The Complete Recorded Works of Wiley Barner, Moses Mason, Edward Thompson, Slim Duckett & Pig Norwood, Marshall Owens, Tom Bradford.
Release Date: August 15, 1993.
Recording Time: 75 minutes.
Recording Date: August 15, 1927 - October 25, 1934.
Release Info: Compilation (DOCD-5165) Studio Recording.
Styles: Blues Gospel, Country Blues, Pre-War Blues, Field Recordings.
This intriguing compilation from Document Records collects the complete recorded works of Alabama singers Wiley Barner (both sides of a 78 issued in 1927 by Gennett Records), Moses Macon (eight tracks recorded for Paramount Records in 1928), Edward Thompson (six tracks for Paramount in 1929), Slim Duckett and Pig Norwood (four tracks recorded for Okeh Records in 1930), Marshall Owens (two tracks issued in 1932 by Paramount in 1932), and Tom Bradford (two tracks recorded for the Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song in 1934). Most of what is here holds only historical and archival appeal, although a few things do jump out, including the goofy street vendor song, "Shrimp Man," by Moses Macon (who was also known as Red Hot Ole Mose) and three samples of his wheezing, pneumatic sermons, which feature a man in such kinetic frenzy that you fear he might explode as he struggles to simultaneously breathe and get words out. Marshall Owens manages to get some interesting open-string harmonic overtones out of his guitar on "Try Me One More Time," while Edward Thompson proves himself a sprightly guitar player on "West Virginia Blues." These recordings were transferred from 78s, and the sound quality varies markedly from track to track, reaching a nadir on Thompson's sides, which are so full of scratches, pops, and hailstorm hiss that the actual songs seem to be playing from two doors down during a loud construction project. ~ Steve Leggett
Abridged from this album's booklet notes.
Alabama's significance as a region supporting a fertile blues tradition has been somewhat overshadowed by the surrounding states of Mississippi, Georgia, the Carolinas, and even Tennessee. This is partly the result of the bias of latter-day historians and record collectors who have favoured the Mississippi guitarists and partly due to the strength of other aspects of the black vernacular tradition in Alabama. Birmingham, the state's largest city was famous for its pianists – from the mysterious “Lost John” (who was credited by Perry Bradford with introducing the bass patterns associated with boogie woogie to Chicago) through Cow Cow Davenport and Pine Top Smith to Walter Roland. Another dominant musical force in Alabama in the period between the World Wars was a vocal quartet tradition, with groups like the Birmingham Jubilee Quartet recording far more frequently than any of the area's blues artists. Still, with its pioneering pianists, two major rural harmonica stylists (Jaybird Coleman and George “Bullet” Williams), a guitarist as recognizable as Ed Bell / Barefoot Bill, and the distinction of having some of the earliest recorded blues performers hail from the vicinity (Lucille Bogan / Bessie Jackson, and Daddy Stovepipe), it is hard to fathom why Alabama is not better known for the blues. The older styled vocalist Wiley Barner cut his two titles at the tail end of sessions recorded on location in Birmingham for the Gennett label. His piano accompanist, Jimmy Mien, quotes the turnaround riff to Charles Davenport's “Cow Cow Blues” on his introduction to My Gal Treats Me Mean. The recordings by Moses Mason offer an interesting glimpse at some aspects of black song that were infrequently recorded. His eight titles were part of a fascinating session for Paramount in Chicago in January 1928 that captured Charlie Jackson's pre-blues Long Gone Lost John, the archaic religious styling's of Blind Willie Davis and the remarkable fiddle/guitar combination of Blind Joe Taggart's Been Listening All The Day and Goin' To Rest Where Jesus Is. Mason's sermons have the ring of authenticity and suggest that he was a genuine preacher, and the two secular pieces, (essentially street vendors' cries with guitar or banjo accompaniment), are also quite convincing. Nothing is known about Edward Thompson, who, both stylistically and with regard to place name references, is all over the map. Seven Sister Blues uses the generic “roll and tumble” and “new way of spelling sweet old Tennessee” verses while not once mentioning the “seven sisters” and musically would not sound out of place in Blind Boy Fuller's repertory. Luceen (Slim) Duckett and One Leg Sam (Norwood) were residents in Jackson, Mississippi at the time of their session at the King Edward Hotel in 1930. Duckett and Norwood's unadorned versions of the standard spirituals When The Saints Go Marching In, I Want To Go Where Jesus Is, Sister Mary Wore Three Lengths Of Chain and You Gotta Stand Judgement For Yourself succeed largely on their simplicity and the strength of the vocals. Marshall Owens' two surviving Paramount sides are fine primitive blues performed in the hypnotic strummed manner popular with the songsters of his generation. Although the two sides recorded for the Library of Congress by Tom Bradford suffer from the omnipresent speed fluctuations that were the result of the Archive's poor portable equipment, his hobo's train odyssey Going North was firmly in the tradition of classic travelogues like Booker White's New Frisco Train and The Panama Limited. The broad span of styles included in this collection should help to solidify Alabama's place as a region rich in the tradition known as the blues. ~ Ken Romanowsky (l993 Document Records)
Credits: Jimmy Allen - Performer, Piano; Wiley Barner - Accordion, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals; Tom Bradford - Guitar, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals; Slim Duckett - Guitar, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals; Will Jennings - Guitar, Performer ; Mose "Red Hot / Ole Mose" Mason - Banjo, Guitar, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals; Rev. Moses Mason - Guitar, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals; Pig Norwood - Guitar, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals; Marshall Owens - Guitar, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals; Johnny Parth - Producer; Edward Thompson (also as Tenderfoot Edwards) - Guitar, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals; Gerhard Wessely - Remastering.
Tracklist:
01. My Gal Treats Me Mean (But I Can't Leave Her Alone) - Wiley Barner
02. If You Want A Good Woman - Get One Long And Tall - Wiley Barner
03. Molly Man - (Red Hot) Old Mose
04. John The Baptist - Rev. Moses Mason
05. Go Wash In The Beautiful Stream - Rev. Moses Mason
06. Christ Is Coming Again - Rev. Moses Mason
07. The Horse Paweth In The Valley - Rev. Moses Mason
08. Judgement Day In The Morning - Moses Mason
09. Red Cross The Disciple Of Christ Today - Moses Mason
10. Shrimp Man - (Red Hot) Old Mose
11. Showers Of Rain Blues - Edward Thompson
12. Florida Bound - Tenderfoot Edwards
13. Seven Sister Blues - Tenderfoot Edwards
14. Up On The Hill Blues - Tenderfoot Edwards
15. When You Dream Of Muddy Water - Tenderfoot Edwards
16. West Virginia Blues - Edward Thompson
17. When The Saints Go Marching In - Slim Duckett And Pig Norwood
18. Sister Mary Wore Three Lengths Of Chain - Slim Duckett And Pig Norwood
19. I Want To Go Where Jesus Is - Slim Duckett And Pig Norwood
20. You Gotta Stand Judgement For Yourself - Slim Duckett And Pig Norwood
21. Texas Blues - Marshall Owens
22. Try Me One More Time - Marshall Owens
23. Going North - Tom Bradford
24. I Can't Get No Hearin' From My Babe - Tom Bradford