Customer Reviews

Roots N' Blues: Retrospective 1925-1950

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In 1992, when this came out, there was nothing like it. Now, with the success of such items as the "Oh Brother..." soundtrack and the reissued "Anthology of American Folk Music," this set may get lost in the shuffle. I have most of the similar reissues, and I still think this is the best.

First, it covers a wider timespan than the Smith "Anthology." This means it has both a few older songs, and several newer ones. Thus, this set has an early Bill Monroe song. This set also includes some things which weren't released on 78, so one of Muddy Water's first professional recordings is on here. (Don't believe the note that this was never released before, however. It came out on an Okeh Chicago blues record in the 1980s.) Though this set has only 4 cds to the Anthology's 6, the amount of music is about the same, because these four are filled, and the Anthology's 6 only have the equivalent of Smith's original 6 lps, and are therefore rather short by cd standards.

One thing I find in reissue sets like this one is that some artists and some songs get rereleased over and over. This set does not fall into that trap. Rather, it has many little known artists, some of whom recorded only a handful of sides. Nevertheless, the songs here are almost universally wonderful, covering a wide (but not TOO wide) range of styles with wonderful performances.

You won't find many of these records anywhere else, and the set has a terrific bunch of blues, gospel, string band, Cajun and other vernacular styles. Don't miss it!

This set begs comparison with the venerable Anthology of American Folk Music - both sets feature "songs, ballads and social music." Retrospective is longer (by 30 or 40 minutes) and covers a broader span of history (25 years compared with the AAFM's 5-6 years...). It's more eclectic than the AAFM, both topically and temporally (since the songs, ballads and social music are intermingled on each disc). Now that Smithsonian/Folkways has reissued the AAFM on CD, I'd recommend that set to listeners before this one - song for song, it's of higher quality, with brilliant performances and little or no dross. Retrospective is nothing to scoff at, however; it's actually easier to listen to and enjoy than the AAFM, with something of a "pop" feel, and some of the obscure and previously unissued tracks (47 of 107 are issued here for the first time) are excellent. Most of these performers are Southerners - white, black, and in between, all coexisting as harmoniously as can be. If a hillbilly fiddle breakdown, followed by a slow piano/vocal blues, followed by a Baptist preacher's sermon accompanied by his Sanctified Singers, etc., sounds like a good time, then you won't regret picking up this collection. It's monumental in its own way, and the book that comes with the set is colorful, nicely illustrated with "race record" ads and group portraits, and rather informative. The producer(s) of Retrospective dedicated the collection to Harry Smith - "folklorist, filmmaker, anthropologist, and visionary" - and compiler of the Anthology of American Music: "Harry, you taught us all!"

I'm really quite suprised to not find a hundred five-star reviews of this set from all the blues fans out there. Truly, this is a great set, better than I expected, this is NOT a patched together hodge-podge of marginal stuff as you often find in these compilations. This is top drawer all the way through; it's American history to which you can sip scotch. The songs are very diverse: some are classic blues cuts, other have almost a Vaudeville feel to them, others burlesque, others bluegrass.

The main point I wanted to make, however, is that I feel this set is MUCH better than the Anthology of Amercan Folk Music. (A previous reviewer likewise made the comparison between the two sets and I completely agree that they are comparable in concept, although he preferred the Anthology set.) That set disappointed me: all the songs sound the same,and the recording quality on most of the cuts is poor. This set is actually exactly what I expected and hoped that set to be: foot tappin' music which evocatively brings to mind fond thoughts of a simpler and more visceral era in American life. The Anthology of Amercian Folk Music may have some profound academic significance which escapes me, but if you want great music with a lot of mood and attitude, I don't think you can do much better than this Retrospective set. A final point: these four CD's are filled up with good stuff: 75+ minutes on each one. A great value!

This exhaustive collection of American roots music has been around for over ten years, but I only came across it recently. Record companies don't really have an advertising budget for collections of this kind, so unless you are looking for it, it's likely that you have never be exposed to "Roots N' Blues", a retropective of roots music from the years 1925-1950. Even the most jaded collector of roots music will find plenty of choice cuts amoung the 109 titles presented here. Lawerence Cohn made the wise decision to not use a bunch of collection perennials, but instead he selected more esoteric titles that he deemed worthy of another hearing. I've been collecting pre-WW II blues for over thirty years and there's very little in that area I haven't heard, but Mr. Cohn has pulled several from the vault that are new to me. His inclusion of the brilliant Mississippi Shieks and cuts by the Carter family of Mississippi prove that the Shieks and their offspring were the Carter family that everyone forgot.

Harry Smith's great contribution to roots music was his inclusiveness in his selection of music. To Harry, good music was good music, be it blues, gospel, cowboy, hillbilly or boogie-woogie. A similar ecunemical spirit prevades the "Roots N' Blues" collection. There are no arbitrary catergories separating the music so you are likely to hear a delta blues song, followed by a yodeling cowboy song. It may displace the listener accustomed to listening to music in neat categories, but for me it's a strength instead of a liability. If you listen to a lot of this kind of music, you will probably understand that most roots music has a lot more similarities than differences. Dividing the music into genres tends to undermind the educational value of a project as wide in scope as "Roots N' Blues".

