Century Blues

Chris Thomas King - The Legend of Tommy Johnson (2001) {21st Century Blues VE15156}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 331 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 116 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 29 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2001 21st Century Blues Records | VE15156
Blues / Country Blues / Modern Acoustic Blues

After his screen debut as bluesman Tommy Johnson in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Chris Thomas King released this ambitious concept album, which essentially tracks the history of country blues through to its electric blossoming in Chicago. Beginning a cappella and then working through covers of Tommy Johnson's "Canned Heat Blues" and Blind Willie Johnson's "Trouble Will Soon Be Over" mixed in with like-minded originals, King then plugs in and finishes with several Chicago-style electric numbers with a full band before closing out with his trademark post-Chicago approach. It's probably a bit more intriguing in concept than in actual execution, but the result is a pleasant and intelligent album.

20th Century Blues is a hard rockin' blues CD that was produced in 1994. The power trio on this CD consists of Robin Trower on guitar, Mayuyu on drums and Livingstone Brown on bass and vocals. Those familiar with Trower know that the vocal duties have primarily belonged to James Dewar and in his brief absence, a host of others including Trower, Davey Pattison and, as in this case, Livingstone Brown…

As the liner notes to this intriguing release tell, Faithfull had a long-simmering interest in German cabaret, particularly the work of Kurt Weill. It came fully to life via her role as Pirate Jenny in a staging of The Threepenny Opera in Dublin as translated by Frank McGuinness and her attendance at a workshop organized by Allen Ginsburg. After a series of initial performances with pianist Paul Trueblood, Faithfull took her revue of many classic songs from the mid-century, titled "An Evening in the Weimar Republic," to the road…