Release Date: February 10, 2007.
Original Release Date: 1975, 1978.
Recording Date: 1916 - 1952.
Release Info: Compilation (4007/24437), Vinyl, LP.
This is an interesting compilation in which the songs have been chosen quite loosely for their subject matter, summarized about as precisely as possible in the album title Hard Times. Beyond that, the selections deal with a wide range of issues without any in-depth coverage given to any particular one. There are lots of blues numbers, and many reasons to get the blues. A selection of jobs provide subject matter, including warehouse man, racketeer, soldier, servant, railroad section man, and prostitute. Other singers complain about no job at all -- "Unemployment Blues" -- while some present an overall picture of despair, such as the opener, "We Sure Got Hard Times." Then there are specific physical difficulties, such as starvation and silicosis. Yes, this record is something of a bummer, since it would be difficult to characterize most of these performances as transcending the subject matter and creating uplifting, positive energy. These tracks tend to be stark and tough-minded, some of the most powerful numbers such as Charlie Jordan's "Starvation Blues" the musical equivalent of a slap in the kisser. "Black Evil Blues" by Alice Moore is so thoroughly despondent that the producer events attempts to disassociate the track from the rest of the material on the album. It might be the best track here, actually, and it certainly is better material than the endless sexual innuendo that female blues singers of the '20s and '30s normally recorded. There are some familiar blues artists involved, such as Arthur Crudup, Champion Jack Dupree, and Lonnie Johnson, but the selections also touch on early jazz and swing, sometimes in eccentric instrumental combinations. Many of the tracks are quite marvelous, and the theme of the project results in a blend of artists and styles that would not happen if material was collected according to region, time period, or genre. This is not as sharply focused a compilation as sets such as the Work's Many Voices collections, but listeners looking for certain types of protest songs or miscellaneous griping set to music may still find it of value. ~ Eugene Chadbourne
Credits: Barbecue Bob - Guitar, Vocals; Champion Jack Dupree - Piano, Vocals; Lonnie Johnson - Guitar, Vocals; Red Nelson - Guitar, Vocals; Cripple Clarence Lofton - Piano, Vocals; Pinewood Tom - Guitar, Vocals; Bert Williams - Piano, Vocals; Hattie Burleson - Vocals; John Henry Bragg - Banjo; Don Albert - Cornet; Allen Van - Piano; Siki Collins - Soprano Saxophone; Charlie Dixon - Sousaphone; Charlie Jordan - Guitar, Vocals; Peetie Wheatstraw - Piano; "Texas" Alexander - Vocals; Lonnie Johnson - Guitar; Alice Moore - Piano, Vocals; "Pine Top" Smith - Piano, Vocals; Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - Guitar, Vocals; Ranson Knowling - Bass; Smokey Hogg - Guitar, Vocals; Unknown Artists - Guitar (2nd), Piano, Bass; Piano Red - Piano, Vocals; C. Holloway, Jr. - Bass; L. Lawson - Drums; Wesley Jackson - Guitar; D. Henderson - Saxophone; F. Taylor - Saxophone; B. Mays - Trumpet; Alice Moore - Vocals; Henry Brown - Piano; Ike Rodgers - Trombone.
Compilation Producer - Dick Spottswood.
Design - Linda Mancini.
Liner Notes - Archie Green.
Tracklist:
A1. We Sure Got Hard Times - Barbecue Bob
A2. Warehouse Man Blues - Champion Jack Dupree
A3. Racketeer's Blues - Lonnie Johnson
A4. When The Soldiers Get Their Bonus - Red Nelson
A5. Silicosis Is Killin' Me - Pinewood Tom
A6. Samuel - Bert Williams
A7. Sadie's Servant Room Blues - Hattie Burleson
A8. Starvation Blues - Charlie Jordan
B1. Section Gang Blues - "Texas" Alexander
B2. Broadway St. Woman Blues - Alice Moore
B3. Big Boy, They Can't Do That - "Pine Top" Smith
B4. Give Me A 32-20 - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
B5. Unemployment Blues - Smokey Hogg
B6. Sales Tax Boogie - Piano Red
B7. Black Evil Blues - Alice Moore