Customer Reviews

Cannon's Jug Stompers: The Complete Works 1927 - 1930

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This album is a fantastic compilaton of the Jug Stompers' jug band party music. These guys were already middle-aged by the time they cut the first of these tunes in 1927, and they represented a sound that was a bit old-fashioned, but full of energy. Gus and the guys went from Memphis to Chicago to record the first few tunes... then went back to Memphis on the next train. At the same time, they could produce very soulful, intense music with all the power of teh Delta blues. If you buy this CD just to listen to the first few cuts (1.Minglewood Blues, 2. Walk Right In, 3. Going To Germany 4. Bring It With You When You Come 5. Bugle Call Rag 6. Prison Wall Blues 7. Feather Bed) it would be well worth it.

I wish Yazoo had called this something OTHER than "Complete". It's not. It's great, don't get me wrong, but this only half of the Cannon Jug Stomper's catalog, and Yazoo does fans a real disservice, being so misleading in their titling of this product.

For those interested in the beginning of blues music, this CD is a must. You can hear the African sound in the voices and using a "jug" to cover the bass movements is a blast from the past indeed.

Very well produced considering that the music was originally recorded 1927 - 1930.

If you'd like to hear songs with titles like "Pig ankle Strut", then this is your album.

Muddy Waters, Leadbelly and John Lee Hooker may very well have learned from these guys.

One of the best parts about being musically curious is that sometimes when you go back in time and look at the earliest recordings of songs, you run across a real gem. Cannon's Jug Stompers is definitely a gem. Formed in the mid-1920's around core members Gus Cannon and Noah Lewis, Cannon's Jug Stompers, made music that would serve to inspire musicians long after the original members of the group were gone.

"Walk Right In" would become a huge hit for the Rooftop Singers in the 1960's. "Big Railroad Blues" and "Viola Lee Blues" would become a regular part of the Grateful Dead's repetroire, as well as "Minglewood Blues", inspiring an altered version also by the Dead. Obviously, a lot of folkies have been listening to this group as well.

The Jug Band movement of the 1920's did a lot to inspire young musicians in the 1950's and early 60's. The Lovin' Spoonful, The Grateful Dead and even the Beatles had at least some of their roots in this musical form. Cannon's Jug Stompers was one the best of the groups to perform in the 1920's.

Gus Cannon played the banjo and jug, Noah Lewis played the harmonica. Rounding off the group's complete recordings are Ashley Thompson, Elijah Avery and Hosea Woods on guitars and other instruments. The musical is somewhat primitive, but thoroughly enjoyable.

This album is a definite must for any serious collector of Blues.