Customer Reviews

Richmond Blues

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

A brand new recorded 2008 release of da blues, titled the "Richmond Blues", Cephas and Wiggins have recorded tight and polished material here, on this sixteen track compilation from Smithsonian Folkways - from the top-notch distributor, the S.F. co. is always reliable in releasing rare old recordings, blues, folk, and ol' timey, with superb audio, thick informative booklets, the same similar quality of Germany's Bear Family. Back to the blues at hand, John Cephas is the man you hear with the clean, distinctive guitar licks, he also takes charge of all the vocals, his longtime partner Phil Wiggins is the sure-fire harp player, Wiggins may be one of the best harp players ever. Both men combined play the blues the way it was meant to be. Listen for their fine renditions of "John Henry", "Careless Love", "Step It Up And Go". An extremely unique recording for these modern times, the bluesmen Cephas and Wiggins play it in the old fashion traditional way, acoustic and authentic, worth many a spin.

I've become hooked on this brand of Piedmont Blues, having bought all the C&W albums I can find. Richmond Blues is a gem of an album. This album is definitely not over-produced, but it's not raw, just seasoned right by a wonderful mix of guitar, harmonica, and wonderfully mellowed vocals.

I purchased a copy of Richmond Blues from Amazon on the release date. Upon playing, it began making noises on the next to last track and stopped completely with 22 seconds left. The last track wouldn't play at all. I returned that copy (never a problem with Amazon) and ordered another. It arrived yesterday and has the same defect---stopped about halfway through the next to last track. I'll be returning it this morning. Looks like Amazon may have received a bad shipment. I've written to the head of Sales and Marketing at Smithsonian Folkways to see if he can guarantee a sound copy if I purchase the CD direct from them. I feel bad for the artists if this defect is pervasive. I'd hate for them to lose royalties over a manufacturing defect. Every Cephas & Wiggins CD I have is great and I was anxious to hear this latest one. Maybe someday.

Update as of 8/11/2008: The good folks at Smithsonian Folkways took my problem very seriously. They sent me a complimentary copy of Richmond Blues which plays perfectly and were going to check in with Amazon to be sure they did not have defective stock. So I'm sure you'll be able to order it now with confidence.

Now that I've had a chance to listen to Richmond Blues a couple times all the way through, I can highly recommend it to all fans of acoustic blues and indeed anyone who likes the stripped-down sound of fine American roots music found on so many Smithsonian Folkways CDs. As a big Cephas & Wiggins fan, Richmond Blues will see a lot of time in my CD player.

The review editting function won't let me change my rating score, so I'll try to make a separate post with a 5-star score. [Just tried, second review not allowed].