Release Date: 2014.
Recording Date: 1960s - 1970s.
Release Info: BCD 17231, 2 x CD, Compilation, Remastered.
Styles: Acoustic Blues, Blues Revival, Country Blues, Delta Blues.
Although it's billed as being devoted to the '60s and '70s, the third volume of Bear Family's Acoustic Blues series showcases the great blues revival of the '60s (only 14 of its 48 cuts are from the '70s, and most of those are from the early '70s). The great blues revival, like the simultaneous folk revival, was the re-emergence of acoustic blues that was partially fueled by young kids on college campuses who discovered the blues for the first time. At the time, electric blues was still a viable commercial concern and its ongoing success naturally helped position acoustic blues as a more traditional music, since it dispensed with the amplification and rhythm that helped keep electric blues on the charts. That said, the popularity of acoustic blues was great enough that playing acoustically was an enticing commercial prospect, not just for old guys like Lonnie Johnson and Son House, but for Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, too. Consequently, this era of acoustic blues was vibrant, as aging legends were given the opportunity to be recorded in high fidelity and marquee stars (not just Muddy and Wolf, but Lightnin' Hopkins and John Lee Hooker) returned to their roots. Unlike the blues on the first two installments of Acoustic Blues, there is a slight sense of preservation to this tradition -- a sense that the artists, labels, and audience are conscious that the music feels like it did earlier in the century -- but since so many of the original stars and their disciples were around, the music still feels alive. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Credits: Artwork - Retrograph; Mastered By - Christian Zwarg; Reissue Producer, Liner Notes - Bill Dahl.
Tracklist:
Disc One: The 1960s
01. Shake, Shake, Mama - Mance Lipscomb
02. Tupelo - John Lee Hooker
03. Samson And Delilah - Rev. Gary Davis
04. I've Grown So Ugly - Robert Pete Williams
05. Mojo Hand - Lightnin' Hopkins
06. Moaning Blues - Lonnie Johnson
07. Hottest Brand Goin' - Smoky Babe
08. I Just Keeps On Wanting You - Herman E. Johnson
09. Shady Lane - Scrapper Blackwell
10. I Got Mine - Pink Anderson
11. Prison Bound - Pete Franklin
12. Bye Bye Blues - Shirley Griffith
13. Please Don't Drive Me Away - R.C. Smith
14. Wine Drinking Woman - Memphis Willie B.
15. What Have I Done To You - Baby Tate
16. She Caught The M & O - Leroy Dallas
17. Vernita's Blues - Sleepy John Estes
18. I'm Just Wastin' My Time - J. D. Short
19. Feel Like Going Home - Muddy Waters
20. Amy - Buddy Moss
21. Want My Lovin' - Johnny Young
22. Corrine, Corrina - Arvella Gray
23. Candy Man - Mississippi John Hurt
24. Alberta - Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis
Disc Two: The 1970s
01. Empire State Express - Son House
02. Frisco Lines - Mississippi Fred McDowell
03. If I Get Lucky - J.B. Lenoir
04. Sickbed Blues - Skip James
05. Long Haired Doney - R.L. Burnside
06. Old Original Furry Lewis Blues - Furry Lewis
07. Lonesome Katy Blues - Joe Callicott
08. Rocks And Gravel - John Jackson
09. Worried Blues - Babe Stovall
10. Ain’t Goin’ Down That Dirt Road #2 - Howlin' Wolf
11. Four Women Blues - Larry Johnson
12. I Love My Baby - Jack Owens
13. Your Troubles Can’t Be Like Mine - Johnny Shines
14. My Last Suit - Brownie McGhee
15. Tired Of The Greyhound Bus - Juke Boy Bonner
16. So Sweet, So Sweet - Tarheel Slim
17. Baby Be A Boy Child Named Him After Me - Tom Shaw
18. Bullcow Blues - Eddie Taylor
19. Salty Dog - Bill Williams
20. Jessie Jones - Guitar Shorty
21. It’s A Mean Old World To Try To Live In - Rev. Pearly Brown
22. Dead Stray Dog - Louisiana Red
23. Big Fat Mama - David "Honeyboy" Edwards
24. Can’t You See - Henry Townsend