American Folk Blues Festival: 1962-1965 [Box]

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: Select-O-Hits

Notes: Full title: American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1965. AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL '62 personnel: John Lee Hooker, Brownie McGhee (vocals, guitar); Sonny Terry, Shakey Jake (vocals, harmonica); T-Bone Walker (vocals, guitar, piano); Memphis Slim (vocals, piano); Willie Dixon (vocals, bass); Jump Jackson (drums). AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL '63 Part 1 personnel: Muddy Waters (vocals, guitar); Sonny Boy Williamson (vocals, harmonica); Memphis Slim, Otis Spann (vocals, piano); Willie Dixon (vocals, bass); Matt "Guitar" Murphy (guitar); Billie Stepney (drums). AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL '63 Part 2 personnel: Big Joe Williams, Lonnie Johnson (vocals, guitar); Victoria Spivey (vocals, ukulele, piano); Otis Spann (vocals, piano); Willie Dixon (vocals, bass); Matt "Guitar" Murphy (guitar); Memphis Slim (piano); Billie Stepney (drums). AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL '64 personnel: Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, Sleepy John Estes, John Henry Barbee (vocals, guitar); Sonny Boy Williamson (vocals, harmonica); Willie Dixon (vocals, guitar, bass); Sugar Pie DeSanto (vocals); Hubert Sumlin (guitar); Hammie Nixon (harmonica, jug); Sunnyland Slim (piano); Clifton James (drums). AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL '65 personnel: Jimmie Lee Robinson (vocals, guitar, bass); Doctor Ross (vocals, guitar, drums); Mississippi Fred McDowell, J.B. Lenoir, John Lee Hooker (vocals, guitar); Buddy Guy (vocals, guitar, bass); Big Walter "Shakey" Horton (vocals, harmonica); Roosevelt Sykes (vocals, piano); Eddie Boyd (vocals, piano, organ); Big Mama Thornton (vocals); Fred Below (drums). Producers: Horst Lippmann (disc 1); Siegfried Loch (discs 2-5). Reissue producer: Jerry Gordon. Engineers: Peter Kramper (discs 2-3); H.G. Dozel (disc 5). Recorded live in Hamburg, Germany and Bremen, Germany between October 18, 1962 and October 7, 1965. Includes liner notes by Bill Dahl. Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocals, guitar, piano); Doctor Ross (vocals, guitar, drums); J.B. Lenoir, Jimmie Lee Robinson, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lonnie Johnson, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters, Sleepy John Estes, Big Joe Williams, Brownie McGhee, Buddy Guy (vocals, guitar); Shakey Jake Harris, Sonny Boy Williamson, Sonny Terry, Big Walter Horton (vocals, harp); Eddie Boyd (vocals, piano, organ); Memphis Slim, Otis Spann, Roosevelt Sykes, Sunnyland Slim, Victoria Spivey (vocals, piano); Sugar Pie DeSanto, Willie Dixon, Big Mama Thornton (vocals); Hubert Sumlin (guitar); Clifton James, Fred Below, Billy Stepney, Jump Jackson (drums). Liner Note Author: Bill Dahl. Recording information: Bremen, Germany (10/18/1962-10/07/1965); Hamberg, Germany (10/18/1962-10/07/1965). Photographer: David Gahr. Unknown Contributor Roles: Alan Edwards ; Victoria Spivey. From 1962 until 1971, the American Folk Blues Festival was responsible for bringing dozens of the most celebrated American blues artists to audiences from England to Poland. For many of the musicians, these were the largest audiences they'd ever played to, and the first (and often only) decent money they ever made. This five-CD set captures the vital early years of the festival more fully than any prior issues, with previously unreleased bonus tracks (some of which overlaps). The 1962 volume was recorded live in Hamburg, and has no extra tracks, but the material is so vital and robust that this volume, featuring Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, never needed it. The 1963 disc, recorded live in Bremen, opens with three previously unreleased live Memphis Slim cuts, and follows these with a previously unissued Muddy Waters solo acoustic guitar piece and three more never-issued numbers featuring Muddy backed by Dixon, Otis Spann, and Matt "Guitar" Murphy. The three Sonny Boy Williamson bonus tracks were very late in the day and constitute some of the very last songs left behind by the increasingly ailing harp legend. The 1964 volume is a little less enhanced, with two songs by Willie Dixon and one song each by Sonny Boy Williamson, Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon, and Sugar Pie DeSanto. The 1965 volume was always the odd one in this series; as a studio recording rather than a concert document, it lacks the vibrancy of the earlier volumes, but its eight bonus tracks do include some interesting moments by Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, John Lee Hooker, and Big Walter Horton. The sound quality is good, but given the time that's passed, a full set of notes might have been nice. ~ Bruce Eder

Rolling Stone (2/22/96, p.60) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...an important complement, a reminder that the blues is not just a national treasure. For some folks, it's been a living..." Down Beat (3/98, p.65) - 4 1/2 stars (out of 5) - "...a single disc...that offers a representative cross-section of the five-disc set and does so in an entertainingly educational fashion..." JazzTimes (3/96, p.85) - "...astonishing....blues legends...all at the top of their game....A must for blues collectors." Living Blues (3-4/96, pp.84-85) - "...The sound quality of this collection is excellent, as is the documentation of the festival in the accompanying booklet. With AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1962-1965, Evidence has compiled a beautiful and timeless anthology." Sing Out! (4-5-6/96, p.144) - "...an age when blues giants still walked the earth....There is way too much great music here to discuss it in detail. Suffice it to say that this set is as good as one would expect."

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