Release Date: 1976.
Series: Vanguard Twofer
Recording Time: 71 minutes.
Recording Date: 1959 - 1965.
Release Info: VSD 77/78, 2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation.
The album The Great Bluesmen at Newport is a compilation released by Vanguard Records in 1976, featuring live performances from the Newport Folk Festival between 1959 and 1965. It was originally a two-LP set.
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While the likes of Chess and Delmark were wellsprings of '60s electric blues, Vanguard carved out a concurrent niche as a harbor for aging country bluesmen. It was a natural match since the gentler likes of Sleepy John Estes and Mississippi John Hurt went over well with the label's core folk audience. The coalition extended to the Newport Folk Festival, which was much more receptive to acoustic blues than their amplified Chicago offspring. Great Bluesmen/Newport (originally a two-LP set) presents 21 tracks culled from late '50s and mid-'60s performances at the Newport Folk Festival. A consistently rewarding collection, Great Bluesmen nevertheless has its highlights, foremost being John Lee Hooker's brooding "Tupelo." But with Son House, Skip James, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Lightnin' Hopkins in evidence, how can a folk-blues fan go wrong? ~ Steven Stolder
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This two-LP, single-CD compilation offers up 21 songs recorded live between 1959 and 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival. This is a killer selection of cuts by rediscovered '30s blues legends, many rising to the occasion to perform in front of thousands of people at once. A lot of comebacks and late-in-life careers were sparked by the performances captured on this CD, which is essential listening for anyone who cares about the blues.
Robert Pete Williams, playing his first concert outside Louisiana gave a performance so powerful, energetic, and dexterous, that he built a new career while still a relatively young man at the age of 40. Everyone who has heard Son House's album on Columbia and wondered if they were missing something might better look to the performance on this CD. With Mance Lipscomb accompanying him, the legendary slide player provides a good look at what his playing and singing were like in his prime. Mississippi John Hurt, who made some great records during this era, was at his best working in front of an audience, and had done so in Mississippi for decades. He gives a devastatingly nimble performance on this concert disc, both in his singing and playing. Similarly, Skip James launched a whole new career for himself with his performance on "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" and "Illinois Blues." Willie Doss appears to have gotten not too much further than his Newport performances, fine though they were, but the Reverend Gary Davis and Mississippi Fred McDowell both reignited their commercial careers with the work heard here. Rounding out the set are contributions from Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, John Lee Hooker, and Lightnin' Hopkins, working musicians for decades up to that time, who were simply playing very big outdoor gigs. ~ Bruce Eder
Credits: Design – Jules Halfant; Liner Notes – Maynard Solomon; Painting – Eric Von Schmidt.
Tracklist:
- A1. Robert Pete Williams - Midnight Boogie [3:13]
- A2. Robert Pete Williams - Levee Camp Blues [5:16]
- A3. Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - My Baby Done Changed The Lock On The Door [2:46]
- A4. John Lee Hooker - Tupelo [3:09]
- A5. John Lee Hooker - Bus Station Blues [3:18]
- B1. Mississippi John Hurt - Sliding Delta [3:23]
- B2. Mississippi John Hurt - Trouble, I've Had It All My Days [2:45]
- B3. Skip James - Hard Times Killing Floor Blues [2:06]
- B4. Skip James - Cherry Ball Blues [2:54]
- B5. Skip James - Illinois Blues [2:17]
- B6. Reverend Gary Davis - Death Don't Have No Mercy [3:56]
- C1. Son House - Son's Blues [6:18]
- C2. Son House - Death Letter Blues [2:50]
- C3. Son House - Pony Blues [2:30]
- C4. Sleepy John Estes - Mailman Blues [2:34]
- C5. Sleepy John Estes - Clean Up At Home [2:53]
- C6. Dock Reese - Hey Rattler / Oh My Lord [4:17]
- D1. Willie Doss - Catfish Blues [2:10]
- D2. Willie Doss - I Had A Woman [2:15]
- D3. Mississippi Fred McDowell - Lord, I'm Going Down South [2:57]
- D4. Mississippi Fred McDowell - If The River Was Whiskey [2:20]
- D5. Lightnin' Hopkins - Cotton Field Blues [5:26]
- D6. Lightnin' Hopkins - Shake That Thing [1:31]
Recorded Live at the Newport Folk Festivals, Newport, Rhode Island, 1959-1965.