Complete 1931 Recordings in Chronological Order

by Skip James

Overview

With his high, eerie falsetto and haunting guitar tunings, Skip James sounds like no other country blues player. Although his lyrics were generally drawn from the floating bag of cliches that showed up in countless blues songs, his atmospheric recordings, done in 1931 for Paramount, gave James' songs the appearance of poignancy, and his sad, lonely vocal style made them all seem heartfelt. When he was rediscovered in the mid-'60s, his skills were still intact, and he made several solid recordings for Vanguard and other labels, but his reputation really rests on the 18 tracks from the 1930s presented here. "Devil Got My Woman," "Cypress Grove Blues," and "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" are all one of a kind classics, as are "I'm So Glad" (later covered by Cream) and "Illinois Blues," both of which contain kinetic acoustic guitar breaks that simply explode out of the verses. James was also a pretty interesting piano player, and his playing on "If You Haven't Any Hay Get on Down the Road" sounds again like no other country blues pianist. This collection duplicates what is found on both the Document and Yazoo releases, and it matters little which one you pick up. All three come from the same sources, and all have the same amount of snaps, cracks, and hailstone hiss in all the same places. Don't let that stop you, though, because these are beautiful and maverick performances, and essential for a good blues collection. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	09/15/1994
Label:	Yazoo
UPC:	0016351200921
Rank:	47594

Tracks

1. Devil Got My Woman
2. Cypress Grove Blues
3. Little Cow and Calf Is Gonna Die Blues
4. Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues
5. Drunken Spree
6. Cherry Ball Blues
7. Jesus Is a Mighty Good Leader
8. Illinois Blues
9. How Long Blues
10. 4 O'Clock Blues
11. 22-20 Blues
12. Hard Luck Child
13. If You Haven't Any Hay Get on Down the Road
14. Be Ready When He Comes
15. Yola My Blues Away
16. I'm So Glad
17. What Am I to Do Blues
18. Special Rider Blues

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Skip James   Primary Artist,Vocals,Foot Stomping,Piano,Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)

Technical Credits

Skip James   Composer
Robert Johnson   Composer
Johnny Parth   Compilation Producer,Producer
Chris Smith   Liner Notes
Henry Thomas   Composer
Nehemiah James   Composer
Leroy Carr   Composer
J. Mayo Williams   Composer
Sonny Terry   Composer
Traditional   Composer