Track Listing

1. Hard Times Killing Floor Blues
2. Crow Jane
3. Washington D C Hospital Centre Blues
4. Special Rider Blues
5. Drunken Spree
6. Cherry Ball
7. How Long
8. All Night Long
9. Cypress Grove
10. Look Down The Road
11. My Gal
12. I'm So Glad

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21825 in Music
• Released on: 1995-10-23
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

PURE BLUES
I have the originals of Skip James and in my opinion his brilliant falsetto vocals and superb accoustic guitar playing have actually improved over the years although the sound quality on this cd is excellent. Big Bill Broonzy once said "you don't just sing the blues, you have to feel them" this is where I feel Skip James rates so highly with the likes of Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson. You can hear the emotions in his voice. "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues", "Crow Jane" and "I'm So Glad" are just a few examples of pure blues, however, I can state quite categorically that there is not one bad track on this cd. It was an absolute travesty that Skip James did not benefit more from his brilliance!

A glass half-empty....
Skip James was perhaps the most unremittedly morose performer in all bluesdom, and by the time he recorded this album he was an ailing, bitter old man. Having not recorded for over thirty years since his sessions for Paramount, he viewed his later work with contempt, barely concealing his bitterness that success was coming near the end of his life. Nevertheless, drawing from his canon of superb late twenties recordings, he reels off dazzling guitar showpieces and demonstrates an idiosyncratic piano technique picked from the Memphis brothels where he added pimp and house-pianist to his CV. "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" is a stand-out, perhaps the second greatest depression song ever, and one the finest examples of James's eerie falsetto and cross-tuned guitar. Also featured are "Cherry Ball", "Crow Jane" "Drunken Spree" and of course, "I'm So Glad" a brief, freewheeling song which Cream would later turn into a live staple that would last about as long as the last ice age. A classic acoustic blues album, ideally it should be purchased with "Devil Got my Woman" which is a perfect companion piece

Skip James Today
Heard Skip James on a blues prog on BBC 3 and needed to buy an album and was not disappointed.