribute American jazz records in Sweden, had grown considerably by 1970. They approached blues historian and documentarian Samuel Charters to produce blues records for them – Charters, who had done blues records in the '60s, had been producing rock artists at the time. Nonetheless, this Sonet Blues Story session is 15 tunes strong and presented here in 24-bit remastered glory. Dupree is playing piano and singing, with Hughie Flint on drums, bassist Benny Gallagher, guitarist Peter Curtley, and harmonica player Paul Rowan. Dupree is in amazing form here. His playing is brilliant, deep in-the-pocket, carrying much of his native, New Orleans stride in his style. Curtley is a little busy and high in the mix, but it's clearly Dupree who carries the day. The two takes of "Vietnam Blues," are both high points on the set, and the bonus tracks – four of them – are truly bonuses, rounding out a loose, powerful set where Dupree is clearly enjoying himself. - Thom Jurek (AMG)

Recorded in London in 1971, this is Champion Jack Dupree with a small group of unknown British blues musicians. Sonet, begun in the '50s as a company to issue and distribute American jazz records in Sweden, had grown considerably by 1970. They approached blues historian and documentarian Samuel Charters to produce blues records for them - Charters, who had done blues records in the '60s, had been producing rock artists at the time. Nonetheless, this Sonet Blues Story session is 15 tunes strong and presented here in 24-bit remastered glory. Dupree is playing piano and singing, with Hughie Flint on drums, bassist Benny Gallagher, guitarist Peter Curtley, and harmonica player Paul Rowan. Dupree is in amazing form here. His playing is brilliant, deep in-the-pocket, carrying much of his native, New Orleans stride in his style…

Mighty Joe Young (Young was using the name well before the movie of the same name was released) arrived on the Chicago blues scene from Louisiana a bit late in the game and never really received the critical attention he deserved. Add in health problems related to a pinched nerve in his neck, and Young's solo recording dates were relatively few (he was, however, an active sideman, working for a time as Otis Rush's rhythm guitarist) given his obvious talent as an electric guitarist and as a strong and sturdy vocalist. This solid set, The Sonet Blues Story, was tracked in Chicago in 1972 and was originally released as part of Samuel Charters' Legacy of the Blues series on the Stockholm-based Sonet Records imprint…

Mighty Joe Young (Young was using the name well before the movie of the same name was released) arrived on the Chicago blues scene from Louisiana a bit late in the game and never really received the critical attention he deserved. Add in health problems related to a pinched nerve in his neck, and Young's solo recording dates were relatively few (he was, however, an active sideman, working for a time as Otis Rush's rhythm guitarist) given his obvious talent as an electric guitarist and as a strong and sturdy vocalist. This solid set, The Sonet Blues Story, was tracked in Chicago in 1972 and was originally released as part of Samuel Charters' Legacy of the Blues series on the Stockholm-based Sonet Records imprint. It features Young with the rhythm section from his club band at the time: Sylvester Boines on bass and Alvino Bennett on drums, along with Chicago session pianist Bob Reidy, and horn men Charles Beechham (trumpet) and Walter Hambrick (tenor sax). Together they produce a classic South Side sound. Highlights include the elegantly done opener, "Rock Me Baby," a solid cover of Percy Mayfield's "Baby, Please," and a pair of horn-augmented gems, the instrumental soul piece "Just a Minute" and the blues/R&B blend of "Lookin' for You." Nothing here is too flashy, but that ends up being part of the charm. - Steve Leggett (AMG)

The career of blues legend Big Joe Williams stretches back to the Mississippi Delta of the 1930s and continues up through the 1980s. THE SONET BLUES STORY captures Williams performing in Sweden in 1972. Though not exactly in his prime,Williams plays with his usual boisterous spirit, reeling off classic acoustic Delta blues with a raw, propulsive edge. With only his stomping foot for rhythmic accompaniment, Williams and his guitar offer up a deep, riveting set.

The career of blues legend Big Joe Williams stretches back to the Mississippi Delta of the 1930s and continues up through the 1980s. The Sonet Blues Story captures Williams performing live in Sweden in 1972. Though not exactly in his prime, Williams plays with his usual boisterous spirit, reeling off classic acoustic Delta blues with a raw, propulsive edge. With only his stomping foot for rhythmic accompaniment, Williams and his guitar offer up a deep, riveting set. Informative liner notes by musical historian Samuel Charters round out the package.

Very little recorded material exists of Delta bluesman J.D. Short. He only recorded two sessions in the early '30s for Paramount and Vocalion, then quickly faded into obscurity, making this edition of The Sonet Blues Story such a welcome reissue. Thanks to music historian Samuel Charters, Short was recorded at his transplanted home base of St. Louis in 1961 while Charters was passing through the area making similar field recordings of Henry Townsend, Barrelhouse Buck Edith North Johnson, Henry Brown, and Daddy Hotcakes. Charters returned a year later in 1962 to shoot some footage for a documentary film. These ten cuts were recorded mainly in the kitchen of Short's ghetto home, performing informally with acoustic guitar and harmonica. Short played original material, some of which had been handed down to him during his childhood, notably "Slidin' Delta," which he claimed to have first heard in 1907, while other tunes were built around existing themes like "By the Spoonful," and "Make Me Down a Pallet." Although it's impossible to detect, a few months after the 1962 session J.D. Short unexpectedly passed away at the age of 60. Luckily, fans of unfettered country blues can include this gem in their collections. - Al Campbell (AMG)

This killer little set features the great Earl King doing what he does best, playing R&B-oriented blues and jump tunes. Recorded in 1977 for the Sonet label - a label that imported American blues greats to play with British and European session players - this volume is ragged but right. There is an exercise in funky blues on "Trick Bag." But it's the more driving, soul-oriented tunes that work best, as evidenced by "Always a First Time," "Time for That Sun to Rise," and "The Picnic's On."