The Sonet Blues Story

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."

Like several of the black jazz and blues players of his generation, pianist Eddie Boyd, tired of the racism in America and the general treatment afforded musicians, moved permanently to Europe in the mid-'60s, where labels like Sweden's Sonet Records were more than happy to record him. The session presented here took place in Stockholm in 1974, and features Boyd on piano and vocals performing original blues numbers backed by young Swedish players (and one American, Ed Thigpen, on drums), and while things don't have the powerful edge of a classic Chicago Chess Records session, it's close, and there is a charmingly loose and fluid feel working here, one that is perfect for the kind of easy, almost elegant blues that was Boyd's stock in trade…

Like several of the black jazz and blues players of his generation, pianist Eddie Boyd, tired of the racism in America and the general treatment afforded musicians, moved permanently to Europe in the mid-'60s, where labels like Sweden's Sonet Records were more than happy to record him. The session presented here took place in Stockholm in 1974, and features Boyd on piano and vocals performing original blues numbers backed by young Swedish players (and one American, Ed Thigpen, on drums), and while things don't have the powerful edge of a classic Chicago Chess Records session, it's close, and there is a charmingly loose and fluid feel working here, one that is perfect for the kind of easy, almost elegant blues that was Boyd's stock in trade. Things get off to a great start with the opener, "Lovesick Soul," and pretty much stay at the level through the set, with the impressive "Tell the Truth," the bubbling "Dedicated to My Baby" (an alternate version is added as a bonus track), and the refreshingly arranged "Zip Code" (which allows Boyd to cut loose on piano a little bit) being among the clear highlights. At his best, Boyd delivered a kind of light, airy, and transcendent version of the blues, one that featured as much hope as misery, and this set is a perfect example of his unique approach. - Steve Leggett (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." - Thom Jurek (AMG)

Among the last of the great old country blues players discovered in the '60s, Robert Pete Williams was easily the most unique. His ragged griot approach to the blues paid little attention to standard rhymes or blues forms, allowing him to spin personalized stories of tremendous emotional power, even when he was working off of traditional pieces, and his songs take on the feel of a nakedly open journal. The recordings collected here were originally released as part of Samuel Charters' Legacy of the Blues series in 1973, and they carry an incredible intimacy, like all of Williams' work. They also feature some beautiful and ghostly acoustic slide guitar playing, a skill Williams picked up from his friend and fellow blues festival performer Mississippi Fred McDowell. Two songs in particular from this set encapsulate Williams' unique approach to country blues, the riveting and autobiographical "Angola Penitentiary Blues" and the beautifully poetic "You're My All Day Steady and My Midnight Dream," which, even though it makes use of stock blues lines, manages to be a deeply personal song that is every bit as haunting as it is lovely. Williams' songs are so eccentrically his that it is difficult to imagine anyone else doing them, and there is no more singular performer in the history of the country blues. Harry Oster's 1961 field recordings of Williams, Angola Prisoner's Blues, if you can find it, would be a logical place to start exploring Williams' body of work, but everything he recorded has the same insular intimacy, and this set is as good as any other in demonstrating this one of a kind bluesman's fascinating appeal. - Steve Leggett (AMG)

Lightnin' Hopkins recorded so often and for so many labels that it's easy to get lost in it all, and there is virtually no such thing as the perfect Hopkins album. He did his thing each time out, whether acoustic or electric, solo or with a band, half improvising his lyrics over a small assortment of different blues shuffles, shifting chords and gears seemingly at whim (which made him frequently difficult to accompany, even for the sharpest session player). His tough, Texas take on the country blues, though, and his penchant for off the wall themes and lyrics, made Hopkins an utterly unique bluesman, and if he seems to be pulling the same rabbit out of the same hat time and time again, he somehow managed to make it seem like a new trick each time. This extremely loose set was recorded in Houston in 1974 and was originally released as part of Samuel Charters' Legacy of the Blues series that same year…

Like many of the black blues and jazz musicians of his generation, Memphis Slim found both an audience and a home in Europe for the last 20-plus years of his life, basing himself in Paris beginning in 1962 and remaining there until his death in 1988. In that span he recorded an astounding 50 or so albums, not including the various recordings of his live performances that still continue to surface. While it could be argued that his peak years were in the '40s and '50s, the recordings he made in the last third of his life were incredibly intimate and frank, and he didn't shy away from addressing racial and social injustice in the later songs, even while he kept his blues performances smooth and accessible. This fine set, recorded in New York in 1967 on one of his U.S. tours, is a case in point…

Like many of the black blues and jazz musicians of his generation, Memphis Slim found both an audience and a home in Europe for the last 20-plus years of his life, basing himself in Paris beginning in 1962 and remaining there until his death in 1988. In that span he recorded an astounding 50 or so albums, not including the various recordings of his live performances that still continue to surface. While it could be argued that his peak years were in the '40s and '50s, the recordings he made in the last third of his life were incredibly intimate and frank, and he didn't shy away from addressing racial and social injustice in the later songs, even while he kept his blues performances smooth and accessible. This fine set, recorded in New York in 1967 on one of his U.S. tours, is a case in point. Slim sounds warm, assured, and often pointedly poignant on songs like the majestic "Freedom" and the direct and honest "I Am the Blues." He blasts loose at the piano for the barrelhouse "Broadway Boogie," then coasts warmly through the bubbling "A Long Time Gone." On the marvelous "Ballin' the Jack" he hits a light, swinging groove that isn't so much blues or jazz but a simple, elegant mixture of the two, given atmosphere by Eddie Chamblee's tenor sax and Billy Butler's sleek guitar. Slim recorded so much that it is difficult to say exactly when he was at his best, since he was always professional and solid, but this set is undeniably special, featuring Slim doing his thing backed by a fine band, and listeners will definitely get a feel here for the measure of the man. - Steve Leggett (AMG)