Don't Let Your Deal Go Down

by John Jackson

Overview

Twenty-six tracks running over 70 minutes, recorded by John Jackson between 1965 and 1969 and featuring the rural blues legend at the very top of his form on vocals, guitar, and even banjo on one instrumental ("If Hattie Wants to Lu, Let Her Lu Like a Man"). Jackson's repertory here includes standards like "John Henry" (in one of the most exciting versions ever done, with some killer slide) and "Muleskinner Blues," established parts of other bluesmen's repertories (Blind Boy Fuller's "Rattlesnakin' Daddy," Blind Arthur Blake's "Police Dog Blues" and "Early Morning Blues"), as well as originals, such as the dazzling acoustic pyrotechnic displays on "John's Rag," "Graveyard Blues," and "Knife Blues" (the latter a slide guitar showcase worth the price of the disc by itself), and adaptations of popular songs ("Blind Blake's Rag," which borrows at one point from "Has Anybody Seen My Gal"). Good as his playing is, Jackson's singing is also to be admired, as his baritone voice surges with a quiet power and forcefulness, and a rich tone -- "Boats Up the River," a children's song adapted from various traditional sources, is probably the vocal standout on this collection. The fidelity is excellent, these being modern recordings, and overall this CD is the best single overview of John Jackson's music, its value enhanced by the presence of detailed notes that have been updated to the 1990s. It's records like this that humble lots of young white bluesmen. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	12/01/1993
Label:	ARHOOLIE RECORDS
UPC:	0096297037829

Tracks

1. Going Down in Georgia on a Horn
2. Black Snake Moan
3. John Henry
4. If Hattie Wants to Lu, Let Her Lu Like a Man
5. Nobody's Business But My Own
6. John's Rag
7. Boat's Up the River
8. Rattlesnakin' Daddy
9. Flat Foot and Buck Dance
10. Bear Cat Blues
11. Reuben
12. Rocks and Gravel
13. Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad
14. Police Dog Blues
15. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down
16. Mule Skinner Blues
17. I Bring My Money
18. John's Ragtime
19. Red River Blues
20. Knife Blues
21. Trucking Little Baby
22. Blind Blake's Rag
23. Goodbye Booze
24. Graveyard Blues
25. Early Morning Blues
26. You Ain't No Woman

Album Credits

Performance Credits

John Jackson   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Banjo
Mike Seeger   Guest Artist,Guitar

Technical Credits

John Jackson   Arranger,Composer
Mike Seeger   Engineer
Chris Strachwitz   Engineer,Producer,Cover Photo,Photography
Public Domain   Composer
Wayne Pope   Design,Cover Art
Chuck Perdue   Liner Notes
Traditional   Composer