Masters of the Delta Blues

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 26, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yazoo
• ASIN: B000000G8E
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,429 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #69 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Traditional Blues

Track Listings

1. Rowdy Blues - Kid Bailey

2. Big Fat Mama Blues - Tommy Johnson

3. I Am In The Heavenly Way - Bukka White

4. Future Blues - Willie Brown

5. Brown Mama Blues - Ishmon Bracey

6. On The Wall - Louise Johnson

7. Walking Blues (Unissued Test) - Son House

8. Canned Heat Blues - Tommy Johnson

9. Promise True And Grand - Bukka White

10. Mississippi Bottom Blues - Kid Bailey

11. Maggie Campbell Blues - Tommy Johnson

12. My Black Mama (Part 1) - Son House

13. My Black Mama (Part 2) - Son House

14. Yellow Bee - Bertha Lee

15. Long Way From Home - Louise Johnson

16. M And O Blues - Willie Brown

17. Button Up Shoes (Take 1, Unissued Test) - Tommy Johnson

18. Mind Reader Blues - Bertha Lee

19. Louisiana Home Blues (Take 1, Unissued Test) - Tommy Johnson

20. Dry Spell Bones (Part 1) - Son House

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Furious Bottleneck Growl, January 6, 2000

By 

"thetaildragger" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews

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

The Yazoo label does it again!

This CD is essential for rare inclusion of all six demonic Son House performances originally cut on acetate in 1930. It was these recordings that inspired Alan Lomax to look up House in the early 40's for the Library of Congress Archives.

It is worth mentioning that do to Paramount's inferior treatment of the source material, there is considerable auxilliary noise on those six sides. But Son's guitar and voice still threaten to impale you like a hot skewer.

Son House would have been a preacher, but for the fact that he shot a man dead and was banished from Clarksdale for the rest of his life.

This was the belle epoque of Delta Blues, a time when the legendary rivalry between House and Charlie Patton was at a peak, and when another legend, Robert Johnson, would pick up a couple licks from Son House himself. The way of life that existed in the Delta back then is gone forever, and for all of that progress and new found civility, we shall never be fortunate enough to hear anything like this ever again.

For anyone hoping to hear a mellow country rover picking away on his front porch, Son House will send you to intensive care. This is truly "where the soul of man never dies."

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best blues CD's I've ever owned! Essential!, February 6, 2001

By 

Bob Martinez (Brooksville, FL USA) - See all my reviews

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

This is a wonderful blues CD. One of the best I've ever purchashed. It includes great performances by legendary blues figures such as Tommie Johnson, Willie Brown, Ishmon Bracey, Son House, Kid Bailey, Bukka White and others. This is the true Mississippi Delta Blues from the late 20's and 30's. The guitar work is mesmorizing and is a blueprint for rock and roll. There are 5 Tommie Johnson cuts, recorded for Victor, that are superb. He was as good as Robert Johnson, in my opinion. Yazoo captures these classic recordings with all that old Mississippi dirt with some scratchiness, yet the sound is vibrant and alive. Willie Brown's "Future Blues" and Tommie Johnson's "Canned Heat Blues" are worth the price of admission alone. Essential!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The true roots of the blues, February 7, 2005

By 

R. Cousineau (New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

In the late 80`s early 90`s,I began collecting early blues discs.It seemed to me that Yazoo seemed to have the most varied collections so I started there.Charley Patton`s King of the Delta Blues was a very shocking and yet positive discovery for me,then I found this one.Imagine my suprise when I picked this baby up.I was floored....it`s a who`s who of the first wave of counry blues artists that were recorded in the late 20`s and early 30`s - Tommy Johnson,Son House,Willie Brown,Bukka White,Kid Bailey.....just incredible.
My tastes run to all sorts of music but this is what I trully love to listen to,anytime.The true gems are the Son House sides - powerful and frightning with a vocal that I really don`t think have been matched since.An excellent introduction to the blues,the songs exist in those old records and given the technology of cd`s they take some getting used to but the music eventually shines though.Overall,a great disc....friends indeed.