Customer Reviews

Best Of The Blues 1959-1968

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If there is a better collection of live blues than this Newport 3 CD set, I haven't heard it. This stunning CD covers 10 years Newport performances during the height of the folk blues revival in the early 60's. Many of the artists were rediscovered by blues enthusiasts like John Fahey, Al "Blind Owl" Wilson and Sam Charters by canvassing remote areas of the south and locating the M.I.A.s of the 1920-30s "race" records. Some of these performers were presumed to be dead, and Newport was their first time in front of an audience in decades. There is not a single throw-away among 16 performers and the 51 (count 'em!)cuts here.

Vangaurd Records is to be commended for making the right artistic choices in thier production of this CD. Many of these performances had been floating around for years on other Newport collections. Producer Tom Vicker devoted an entire disc to each of these three categories: delta blues, country blues and urban blues. There is a sense of continuity on each disc without any jarring segues. Engineer Jeff Zaraya captures the warm analogic glory of the orginal performances and wisely chooses not to edit out foot stomping, hand clapping and crowd noises. Zaraya's mastering work captures the passion of the living blues and he avoids the mistake of reducing the performances to sterile museum piece curiosities.

The scope of performers is staggering. Son House, self proclaimed mentor of Robert Johnson, whose piercing slap-time steel guitar was the alter-ego to his gritty emotional baritone. Skip James, ghost of the delta, sings in his haunting falsetto with his mastery of complex right hand poly-rhythymic bassline fingerpicking. Jesse Fuller, San Francisco's one man band, plays his ramshackle ragtime blues. Mississppi John Hurt demonstrates his wry humor and his delicate five finger picking of his brillant orginal music. Polished performers like Muddy Waters and Brownie McGee know how to pace a show and work the crowd. Harlem's Rev. Gary Davis' does "old time religion" gospel shouting and precision ragtime picking. The suprise is an obscure ex-con, Robert Pete Williams with his eerie "stream of consciousness" lyrics and elliptical song structures. Robert Pete Williams, more than any of the performers, is connected to the roots of West African folk music. By my own count, John Lee Hooker was the last performer on these recordings to die(June 21, 2001). These astounding Newport performances are, at once, a historical document, a tribute to the diverse artistry of American blues, and some of the most passionate and riveting music I've ever heard. An essential for anyone collecting blues or roots music.

The Newport Folk Festival in the 1960's regularly featured blues artists; from Son House to the Butterfield Blues Band, acoustic to electric: Mike Bloomfield was on hand with Butterfield in '65 and wound up backing Bob Dylan in his now-near-mythic "coming out" as a rocker. This new anthology of Newport blues supercedes and expands upon the "Blues With a Feeling" set, leaning heavily on the acoustic, but including some essential electric performances. The rawness and authenticity of these artists will excite anyone with ears for this kind of music. Essential for blues fans, and a real bargain as a three-CD set. Highly recommended.

It's almost hard to believe that this CD exists. So many excellent performances by legendary bluesmen like Son House, John Lee Hooker, Skip James, Muddy Waters and a whole host of others, all recorded live at the legendary Newport Folk Festival. And the sound is amazing, crisp and clear.

Disc one opens with a six-song set by "Mississippi" John Hurt which includes "Candy Man" and "Stagolee", and also includes two spooky songs by an ailing but still-powerful Nehemiah "Skip" James, four songs by Son House, and songs by Bukka White and Fred McDowell, as well as two excellent acoustic solo performances by Muddy Waters. House's "Death Letter Blues" and "Empire State Express", Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied", and Skip James' "Devil Got My Woman" are among the highlights, but there aren't really any "lowlights".

Disc two features a great little set by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, a wonderful rendition of Sleepy John Estes' "Clean Up At Home", three excellent songs by the underrated Robert Pete Williams, and several other fine performances, including Mance Lipscomb's version of Blind Willie Johnson's scary "God Moves On The Water", and Jesse Fuller's "San Francisco Bay Blues" (which you may have heard Eric Clapton cover on his "Unplugged" album).

On disc three, Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins plays an electric guitar (gasp!) on a great, swaggering "Baby Please Don't Go", and is backed by drummer Sam Lay on "Shake That Thing". John Lee Hooker lays down haunting versions of "Tupelo" and "The Great Fire Of Natchez", as well as a gritty "Boom Boom". Muddy Waters is accompanied by pianist Otis Spann on a great, swinging "Blow Wind Blow". And the 6'6" John L. "Memphis Slim" Chatman plays a version of "How Long" to rival that of Leroy Carr himself.

The vast majority of these performances are acoustic, and there is a lot of wonderful acoustic slide guitar here...Muddy Waters, Son House, Fred McDowell, Mance Lipscomb, and Bukka White all play ringing bottleneck phrases. Sonny Terry blows his customary harmonica, and Memphis Slim and Otis Spann both contribute some excellent piano playing. And while many of these songs have been available on various LP and CD releases before, "Best Of The Blues 1959-1968" includes almost a dozen previously unreleased recordings, of which Sonny Terry's & Brownie McGhee's "Drink Muddy Water", "How Long" by Memphis Slim, and John Lee Hooker's "Let's Make It", are among the greatest.

This collection is a must-have for anyone with an interest in the 60s blues revival, or just acoustic blues music in general, and you won't believe the fidelity. A wonderful two hours and fifty-three minutes of music.

This is a nice cd set done by the folks at Vanguard records. They collected many of the cuts that have been previously released into one collection, with some tasty unreleased tracks.

Regarding the artists & their material.. well, you really can't go wrong with sets by Mississippi John Hurt, Muddy, Son House, John Lee Hooker, & etc. The artists on disc 1 alone is a "who is who" of the early blues that were only heard on scratchy vinyl before these organized festivals existed. Some might've considered them past their so called "prime", but their performances don't reflect upon it, as they take the listener & the white crowd on a trip down the Delta. Some of the performances on this package are unbelievable.

Might be me, but John Lee Hooker's set REALLY stands out. He sounds DANGEROUS, & his unreleased tracks alone make this package a well worth buy.

An interesting note, that in this mostly acoustic set is the inclusion of two Butterfield Blues band cuts. Having these cuts on different sources, it was great to hear them sonically remastered in all its glory.

Recommended, but more importantly, this is essential listening.

I read about these concerts in an interview with Bonnie Raitt. I was really surprised with the sound quality on these CDs as well as the broad cross section of artists. I consider this an essential purchase for all blues afficionados as it contains performances by nearly all of the classic bluesmen

They should have included Elizabeth Cotton, Robert Wilkens, John Hammond, Dave Von Ronk ... and 86ed the Chambers Bros. and the Butterfield Blues Band, who are great. I have always hoped that Vanguard would just release the 1963 and 1964 parts 1 & 2 Blues at Newport as a complete collection. I guess it's better to force you to buy CDs that overlap each other. Essential music!!!

Just got the CD....a great live recording of some of the foundations of blues...if you want to start collecting the blues, this is a great place to start. A great collection of performers recorded in a live situation. Son House, one of the originators of the delta blues is well represented. This album is grouped into three CDs' that are well stocked with some of the best there is !!! Get this CD....