The Blues is the Roots...Everything Else is the Fruits Part I

The weather is getting cold, I'm living in a ghost town, and life is feeling the need to repeatedly kick me in the teeth. What better way to deal with it all than to post some original sad bastard music? These are essential Blues recordings from the 1930s and 40s that you can sure as hell bet I'll post again. Because no wordiness can do these men justice, Ill critique in my typical fanboy style.

Son House-Library of Congress Sessions

Field recordings from 1941 and 1942. The so-called "Father of the Delta Blues" had an enormous influence on Robert Johnson and the like but of all the bluesman, Son House had the THE voice. There was so much power and anger behind it that it's impossible to ignore and, consequently, impossible to accurately describe. You feel the weight of his world when you listen to him.

Robert Petway-Catfish Blues: Mississippi Blues Vol. 3

Idolized by Jimi Hendrix and Muddy Waters, Petway was like many blues musicians who didn't become popular in the 60s Blues Revival but remained important. This collection has all of Petway's material with a few other respectable artists. His guitar playing is fantastic and while his singing is weaker than other popular bluesman, the guy knew what to do with an axe. His licks turn heads.

Mississippi John Hurt-Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Sessions

I don't even know how to describe this. It makes me feel really strange because it doesn't sound like he has the blues but something isn't quite right. His voice is this warm, soothing instrument in itself but there is a subtle sadness dripping from each word. The guitar playing is wonderful as well. I hate throwing a term like shoegaze at an old blues album but its what I feel like doing when I hear this. Quite hypnotic indeed.

From an older post...

Skip James-1931 Sessions

That weepy high voice makes my knees shake and sends a shiver down my spine each time. My personal favorite. Far more depressing than any of the others in my humble opinion. His guitar playing goes into some legitimate freak out sessions as far as Blues concerned. He's a great piano player as well but all I can stress is his voice, his voice, his voice...

Next up: Some Charley Patton (he's an original, I just don't feel like uploading all of it), Robert Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Furry Lewis, and moooooorrreeeeee