Customer Reviews

When the Sun Goes Down: The Secret History of Rock & Roll

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Secret History of Rock and Roll is 100 pioneering blue classics on four compact discs available either separately or as a set. Disc 1 contains some early roots music and is made up of country jug bands, some gospel, a little bluegrass and some vaudeville. Disc 1 features some rare recordings from Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, the Hall Johnson Choir and Julius Daniels to name but three of the 25 represented here. Disc 2 features the earliest known recordings of the best known blues songs such as Noah Lewis' jug standard "Viola Lee Blues" later performed by the Grateful Dead and Sleepy John Estes' "The Girl I Love" which is familiar to all Led Zeppelin fans. Disc 3 brings into focus some material performed by the first generation of blue's stars including, Sonny Boy Williamson, Yank Rachell, Pinetop Perkins and Roosevelt Sykes. Disc 4 represents the sound of the blues post World War II with more of an electric, uptempo, beat. Overall, the recordings are excellently remastered and the set represents a really good overview of the historical development of the blues. Mainly for those interested in the history of the blues.

This review is a direct response to the person who has given it a solitary star. Well I fit into the category of people who "dont know better"

This is the best sounding remastering I have EVER heard. The only things that I can think of that compare are Old Hat CDs (how they got some of the sounds on the Basement CD I dont know), JSPs Carter Family & Jimmmie Rodgers box sets, or many many items that Bear Family have been responsible for. I would like to hear Ace have a go remastering stuff from the dawn of recordings - but mostly their releases pick up (date-wise) just about where this stuff stops.

As for Document - well, I rate them VERY highly and buy their stuff and enjoy it - BUT THEY DONT SOUND BETTER THAN THESE. It just isnt the case.

I was astonished when I first heard the quality of the remastering on this set. Add to that the incredible sound they have got on the Sonny Boy Williamson's and Leadbelly's "Secret Histort" discs. I havent yet heard the Blind Willie McTell one.

How anyone can say that this isnt the way this stuff is supposed to sound is beyond me. And its all been done without taking away ANYTHING from the integrity of the recordings.

Have a listen and make your own mind up.

The bloke who reviewed this and gave it only 1 star should go back to his medium wave radio.

"The Secret History Of Rock And Roll" brings together a hundred original blues classics on four discs.
This series is designed to shine a light on the roots of rock & roll music, and the remastering of these many 70-year-old tracks sounds surprisingly good.

Among the instantly recognizable tunes, many of which were covered in one form or another by rock bands of the '60s and '70s are Big Joe Williams' "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Walk Right In" by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, Huddie Ledbetter's "The Midnight Special", "Statesboro Blues" by Blind Willie McTell, "Good Morning School Girl" by Sonny Boy Williamson, "Canned Heat Blues" by Tommy Johnson, and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right" and "My Baby Left Me".
All the discs in this series are available individually, and the last two volumes are the most immediately accessible for casual or "mid-level" fans, who might want to stick with just those two.

This well annotated collecion isn't supposed to be listened to in one long sitting...even this fine and influential music is not quite varied enough for that. But if you are seriously interested in early acoustic blues, and its influence on 50s and 60s rock n' roll, "When The Sun Goes Down" ranks among the best compilations of its kind.
4 1/2 stars. Definitely recommended.

I can't believe the recordings were remastered from over 70 years ago. The sound quality on this 4 disc set is great. There are so many songs on this that I had no idea weren't originals to the stars that made them famous, like "That's All Right" and "My Baby Left Me" (both familiar as Elvis tunes).

Really clever liner notes too; they're written after each track so you can literally follow along as you're listening to learn about the music. Cool gift idea for my Dad who's impossible to shop for!

This is an excellent collection of roots recordings. As Bob Dylan said, in a interview (Robert Hilburn, Los Angeles Times
April 10, 2004)
"You can't just copy somebody. If you like someone's work, the important thing is to be exposed to everything that person has been exposed to. Anyone who wants to be a songwriter should listen to as much folk music as they can, study the form and structure of stuff that has been around for 100 years. I go back to Stephen Foster."
If you want to find your voice, this is an excellent collection to study, learn, and play.

Can't help but compare this compilation with Martin Scorceses presents the blues box set. It's a great introduction to the blues and gives you the who's who of that time period. It's difficult to name one standout track as there are so many, but it's safe to say that if you're looking for no nonsense, raw blues, this is the compilation to buy. The sound is great considering most of the numbers are so old. It's usually difficult to find compilations of this great quality, but this one delivers. The only setback(but it is a minor one) would be that the record company have choosen not to include one booklet with all the track and artist information. These are included individually with each disc.

It is nice to be able to hear the original recordings of these songs, and to gain a better perspective of where we came from, musically. The remastering is very good, especially considering the shape that some of the original recordings must have been in. The documentation is excellent, and led me to seek out other artists and songs not found on this 4 disc compilation. There is also a Volume 5 in this series; Leadbelly: Take This Hammer, which is also very well done. I like having a liner notes booklet with each CD, but that is just personal preference, and I can see the value of having all of the notes in one booklet, too.