Starting in the 1940s,
Folkways
made significant
blues
recordings, particularly of important artists who might not have had the easiest time getting or keeping contracts with more commercial labels, but still had something to say artistically. This 26-track compilation assembles material recorded between the 1940s and 1990s that showed up on various
releases. Unfortunately, the liner notes don't name the exact dates of all the recordings, but certainly the substantial majority of them predate 1970. These recordings were targeted toward a somewhat scholarly
folk revival
audience, and some might find them a little folky and gentle. Electric instruments barely appear at all (with the notable exception of the early
Chambers Brothers
cut
"Oh Baby, You Don't Have to Go"
), and there's little that's as rough as the average prewar
Delta blues
track. Yet overall, it's a good compilation of many major and minor mid-20th century
performers and styles. The bigger names include
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
(whose
"Old Jabo,"
with drums, almost verges on
Bo Diddley
-styled
rock & roll
),
Reverend Gary Davis
(represented by a 1957 version of his famous
"Candy Man"
Big Bill Broonzy
,
Memphis Slim
and
Willie Dixon
(performing together),
Lightnin' Hopkins
Leadbelly
Roosevelt Sykes
Son House
Champion Jack Dupree
Elizabeth Cotten
Lonnie Johnson
, and
Josh White
. While acoustic guitar
(including a
field recording
of
K.C. Douglas
'
"Mercury Blues,"
later covered by
Steve Miller
) gets a fair amount of airtime, so do
boogie
piano,
a cappella
singing (
Vera Hall
), and some actual
(
, from a 1942
). ~ Richie Unterberger