The remastering is the finest I've ever heard and it is a daunting task to clean up ancient original masters without adding a layer of white noise, that to the a listener with a good set of ears, is as distracting as a vacum cleaner running in the background.This collection may not be the best introduction to roots music for the novice. There are plenty of less pricey single and double CD collections out there for the newbie. For the collector, however, this collection is essential and if "Roots N' Blues" isn't sitting on your shelf right next to your Harry Smith collection, you are missing a vital piece of roots music history. The jewels in this collection are the equals of any of their predecessors.

This is the best anthology of 78s ever published! It is similar to the venerable Anthology of American Folk Music (Folkways) but better in that it is longer, has more variety, and cleaner production. It cover whole genres not toutched by the Folkways anthology, such as Western Swing and jazz piano numbers. Plus outstanding blues and old-time tunes with every possible combination of the two! Rare recordings include a tune by a 15 year old piano prodigy (Hersal Thomas), who died a year later. This is one of those rare items that make one realize there is an American cultural tradition, and it is deep and rich.

As I write this in mid-2006, the above retrospective box set is now long out of print and is fetching between $70 to $120 from Amazon's 2nd tier vendors. It is quite doubtful that it will be reissued in the near future.There is a myriad of selections, eclipsing The Anthology of American Folk Music in running time, years covered as well as musical styles- so this is still not a overpriced purchase at the above prices.
The reviewers above and below have done excellent jobs describing the variety and overall enjoyability of the tracks. My only point here is that this is strictly a release from Columbia's (and its associated labels) vaults. While they were certainly the biggest at the time, they weren't the only player documenting early blues and folk styles.
Therefore this is an excellent companion for a beginning enthusiast along with Harry Smith's AAFM. Both are voluminous and extremely important.
I personally enjoy both tremendously but for different reasons: AAFM is more urgent and haunting, while this collection is certainly more "listener friendly", a more accurate account of what the public enjoyed between 1925-1950.
The AAFM to its credit has been far more influential to the contemporary blues, folk and rock idioms; and after a few listens, I can begin to understand why.
So therein lies my suggestion: get both! And with regards to this brilliant collection, do it soon before it fetches $150 and up. Enjoy...

In getting ready to play this set for the umpteenth time since I first acquired it (and with almost 3,000 CD's in my collection, there's a lot of CD's I've never even played twice) I stopped by Amazon to see what others here thought of it. I am devastated to see that it is "no longer available".

This is possibly THE greatest collection of early Roots and Blues music ever assembled. The diversity of talent, the quality of the recordings and the sheer "listenablilty" of it make this a must-own collection for the true roots aficionado.

More importantly, it proves a point I've been trying to make for years. I know a lot of people who consider themselves "music enthusiasts" who believe that Jazz is the greatest form of Native American music, while others disagree and think that Country is the greatest form of Native American music. Still other people I know hold Blues in high regard, or R & B, or Gospel, or even Rock and Roll, all the while looking down their noses at other forms of Native American music.

Guess what? They're ALL wrong! And this collection proves it once and for all. "Roots N' Blues - The Retrospective 1925-1950" does not give a hoot about labels. Simply put, there is no such thing as "good genres" of music or "bad genres" of music - there are simply some musicians who are more skilled than others. For many years, I have been equally fond of Blues, Jazz, Country, Gospel and R & B, and I am SO glad that somebody thought of combining their early common attributes under one umbrella - "Roots". Not too many other compilations would think of offering the diverse talents of Ernest V. Stoneman, the Light Crust Doughboys, the Deep South Boys, Blind Willie McTell and a host of other blues / gospel / country legends all in one collection, but it just goes to show you how interchangeable it all really is. Who cares about labels? Good music is good music, and there is not a single bad performance in this entire set.

If you stumble upon a copy of this collection for sale at any price, and love good music, get your hands on it. Unfortunately, certain wildly popular so-called "artists" of the 21st century will be with us forever, but real music is getting harder and harder to come by. The longer I stay around, the more I see "music" morphing into an "industry" emphasizing fashion statements, hair styles, sexy singers, amplified voices and popularity contests, while offering less and less genuine talent.

Snap it up.

Lovingly compiled, with liner notes which in themselves could spawn a book, if not a movie, this package traces the gospel/soul/country/blues roots of the labels now owned by Sony. Every song is a gem...the mastering is superb and for all those who have rediscovered Americana through "O Brother Where Art Thou' this is the next logical step in your collection.

But oink oink what a money grubber to ask 299.00 for this set.
Whoever is asking almost 300.00 for this set,I really think that is abit overboard.
I hope you don't sell it frankly.

I realize you can ask what you want,but this is really over the top.

How lucky you are if you have this or if you are purchasing it now. I was one of the lucky ones who bought it back in '92, not as a music "scholar" but as someone who loves the history of popular music. When first released "Roots and Blues" was touted as delineating the path to what became rock 'n roll. That it does, but it is so much more-- great, wonderful, charming, moving, delightful, entertaining MUSIC of so many genres, a melting pot of melody-- so... American. What hasn't been mentioned before is the accompanying booklet, a treasure trove of information about every cut and performer. Listen, read, enjoy. Repeat.