Bessie Smith: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1 [BOX SET]

Bessie Smith

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 9, 1991)
• Original Release Date: April 9, 1991
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027HT
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #100,160 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bessie Smith wasn't the first of the classic blues singers to record, but once she did, she became the form's dominant force, with a voice that combined clear diction, great power, and a unique capacity to convey complex emotions. Weariness gives way to resilience and sorrow to joyous triumph in Smith's performances, and there's nobility in her delivery of even the sometimes tritely comic lyrics she sang. This is the first of five two-CD sets that gather all her known recordings. The first 38 songs, from February 1923 to April 1924, are here. Smith was a presence when she first arrived in the studio: "Downhearted Blues," her first record and already a hit for its composer, Alberta Hunter, would sell nearly 800,000 copies in its first six months of release. It's a riveting performance, but there's greater substance just a couple of months later in the bending notes of "Oh Daddy Blues." There are many majestic performances here, with Smith usually accompanied by just piano, played by songwriter Clarence Williams, her working accompanist Irving Johns, or Fletcher Henderson. When her accompaniments begin to expand, Don Redman makes an appearance on clarinet, but the great band recordings with Louis Armstrong remain in the future. The liner notes, by Smith's biographer, Chris Albertson, are excellent, filled with illuminating background and details of Smith's career during her first year of fame. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smooth yet rough, classic blues, October 21, 2003

By	J. B. Barton "Beth Barton" (Saint Petersburg, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Listening to this CD set is like sitting in one of those smoke filled blues bars on in an old, old movie. I first heard Bessie Smith on a small town blues radio program - you know, one of those stations that gave an hour or two to different kinds of music, so the jockeys for the particular genre really know their stuff. Her voice really stood out from all the rest. It is smooth like Ella Fitzgerald but sorrowful and knowing. I am an Ella fan too, but Bessie has more IN her voice. I would love to have heard her sing some gospel because you can hear the pure power in her voice without her every really using it. It is like a deep river running slowly.

The sound quality of the recording is ... well, have you ever listened to vinyl? It is like that, sort of. You can tell it is old. For me, though, that just adds to its charm. The accompanyment(sp?) is piano - no blaring horns or anything like that. This is slow, classic blues.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mother of All Blues Singing Ladies, March 15, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

Anyone who wants to know how the blues are sung should listen to Bessie Smith. Or anyone who already knows and wants the complete recordings should get out the wallet for this "Volume 1." Bessie's the mother of them all. With a voice like a pipe organ belting out sad songs of betrayal, abuse, violence, and rough love she defined blues singing back in the '20's and '30's Nobody's ever done it better. Engineering substantially reduces the old '78 hiss. These 2 CD's and the well-written informative booklet included are well worth the price. One hopes the succeeding volumes will be as well done.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Undisputed Queen of the Blues, August 5, 2005

By	R. Cousineau (New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The blues is not just a musical genre,some of the artists who have made this particular kind of music are without a doubt some of the most gifted performers of all time.Bessie Smith is such an individual and she was not without peer but certainly she was one of the best voices this genre(or any genre really)had to offer.These sides sound great and the transfers are of the highest quality allowing the listener to hear the emotion she sang with.
This first set is the cream of the recordings she made...just voice and piano.I still think that when you want to showcase the peformer that this is how you do it....no tricks.Her phrasing and delivery are what sets her apart from the rest.If you have this already,then buy it for somebody you know that loves the blues.If you don`t own it,take a chance and you to will be amazed by this singular talent - Bessie Smith is where all roads lead to.