King of the Blues

Blind Lemon Jefferson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yazoo
• ASIN: B000000G85
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,141 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #32 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Texas Blues
  • #49 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Traditional Blues

Track Listings

1. That Crawlin' Baby Blues

2. Bad Luck Blues

3. Matchbox Blues

4. Hot Dogs

5. One Dime Blues

6. Shuckin' Sugar

7. Rabbit Foot Blues

8. Corrina Blues

9. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean

10. Easy Rider Blues

11. Broke And Hungry

12. Black Horse Blues

13. Lonesome House Blues

14. Oil Well Blues

15. He Rose From The Dead

16. Beggin' Back

17. Prison Cell Blues

18. Rambler Blues

19. Gone Dead On You Blues

20. Wartime Blues

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Although these recordings are from the late 1920s, Jefferson lends them an elegance and sophistication that most people don't associate with blues of that era. His melodic country-blues style incorporated prominent elements of ragtime and featured numerous "break-aways," or solo-guitar riffs. Many of his songs were based around traditional folk songs, and Jefferson often presented them with asymmetrical constructions and odd time signatures. His fluent guitar work was able to step out on its own or provide cohesive support for his vocals. As one of the first commercially successful blues artists, his influence is widespread: from fellow Texans Lightnin' Hopkins and T-Bone Walker to Piedmont bluesmen such as Gary Davis. --Marc Greilsamer

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

Some of the monumentally important 1920s Texas blues guitarist's best work, taken from 78s. These twenty-three sides, including Jefferson's often-covered "Matchbox Blues," offer an in-depth examination of his complex guitar playing and powerful vocal style-an overriding influence on the enduring Lone Star blues legacy that developed after Jefferson's death in 1929. (B.D.) -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poor Sweet Lemon, August 4, 2000

By 

Howard Sauertieg "Howard Sauertieg" (Harrisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: King of the Blues (Audio CD)

King of the Country Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson. Say no more? If you're new to the 78 rpm country blues, then by all means you should invest in this CD. It's not easy listening - Lemon was badly recorded in his day, and time hasn't improved the sound quality. Back when this CD was produced, Yazoo was holding out against NoNoise sonic treatments which other companies such as Columbia were using to remove crackles and hiss from the original masters (78 rpm records, usually). So Lemon is heard through an auditory haze, as it were - but this is nothing new, and the wear and tear actually contribute to the ambience of Lemon's music. The liner notes are a primer on Lemon's music, his place in history, and his influence (or lack thereof) on contemporary blues musicians. Note that there are 23 tracks on the CD. I have the LP version of this collection - it has 28 tracks, but "That Black Snake Moan" is missing from the LP also. I assume that Yazoo has a recording of that tune, and that its physical condition makes it unsuitable for release. Nevertheless, these 23 tunes are enough Lemon for a lifetime - and they get sweeter as the years go by. If they don't impress you on first hearing, by all means don't sell the CD to some used-CD hawker. Put it on the shelf and come back to it months or years later, and see how many of these tunes have stuck in your memory. More than you thought, probably... Anyhow, that's been my experience with this CD. One of the best.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of America's Finest, February 11, 2004

By 

Douglas H. Watts (Augusta, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: King of the Blues (Audio CD)

Blind Lemon Jefferson is one of the most unique and talented musical artists in our country's history.

This is evidenced by the fact that virtually every blues musician after 1930 cites him as an influence or inspiration, but none of them sound remotely like him.

Thankfully, because many of Jefferson's recordings are still intact and in some degree of listenability, we can judge for ourselves. While the audio quality of many of his recordings are criminally decrepit, his personality and musicianship manage to cut through and reveal a confident and highly skilled artist and performer whose songs still resonate today.

Jefferson's recordings were not made as "field recordings" a la Alan Lomax visiting a poor, unknown musician in a sharecroppers' house. Jefferson's songs were recorded in Chicago by Paramount Records in the mid 1920s by producers who clearly appreciated Jefferson's talent and professionalism and ability to sell lots of records.

Blind Lemon Jefferson is interesting and important because his music contradicts almost every false cliche about blues musicians. He was very literate as a person and a musician. As a guitar player and singer he was technically gifted, rarely if ever hit a wrong note, and achieved performance standards as high as any classically trained musician of his time. Yet he also made his music and singing sound very informal and spontaneous, as if he had just made it up.

In this release, two of his most interesting works are "Hot Dogs" and "Beggin' Back", in which Jefferson appears to provide improvised, bantering spoken vocals over very challenging guitar accompaniments of established rag-time influenced standards of the time.

The measure of Blind Lemon Jefferson's recorded work can be weighed in that few, if any, subsequent blues musicians have even attempted to cover his songs in the way he recorded them. After trying, they simply gave up.

Strangely, the one contemporary musician who most reminds me of Blind Lemon Jefferson is Ali Farka Toure of Mali.

I have always liked and admired this man's music because in a strange way, it does not seem old at all, but very fresh and new.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe the best of them all, May 19, 2000

By 

Jostein Berntsen "jostber" (Porsgrunn, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: King of the Blues (Audio CD)

Blind Lemon Jefferson was a legendary blues performer, and Yazoo has collected many of his classics on this CD. I have owned this on vinyl for many years and is on my top 10 playlist. Blind Lemon Jefferson was a incredible guitar player delivering many unique blues licks. He was an inventor in both song and lyrics, and was one of the most selling artists of his day. My favourite tracks are 'Shuckin' sugar' and 'Bad Luck Blues' which have very singular and beautiful melodies. If you love the blues or any kind of music you should own a Blind Lemon Jefferson record. This is a good place to start.