Customer Reviews

Complete Bukka White

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are looking to identify one Bukka White CD to own, this is the one, IMHO. He was a legendary slide guitar stylist with an ability to compose great blues songs for his style. He was a notable singer. This recording captures him in peak form, and, in addition, represents one of the last important country blues recording sessions to have taken place before WWII.

By the early 40's, musical tastes were changing. Electric guitars, big bands, pre-bebop, etc. were all hitting. There was a huge exodus of southerners from the rural south to northern cities, and the country blues was out of fashion as a musical form.

To his credit, Booker, when presented with this opportunity to record, stuck to what he did best and did not get trendy. The result was a legendary country blues session, and this CD documents that.

Every song on this recording sounds great, & the sound quality is pretty good to boot (compared to other early blues recordings). The thing that always gets me is the rhythmic creativity. Even though this was an old time country blues recording, Mr. White was a true funkster, & his rhythm sense still sounds contemporary & exciting.

I first heard Booker "Bukka" White on a compilation and finally got around to picking up this CD awhile back. What the listener is treated to is good, old-fashioned, country blues, highlighted by White's strong, straight-ahead rhythms and vocal intensity. His raspy/quavery vocals are a perfect accompaniment to his chugging guitar style, and White is backed up on most of these songs, recorded mainly in 1940, by Washboard Sam, who provides strong rhythmic counterpoint to the sound White gets from his National steel guitar. Although I like all the tracks on this CD, "Parchman Farm Blues", the first Bukka White song I ever heard, is still my favorite.

The first song I heard by Bukka White was 'Fixin' To Die Blues' on a blues anthology disc. With his rhythmic playing and voice that expresses a wide range of emotion, he was one of the consumate blues men. He had quite a story to tell, and there isn't a single song on this disc that doesn't lure you in to his telling of the human condition. A must for anyone that can appreciate what this Black American art form truly is...emotions and strife set to music. Recommended!

THese are Bukka's complete recordings from the late 30s and early 40s.

This man had a haunting voice, and a wild steel guitar that accentuated his dramatic story telling with precision and intensity.

Although not regarded as on the same level with Robert Johnson and other early Mississippi bluesmen, Bukka White's songs have been covered by the likes of Led Zeppelin, John Mayall and Bob Dylan, sporting a unique and tortured view of life in the early 1900s south.

Stand outs include "Fixin To Die," Shake Em On Down," Parchman Farm" and the sorrowful "When Can I Change My Clothes."

Bukka was a truly unique figure in the annals of blues history. A required purchase for any Delta Blues admirer.

It's too bad that this 14-track collection omits Booker White's earliest sides, including the two religious songs that he recorded for Victor in May, 1930. Catfish's 20-track compilation "Shake 'Em On Down" and Document's similar "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues" are better choices, really, since they include the six non-Vocalion sides that this collection does not.

But having said that, this is indeed an impressive 39 minutes of music. Booker White (his name was misspelled by the label) sang in a loud, very rough baritone voice, and played his steel-bodies National guitar like a stringed drum, and he penned some truly classic country blues tunes. People often forget about White when they throw names like Charlie Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson around, and that's a shame, because everybody with an interest in "classic" country blues ought to hear B.B. King's older cousin Booker White and his powerful, strongly rhythmic guitar playing.

The best of these 20 tunes belong in the all-time pantheon of prewar blues songs, and if anything could ever match the intensity of Son House's razor-edged "Death Letter", it must be the sound of Booker T. Washington White growling the incredibly stark, personal, open-wound lyrics to the desperate "When Can I Change My Clothes" and the hopeless "Parchman Farm Blues" in his ragged, raspy voice.
"Shake 'Em On Down" is another classic, and White displays some impressive slide guitar prowess on the 1939 Library of Congress recording of "Po' Boy"...
Oh no, wait, the L of C recordings are missing as well.
Come on, just get the Document compilation instead.

I love Bukka White's music - and the music recorded on this CD is his best. The addition of Washboard Sam gives the songs here an edge over other music that white recorded. One outstanding fact about this CD is the high quality of ALL the songs - I just couldn't pick between Parchman Farm, Fixin' To Die, Aberdeen Mississippi, A Special Streamline, etc... They are all perfect songs. To me - Bukka swings more than Robert Johnson and is not inferior to him in any way. Based on these recordings White is at the top of country blues, together with Son House, Tommy Johnson, Charly Patton, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. His African roots are as clear as House's, the whole approach seems to be totally free of other influences. So - just listen to White's amazing voice and rhythms, and let him do the explaining.

THese are Bukka's complete recordings from the late 30s and early 40s.

This man had a haunting voice, and a wild steel guitar that accentuated his dramatic story telling with precision and intensity.

Although not regarded as on the same level with Robert Johnson and other early Mississippi bluesmen, Bukka White's songs have been covered by the likes of Led Zeppelin, John Mayall and Bob Dylan, sporting a unique and tortured view of life in the early 1900s south.

Stand outs include "Fixin To Die," Shake Em On Down," Parchman Farm" and the sorrowful "When Can I Change My Clothes."

Bukka was a truly unique figure in the annals of blues history. A required purchase for any Delta Blues admirer.

This is the first and only Bukka White that I have heard so far. I'm not sure why though, as I think he is great on this cd and I'd certainly like to acquire the rest of his stuff. I think it just comes down to money and not having enough of it to buy every single cd that I'd like to have.

I remember the first time I listened to this cd. My reaction was "Ewww I don't like this guy". But for some reason I couldn't stop listening. Within a few days I had heard the cd at least ten times and I thought Bukka was great. That's still where I'm at. Great Bukka.

He has a slurring, drawn-out vocal style that I did not immediately like, but now I think it's quite expressive. I'd have to say that the one thing I like best about Bukka is rhythm. His songs move differently and have a cadence(s) that is completely unique in the world of pre-war blues.

If you mainly enjoy the blues for guitar solos then Bukka isn't your man (because he doesn't solo often, at least not on this cd), but if you enjoy engaging stories and a thumping rhythmic attack, then he is indeed your man. Seriously, Bukka can make you get up and dance around the room. I can only imagine what it must have been like to hear him playing in an alcohol-fueled dump in 1940! To be fair and accurate though, that's not all because of Bukka. Washboard Sam on, you guessed it, the washboard, adds so much to this music. Sam has such a grooving, infectious style of rhythmic accompaniment that it makes Bukka's own playing seem all that more thumping. These two were really a fantastic duo and anyone alive today who heard them in-person back then probably cherishes those memories as much as any musical memories they have.

It's very common to say that Booker White was second tier Delta Blues, but I think that has a lot more to do with the fetishization of Robert Johnson than with White's talent as a musician. Many of White's songs have a lyrical power that is the equal of any great bluesman (e.g., "Fixin' To Die Blues"), and his guitar playing is wonderful. If you like Robert Johnson, in other words, you'll also like White. Essential music for the blues nut.

Love his guitar playing - nice resonator sound. He has a unique sound. I really like Parchmen Blues. Great CD for a blues affaciando.