Release Date: September 21, 1999.
Recording Time: 70 minutes.
Recording Dates: 1964, 1972.
Release Info: Compilation (ARHCD 482) Live Recording.
Styles: Acoustic Texas Blues, Country Blues, Regional Blues, Songster.
All but three of the 21 tracks on Texas Songster, Vol. 4: Live! At the Cabale were previously unreleased; all but two of them recorded live at the Cabale in Berkeley in 1964 (the other two were done live in Sacramento in 1972). Mance Lipscomb made many albums, and it was a wise decision on compiler Chris Strachwitz's part to focus on songs that were not available on previous CDs by the singer. Repertoire aside, this is very much of a piece with the "songster" style Lipscomb projects on other recordings: good-natured acoustic tunes that draw from boogie, ragtime, and folk, with a warm vocal delivery and accomplished guitar picking. Some of the songs, in fact, will be pretty familiar to most blues fans, if not always duplicated by Lipscomb on other CDs: "Meet Me in the Bottom," "Trouble in Mind," "Key to the Highway," "Rock Me Mama," and "Baby Don't You Lay It on Me" (which sounds close to the folk standard "Baby Let Me Follow You Down"). One of the tracks, incidentally, is largely a 12-minute spoken story, "Early Days Back Home." ~ Richie Unterberger
Released in 1999, this collection by songster Mance Lipscomb was recorded live in Berkeley, California in 1965 (with two added tracks from a 1972 live concert recording in Sacramento). The music reflects the range of blues, ballads, folk, and pop standards that were part of his repertoire. Notable songs in this recording include “Key to the Highway,” “Trouble in Mind,” “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and his most important song, “Tom Moore Blues.” The recording contains an 11-minute monologue on living as an African American in a segregated society. (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)
Credits: Composed By, Arranged By - Mance Lipscomb (tracks: 1 to 4, 6 to 10, 12 to 21), R.M. Jones (track 5), W. Broonzy (track 11); Graphic Design - Morgan K. Dodge; Guitar, Vocals - Mance Lipscomb; Liner Notes - Paul Oliver; Photography By (Cover Photo) - Kelly Hart; Producer, Recorded By, Edited By, Liner Notes - Chris Strachwitz.
Tracklist:
01. Baby Don't You Lay It On Me - Mance Lipscomb
02. Meet Me In The Bottom - Mance Lipscomb
03. You Gonna Miss Me - Mance Lipscomb
04. Keep On Truckin' - Mance Lipscomb
05. Trouble In Mind - Mance Lipscomb
06. Tom Moore Blues - Mance Lipscomb
07. Mance's Short Haired Woman - Mance Lipscomb
08. Tra-La-Ra-La Doodle All Day - Mance Lipscomb
09. Shine On Harvest Moon - Mance Lipscomb
10. Run, Sinner, Run - Mance Lipscomb
11. Key To The Highway - Mance Lipscomb
12. Rock Me Mama - Mance Lipscomb
13. Wonder Where My Easy Rider Done Gone - Mance Lipscomb
14. Late Night Blues & Boogie Woogie - Mance Lipscomb
15. Early Days Back Home (Talking) - Mance Lipscomb
16. Cocaine Done Killed My Baby - Mance Lipscomb
17. I Wonder Why - Mance Lipscomb
18. It Ain't Gonna Rain No More - Mance Lipscomb
19. You Gonna Quit Me Baby - Mance Lipscomb
20. When The Saints Go Marching In - Mance Lipscomb
21. Mother Had A Sick Child - Mance Lipscomb
Tracks 1-19 recorded at The Cabale, Berkeley, California, 1964. Tracks 20 & 21 recorded in Sacramento, California, 1972.