1928 Sessions

Mississippi John Hurt

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yazoo
• ASIN: B000000G82
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #279,490 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Mississippi John Hurt recorded 13 country-blues songs for the Okeh Electric Records company in 1928. Then he vanished. Actually, he never left his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi. He simply put the guitar down. It was the Great Depression, times were tough, money was scarce, and he needed to work. Nearly 30 years later, a blues enthusiast tracked him down and took him back to Washington, D.C. Suddenly, Mississippi John's musical career resumed as quickly as it had been halted. These first songs cut in the late 1920s, however, represent Hurt in his youthful prime; the 1928 recordings represent the greatest presentation of his melancholy voice and hypnotic guitar playing. --Percy Keegan

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

This ordering of thirteen blues, ballads, rags, and spirituals features the gentlest of Delta performers. Sharecropper/songster Hurt sings confidently in a throaty but quiet voice and picks guitar patterns that tell of his inner delight. His winsome music-from the John Henry tale "Spike Driver Blues" to the smilingly off-color "Candy Man Blues"-is essential listening. Bear with the surface noise of the 78s. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Delta Blues Player, May 24, 2007

By	Jess "melodic picker" (St. Louis, Mo USA) - See all my reviews

I am a long time fan of Mississippi John Hurt. His music is legend. I bought this CD to add to my blues collection. It has great songs on it. The only drawback, and this depends on the listener I guess, is that there is so much static it is difficult to catch the entire nuance of the music. This probably can't be avoided since the recordings are from his original sessions. I would like to think that one day someone will be able to filter out the static without loosing the music. It is almost like listening to those large thick old records on the turntable. All in all I am glad I purchased it.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soo-WEEET!, May 13, 2001

By	"mutterjack" - See all my reviews

Okay, ignore the first nimrod's review. Let me help you out on something-- GO BUY THIS NOW. Mississippi John Hurt was an angel among early recorded country blues singers. His voice is like honey in a jar with the sun shining through it. His guitar playing is drop-dead gorgeous. An absolute master of the alternating thumb-picked bass, his other fingers must have looked like they were dancing as he played these glorious, raggy refrains. By all accounts, Hurt was a gentle and kind person, and this comes through clearly on his 1928 sessions. These are the only recordings Hurt made in the pre-war era, and after he made them he returned to his life of sharecropping and obscurity for the next three and a half decades. Fortunately for us, he was rediscovered (in his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi)by some stalwart blues researchers and went on to enjoy a succesful revival amidst the folk rock explosion of the 1960's (in which all manner of hippies glommed on to these musical greats, apparently only so they could dilute it and foul it up.)At any rate, there are other reissues of these sessions-- a recent one on (I believe) RCA/Bluebird and of course, on the fine, fine Document label (the best source for all researchers and collectors of this music,) but I am only familiar with the Yazoo edition, so I can't judge variations in sound quality from reissue to reissue. In the 1960's, up to his death, Mississippi John Hurt appeared at numerous events, including Newport Folk Festivals and TV appearances and made several albums worth of recordings, most of which are in circulation and are also highly recommended. Don't die without hearing this wonderful collection of songs.

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Because it is a 17--$ version of an album you can pay 10for, September 20, 2002

By	ty7777 "I don't give out m'name" (USA) - See all my reviews

Let me help you out- the music and the man-Fantastic! nevermind the movie. All of this material is available on the Avalon blues 1928 complete okeh recordings for 9.98 or so. And it is in excellent sound quality. Best you can ask for to be honest. Forget this overpriced set of the same music.