Delta Blues [Biograph]

by Son House

Overview

This single-disc set collects Son House's Library of Congress sessions for Alan Lomax in 1940 and 1941, and House's huge rasping voice and vibrant slide guitar style are everywhere here, both on the solo selections and on a handful of African-American string band pieces that find friends Leroy Williams (harmonica), Fiddlin' Joe Martin (mandolin), and Willie Brown (guitar) lending a hand. These intimate field recordings, which were tracked at Clack's Store near Cormorant, Mississippi, combined with House's complete Paramount recordings from 1930, which amounted to three brilliant double-sided 78s ("My Black Mama," "Preachin' the Blues," and "Dry Spell Blues"), form the true heart of House's recorded legacy, since his rediscovery sides for Columbia in the '60s catch him, quite honestly, with diminishing powers. Catfish Records got it exactly right by combining everything here with House's powerfully dynamic Paramount 78s for 2000s Preachin' the Blues collection, and it remains the only truly essential Son House purchase. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	07/15/2003
Label:	Shout! Factory / Biograph
UPC:	0826663017021
Rank:	130807

Tracks

1. Delta Blues
2. Government Fleet Blues
3. Walking Blues
4. Shetland Pony Blues
5. Levee Camp Blues
6. Special Rider Blues
7. Low Down Dirty Dog Blues
8. Depot Blues
9. American Defense
10. Am I Right or Wrong
11. Walking Blues
12. Country Farm Blues
13. The Pony Blues
14. The Jinx Blues
15. The Jinx Blues

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Son House   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar
Eddie James House, Jr.   Vocals,Guitar
Fiddlin' Joe Martin   Mandolin
Willie Brown   Guitar
Leroy Williams   Harmonica

Technical Credits

Barbara Caplin   Liner Notes
J.D. Short   Performer
Son House   Performer,Composer
Alan Caplin   Art Direction
Arnold S. Caplin   Producer
Michael Donaldson   Engineer