8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Luke Jordan!, November 3, 2000
This review is from: Songster Tradition (Audio CD)
This is an excellent addition to Document's comprehensive catalogue of pre - war blues recordings.
The African - American musicians now categorised as "songsters" generally came from a pre - blues tradition, and while including blues within their repertoire, also played spirituals, ballads, comic songs, dance tunes and traditional white folk songs. The best known today are probably Mississippi John Hurt, Mance Lipscomb, Willie McTell and Pink Anderson.
Many others never recorded, or were captured in just one or two sesions. These some of these musicians are presented here. The first six tracks emanate from two 1927 sessions by Papa Harvey Hull & Long "Cleve" Red, and demonstrate some of the repertoire of the songsters. Other tracks are by Big Boy Cleveland (1927), william and Versey Smith (1927), Eli Framer (1929) and Louie Lasky (1935).
The standout tracks, however, are by the great Virginia songster Luke Jordan. He recorded only twice, in 1927 and 1929, and almost all his known recordings are contained here. (Two tracks discovered after this CD was released are also available on Document). Jordan had a fine Piedmont guitar style, a cleanly articulated vocal approach, and a sly humour in his lyrics. His performance of "Travellin' Man" is a classic, as is the humourously cynical "Church Bells Blues".
Any lover of East Coast style blues should buy this album for the Luke Jordan tracks alone. Many others will find this a fascinating album illustrating the range of pre - blues approaches surviving in the 1920s.
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