My Rough and Rowdy Ways, Vol. 2

by MY ROUGH & ROWDY WAYS 2 / VARIO

Overview

My Rough and Rowdy Ways, Vol. 2 features 23 songs from the '30s about badmen and hellraisers, by artists ranging from legends like Uncle Dave Macon, Mississippi John Hurt, and Big Bill Broonzy to obscure music pioneers like George Reneau and groups like the Haywood County Ramblers. The mix of white, country, and black, blues artists is one of the better in this series, the music meshing together to form a kind of audio panorama of story-songs dealing with life on the far side of law and order -- "Otto Wood the Bandit" by the Carolina Buddies, (aka Odell Smith [fiddle] and Norman Woodlief [guitar]), segues into Mississippi John Hurt's "Frankie," followed by Uncle Dave Macon's rip-roaring banjo workout "Railroadin' and Gamblin'" (anyone seeking a track that defines Macon's claw-hammer style of banjo playing need look no further than this cut). Among the too little heard bluesmen featured here are Sloppy Henry ("Canned Heat Blues") and Peg Leg Howell ("Skin Game Blues"), who also plays on Henry's cut, and Robert Wilkins, whose "Old Jim Canan's" features a superb guitar duet between the singer and Little Son Joe, later the husband of Memphis Minnie. Country highlights include Georgia based fiddle wildman Earl Johnson ("Nobody's Business") and George Reneau's "Jesse James," which features singing by future star crooner Gene Austin. Yazoo has done a generally good job of remastering these cuts, so the sound on most of it (David Miller's "That Bad Man Stackolee" and Uncle Dave Macon's "Late Last Night When Willie Come Home" are the big exceptions) holds together at a decent volume without any excessive artificial processing or distracting noise. The only drawback is the booklet, which is extremely confusing, since it refers extensively to artists and material on Vol. 1 of this collection, a separate CD. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	10/20/1998
Label:	Yazoo
UPC:	0016351204028
Rank:	85724

Tracks

1. Cocaine
2. Otto Wood the Bandit
3. Frankie
4. Railroadin' and Gamblin'
5. That Bad Man Stackolee
6. Canned Heat Blues
7. Ain't Nobody's Business
8. Skin Game Blues
9. Late Last Night When My Willie Came Home
10. Dice's Blues
11. Sailing Out on the Ocean
12. Louisville Burglar
13. Old Jim Canan's
14. Billy the Kid
15. Georgia Black Bottom
16. Ethan Lang
17. The Wrong Road
18. Wild Bill Jones
19. Bad Man Napper
20. Jesse James
21. My Rough and Rowdy Ways
22. Good Liquor Gonna Carry Me Down
23. This Train

Album Credits

Performance Credits

David Miller   Primary Artist
Garland Jubilee Singers   Primary Artist
The Georgia Crackers   Primary Artist
Earl Johnson   Primary Artist
Hall Brothers Jazz Band   Primary Artist
Bill Cox   Primary Artist
Dick Justice   Primary Artist
Lee Green   Primary Artist
Emry Arthur   Primary Artist
Bob Campbell   Primary Artist
Sam McGee   Primary Artist
Mississippi John Hurt   Primary Artist
Big Bill Broonzy   Primary Artist
Peg Leg Howell   Primary Artist
The Hickory Nuts   Primary Artist
Sloppy Henry   Primary Artist
Robert Wilkins   Primary Artist
Eva Davis   Primary Artist
The Hall Brothers   Primary Artist
Uncle Dave Macon   Primary Artist
Haskell Wolfenbarger   Primary Artist
The Carolina Buddies   Primary Artist
Leothus Lee Green   Primary Artist
Vernon Dalhart   Primary Artist
Earl Johnson & His Dixie Entertainers   Primary Artist
George Reneau   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Joan Pelosi   Design
Charles K. Wolfe   Liner Notes
Richard Nevins   Compilation Producer,Remastering
Dick Justice   Performer
Emry Arthur   Performer
Porter Grainger   Composer
Everett Robbins   Composer
Big Bill Broonzy   Performer,Composer
Sam McGee   Performer
Don Kent   Liner Notes
Uncle Dave Macon   Performer
The Carolina Buddies   Performer
Earl Johnson   Performer
Bill Cox   Performer
Bob Campbell   Performer
Traditional   Composer
T. J. Amall   Composer
The Hickory Nuts   Performer
Haskell Wolfenbarger   Performer
Rev. Gary Davis   Composer
Mississippi John Hurt   Performer,Composer
Vernon Dalhart   Performer
Peg Leg Howell   Performer,Composer
Anthony Bucher   Composer
Robert Wilkins   Performer