Release Date: 1990.
Recording Date: 1958-1964.
Release Info: FLY 625, FLY LP 625, Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Remastered, Mono.
The self-titled album Babe Stovall, released by the UK-based blues label Flyright Records in 1990 (Catalog No: FLY 625), is a curated 14-track compilation of archival mono field recordings tracking the career of the Mississippi-born country blues artist between 1958 and 1964.
The collection features historic, partly rediscovered, and previously unissued material captured in New Orleans. The earliest sessions were recorded by Larry Borenstein at 726 St. Peter Street (the venue that would become Preservation Hall) in September and December of 1958. It also includes a 1961 track featuring Stovall’s brother, Tom Stovall, on mandolin, alongside mid-1964 recordings captured at Cosimo Matassa's legendary New Orleans studio featuring Sylvester Handy on string bass and Gosoon Philips on banjo.
Credits: Banjo - Gosoon Philips (tracks: A5 to B2, B5 to B7); Bass (String Bass) - Sylvester Handy (tracks: A5 to B2, B5 to B7); Design (Sleeve Design) - Nigel Goodall; Liner Notes - Klaus Kilian; Mandolin - Tom Stovall (tracks: A1); Photography by (Rear) - Fay Rogers; Remastered by - Charlie Crump; Vocals, Guitar - Babe Stovall.
Tracklist
The 14 tracks featured on the Flyright vinyl LP include:
- [A1] ...... Careless Love
- [A2] ...... Big Road Blues
- [A3] ...... C C Rider
- [A4] ...... Going Away To Wear You Off My Mind
- [A5] ...... Don't You Want To Go
- [A6] ...... Good Morning Blues
- [A7] ...... Salty Dog
- [B1] ...... Going To New Orleans
- [B2] ...... Woman Blues
- [B3] ...... I Ain't Gonna Be Your Dog No More
- [B4] ...... Time Is Winding Up
- [B5] ...... If I Could Only Hear My Mother Pray Again
- [B6] ...... Corrinne Corinna
- [B7] ...... Careless Love
A "selection of partly rediscovered, partly previously unissued recordings."
Track A4 recorded at 726 St. Peter Street, New Orleans (now Preservation Hall), September 15, 1958.
Tracks A2, A3, and B3 recorded at 726 St. Peter Street, New Orleans, December 6, 1958.
Track A1 recorded at Preservation Hall, May 10, 1961.
All other tracks recorded at Cosimo Matassa's Studio, New Orleans, c. June 1964.
Tracks A1-A4 and B3 are previously unreleased titles.
Tracks B4 and B5 are previously unreleased takes.
Notes:
Jewell "Babe" Stovall was celebrated for his unique fingerpicking style, raspy vocals, and dynamic use of a National Steel guitar. While his contemporaries like Mississippi John Hurt achieved mainstream revivals, Stovall spent much of his career playing on the streets of the French Quarter and at local colleges before passing away in 1974.