Customer Reviews

Living Country Blues: An Anthology

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Most of these artists are dead or soon to be, and they're, to my great unhappiness, not minting very many more of them. If you're a country blues enthusiast, you're already familiar with Cephas & Wiggins, Sam Chatmon, Hammie Nixon, and many of the other names recording on this 3 c.d. set and don't require any further endorsements. What distinguishes this set in my view is the eclecticism of the selection, its organization into Delta, Piedmont, and other schools, and the very fine audio quality for field recordings. I also have the Giants of Country Blues Guitar series on Wolf, of which volume one is a desert island disk in my view. Nonetheless, the audio quality of Sam Chatmon recording "Stop and Listen" on this set is far superior (although I miss the barking dog in the background on the Wolf recording). We owe a debt of gratitude to the Germans who made these field recordings as well as to Chris Strachwitz and others who recorded this vanishing American resource.

This is basic blues, usually just some guy with his acoustic guitar. If you like Lightnin' Hopkins or Sonny Terry, you will like this. If you LOVE them, like I do, then this beautiful collection will make you very happy.

Read the track list - it illustrates the breadth of material in this anthology. Some of the more obscure such as the drum and fife group of Othar Turner are currently available in their own CD. Others such as Stonewall Mays have no other recordings.

Personal favorites include Jesus Is on the Mainline and Soon One Morning.... but my favorites change with each hearing.

Careful listening to these recordings will (a) give you a greater appreciation for the variety of musical styles that are called "blues" (b) give you a greater appreciation of the musicianship of unknowns and (c) give you a grand old time ...

If you are a fan of rural blues, you ABSOLUTELY MUST get your hands on Living Country Blues, a three disc anthology available from Evidence Records. This thing is so great that it virtually defies description. It's actually the distillation of a 14 LP series on the German L+R label. Until that series is reissued in its entirety, we have this wonderful 60-song highlight reel.

Recorded in 1980 across the American South by two German blues lovers (Axel Kustner and Siegfried Christmann), this set features three discs divided by region: Disc 1 is Mississippi; Disc 2 is the East Coast; Disc 3 is billed as "Tennessee, Arkansas & More."

It includes the first recordings by Lonnie Pitchford, Cephas & Wiggins and many others. It also features veterans like Sam Chatmon, Hammie Nixon, Son Thomas, Eddie Cusic and Othar Turner. Some of the BEST stuff on here, however, is by little-known artists like Boyd Rivers and Clora Fluker.

Other artists on this nearly 4-hour set are Cedell Davis, Napoleon Strickland, Archie Edwards, Arzo Youngblood, Boogie Bill Webb, Flora Molton, Guitar Frank, Memphis Piano Red, Lottie Morrell, Joe Savage, Walter Brown, James "Guitar Slim" Stephens, Charlie Sangster, Sam Shields and Stonewall Mays.

If you like country blues, you really owe it to yourself to pick up this amazing collection . . . it includes everything from hard delta blues to lilting Piedmont picking. Just beautiful!

this is incredible! if you like real blues, you must have this set

What the reviews below indicate is dead on, I would only add that as a blues guitarist who is always on a quest for new (old) gems, these tracks are refreshing, and besides blues style there is a mix of folk/blues a little different from country blues amd nuances of jazz chords in the mix on some tracks. There's not a clunker in bunch, whether you are a guitatist or a blues lover, this compilation is a treat, however there arn't to many blues recordings that arn't. I didn't realize this might go out of print, its a pity if this happens.

SUPERB! This represents the REAL BLUES and some of the best Blues guitar I've heard. The recording of these artists was a mission I would have proud to be part of.