Customer Reviews

Early Downhome Blues: A Musical and Cultural Analysis (Cultural Studies of the United States)

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Before the blues became a simple repetitive twelve bar pattern with its five note scale that anyone with a guitar could play after a few weeks of practice, it was a folk art form with few restrictions or limitations. Although these recordings are still available (thank God!), few people are aware of them or have made a faithful study of them; and this in spite of the Scorsese Blues series and the exhortations of Jack White and other guitarists. Blues musicians before the second world war played a rich variety of musical styles: Some originals unique to the individual artist that served to express personal matters along with a repertoire of songs and music whose purpose was to entertain and make a little money or earn some food. The prewar blues is a rich musical tradition full of gems and treasures for the music lover who delves into the recorded history that is still available. The early recorded music of Skip James, Son House, Charlie Patton, Willie Brown, Robert Johnson and many others whose names are buried under the dust of the decades is guaranteed to stun the listener who thought the blues was Willie Dixon or Muddy Waters. This book is the only book to illuminate the past and dig into the people, places, times and circumstances, and especially, the blues music that we love. This book gets at the roots of it and sheds light on the nuances that have been lost. It contains the best transcriptions available anywhere and takes the step of deriving a description of styles and practices employed in these quintessential blues songs. I consider it essential reading for anyone--especially musicians--who love this music. If you need to track down the original songs, the author used to have a CD available; but you can also try the excellent Document Record Company in the UK who still stock many fantastic originals.

Titon unquestionably knows his subject matter well, and this does come through in the book. Unfortunately, he drains the topic of all the spontaneity and joy that one associates with music with a pendantic and tendetious approach. His writing style, in my experience, aptly reflects his personality. I once took a college class from him when he served as a visiting professor at Carleton College in Minnesota. This book was a mandatory assignment...more royalties for the professor. If you are prepared to take the subject as seriously as Titon takes himself, this book could be for you. Otherwise, there are surely more accessible and informative works to begin a study of this distinctively American musical form.