From R. Crumb's cover, to this full 2 CD collection of 1920s and 1930s rarities, you just know this is going to be fun, and it is! Ol' sorry prison blues, country fiddlin', small church praisin', even a chicken clucking tune makes one mighty thankful for the 78s record collectors who hunt through old stacks of nearly forgotten labels to bring this Yazoo gem to market. There is less hiss than one would rightfully expect. These special and enjoyable blues and country tunes are recommended to a wide audience.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
This is a phenomenal collection of ultra-rare blues and country music records from the 1920s and '30s, most of them dubbed from the only known copies. Aside from having such uncommon recordings, it's also a wonderful anthology of first class music in those styles and worth hearing even for people who aren't specialist collectors. I would gladly have paid the price for the two unknown Son House sides. (I heard him play live in the 1960s!) Don't pay too much attention to the compilers' apologies about the sound quality, either; the transfers are excellent. There is one big problem with the set, though: an almost complete lack of information on the original records and very little about the performers. The stuff in the booklet about collecting is interesting enough, but I would much rather have found out something about the records and the musicians. Leslie GerberRead full review
Yazoo does such an excellent job getting the most quality sound out of these old recordings. This is similar in character to their before the blues series of discs but is a bit more obscure with the title selections ie rarity... The Son House recordings are quite good. Some of the other tunes can definately be found on other fine collections, but for the price this is certainly a bargain. I have to admit this period of music has always intrigued me but I had not aquired much of it until the last couple years. Now it pretty much dominates my listening time. If You are familiar with this period of music there is as You know a whole pile of interesting collections to aquire. If You are new to this Old Time music This is as good a starting point as any... and again The sound is quite good given the 78 sources.Read full review
An excellent collection of pre war blues, hillbilly and country from Yazoo records. No shortage of new names for even the most savy collector. The comic book illustrated by R. Crumb keeps obsesive record collectors like myself seeing the humor in collecting......Also, two cds with over forty sides is a great bargain at a list price around $20.00....
no cons only pros
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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