Mississippi Delta Blues
“Blow My Blues Away,” Vol. 2

Various Artists

CD 402
CD upc: 096297040225

* = Previously unissued on Arhoolie.

** = recorded in 1930 and originally issued on Br. 7166 (78 rpm).

REVIEW

Volume 1 features 11 artists and aggregations. The most impressive is the otherwise unknown Do-Boy Diamond, one of the greatest Delta singers on record. His relaxed, open voice recalls the greatest a cappella field-holler singers - rich, warm and incredibly soulful. His `Hard Time Blues' shares the eerie power of Skip James' `Hard Time Killing Floor,' but his approach is completely personal. As for the rest: Tom Turner again recalls James' odd tonalities, though without Diamond's virtuosity. Two cuts from Napoleon Strickland and the Como Drum Band illustrate the African-rooted dance music of the hill country fife and drum groups. Fred McDowell and harmonica player Johnny Woods duet with an almost telepathic cohesiveness, impro-vising perfectly complementary lines that jump with hot dance energy. There are fine, old-time, one chord blues from Teddy Williams and from Rosa Lee Hill, mother of blues singer Jesse Mae Hemphill, and three driving un-accompanied voice and harmonica workouts from Robert Diggs. An unidentified band backs washtub bassist Dewey Corley, the oldest artist on these albums (misidentified as Peck Curtis in his photo), on the Memphis Jug Band hokum tune `Fishing in the Dark' and a blues. Drummer Peck Curtis tells the story of Aleck `Sonny Boy Williamson' Miller's death, backed by the set's only electric band: Houston Stackhouse's guitar and Robert Nighthawk's bass. Nighthawk, described by producer George Mitchell as too sick to play guitar, sounds impressively energetic leading three final tunes.

The Peck/Nighthawk/Stackhouse trio reappears on Volume 2, backing four Stackhouse vocals. Three of the songs are covers of Tommy Johnson, and Stack-house uncannily captures Johnson's falsetto-accented vocals and trend-setting guitar work. Rarely has country blues been updated to an electric band format with this much respect and fidelity. The rest of Volume 2 is divided between Joe Callicott and R. L . Burnside, both playing solo acoustic blues. Callicott recorded two songs in 1930, which are included here, but his later playing has a gentleness that his early sides lacked, though his guitar technique has deteriorated slightly. He is a varied and interesting musician, sounding a bit like John Hurt on `Country Blues' (OK, only a bit), and like the Library of Congress Willie Brown on `Love Me Baby Blues,' the original of Ry Cooder's `France Chance.' Burnside, who remains one of the most exciting Mississippi bluesmen, plays ten tunes that show wonderful subtlety and control in his guitar work and an easy, pleasant vocal style. There are none of the Lightnin' Hopkins riffs common to Burnside's later work (see the review on Burnside's `Too Bad Jim'), the main outside influence being Muddy Waters' early Chicago hits. Other songs are uniquely Burnside, and `Skinny Woman' is particularly great, Burnside simultaneously playing and drumming on his guitar under the verses.”

(Elijah Wald — SingOut!)