Label: JSP Records.
Release Date: August 12, 2003.
Recording Time: 324 minutes.
Release Info: JSPCD 7714, Compilation Studio Recording.
Recording Date: July, 1926 - June, 1932.
Styles: Pre-War Country Blues, Country Blues.
As with many comprehensive pre-1940s blues sets, especially those devoted to artists who recorded on the old Paramount label, the five-CD All the Published Sides set is both a godsend and a study in frustration. Paramount wasn't known for its high-quality pressings when it was in business, and its bankruptcy in the early '30s and the destruction of its masters completed the picture, as far as sound quality. That said, this set is a modest improvement over Document Records' various Blind Blake CD issues of the late '80s, as well as being significantly cheaper; there's still plenty of noise on some of the tracks, and even the third version of "West Coast Blues" -- the best-sounding side on disc one -- contains some minor noise and slight distortion. This pattern is repeated throughout the 110 sides, very clean-sounding 78s juxtaposed with what must be the most abominable condition sources imaginable. Nowhere is this more frustrating than what ought to be a highlight of the entire set, "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 1" and "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 2," pairing the almost primordial bluesman Papa Charlie Jackson with Blake -- yet neither side is in good enough shape to yield more than the most minimally audible playing and vocals; it's just possible to make use of that material, and it is followed by two wonderfully clean-sounding sides featuring Blake and "Chocolate Brown" Irene Scruggs, on which every nuance of his playing can be heard, and then two more that are in wretched shape. Those wildly variable tracks, however, pale next to the dazzling displays of music dexterity that pour out of Blake's fingers and off of his guitar -- he may well have been one of the great virtuoso talents of the 20th century, as you're reminded constantly on these CDs -- and his nearly as impressive vocal skills. The annotation is reasonably thorough if a bit repetitive; there's just not that much known about Blake's life or career -- the producers do appreciate the significance of such matters as his momentary move toward gospel music on "Beulah Land," and provide plenty about his occasional sidemen and collaborators, but basically this set is a lot like his whole legacy, brimming over with talent supported by precious little information. ~ Bruce Eder
Credits: Jimmy Bertrand - slide whistle, vocals, wood block, xylophone; Annalisa Blake - composer; Blind Blake - composer, guitar, harmonica, primary artist, vocals; Jimmy Blythe - piano; Gus Cannon - banjo; Ray Davies - composer; Althea Dickerson - piano; Johnny Dodds - clarinet; Bertha Henderson - vocals; Papa Charlie Jackson - banjo, speech/speaker/speaking part, vocals; Louis Jordan - composer; Drew Kent - liner notes; Nelson's Paramount Serenaders - kazoo; Tiny Parham - piano; Squire Parsons - composer; Public Domain - composer; Alex Robinson - piano; Elzadie Robinson - vocals; Jimmie Rodgers - composer; Laura Rucker - vocals; Irene Scruggs - vocals; Charlie Spand - piano; Traditional - composer; George "Bullet" Williams - harmonica; Leola B. Wilson - vocals.
Tracks, Disc 1: 1) Dying Blues; 2) Ashley St Blues; 3) Early Morning Blues; 4) West Coast Blues; 5) West Coast Blues; 6) West Coast Blues; 7) Early Morning Blues; 8) Early Morning Blues; 9) Too Tight; 10) Blake's Worried Blues; 11) Come on Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around; 12) Come on Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around; 13) Tampa Bound; 14) Skeedle Loo Doo Blues; 15) Skeedle Loo Doo Blues; 16) Stonewall Street Blues; 17) State Street Men Blues; 18) Down the Country; 19) Back Biting Bee Blues; 20) Wilson Dam; 21) Bucktown Blues; 22) Black Dog Blues; 23) One Time Blues.
Tracks, Disc 2: 1) Bad Feelin' Blues; 2) Dry Bone Shuffle; 3) Dry Bone Shuffle; 4) Dry Bone Shuffle; 5) That Will Happen No More; 6) Brownskin Mama Blues; 7) Brownskin Mama Blues; 8) Hard Road Blues; 9) Hey Hey Daddy Blues; 10) Sea Board Stomp; 11) You Gonna Quit Me Blues; 12) Steel Mill Blues; 13) Southern Rag; 14) He's in the Jailhouse Now; 15) Wabash Rag; 16) Doggin' Me Mama Blues; 17) C C Pill Blues; 18) Hot Potatoes; 19) Southbound Rag; 20) Pay Day Daddy Blues; 21) Elzadie's Policy Blues.
Tracks, Disc 3: 1) Good-Bye Mama Moan; 2) Tootie Blues; 3) That Lovin' I Crave; 4) That Lonesome Rave; 5) Terrible Murder Blues; 6) Leavin' Gal Blues; 7) No Dough Blues; 8) Lead Hearted Blues; 9) Let Your Love Come Down; 10) Rumblin' and Ramblin' Boa Constrictor Blues; 11) Bootleg Rum Dum Blues; 12) Detroit Bound Blues; 13) Beulah Land; 14) Panther Squall Blues; 15) Elzadie's Policy Blues; 16) Pay Day Daddy Blues; 17) Walkin' Across the Country; 18) Search Warrant Blues; 19) Rambin' Mama Blues; 20) New Style of Loving; 21) Back Door Slam Blues; 22) Notoriety Woman Blues; 23) Cold Hearted Mama Blues; 24) Low Down Loving Gal; 25) Sweet Papa Low Down.
Tracks, Disc 4: 1) Poker Woman Blues; 2) Doing a Stretch; 3) Fightin' the Jug; 4) Hookworm Blues; 5) Slippery Rag; 6) Hastings St; 7) Diddie Wah Diddie; 8) Diddie Wah Diddie; 9) Too Tight Blues, No. 2; 10) Chump Man Blues; 11) Ice Man Blues; 12) Police Dog Blues; 13) I Was Afraid of That, Pt. 2; 14) Georgia Bound; 15) Keep It Home; 16) Keep It Home; 17) Sweet Jivin' Mama; 18) Lonesome Christmas Blues; 19) Third Degree Blues.
Tracks, Disc 5: 1) Guitar Chimes; 2) Blind Arthur's Breakdown; 3) Baby Lou Blues; 4) Cold Love Blues; 5) Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 1; 6) Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 2; 7) Stingaree Man Blues; 8) Itching Heel; 9) You've Got What I Want; 10) Cherry Hill Blues; 11) Diddie Wah Diddie, No. 2; 12) Hard Pushin' Papa; 13) What a Lowdown Place the Jailhouse Is; 14) Ain't Gonna Do That No More; 15) Playing Policy Blues; 16) Righteous Blues; 17) Fancy Tricks; 18) Rope Stretchin' Blues, Pt. 2; 19) Rope Stretchin' Blues, Pt. 1; 20) Rope Stretchin' Blues, Pt. 1; 21) Chapagne Charlie Is My Name; 22) Depression's Gone from Me Blues.