If You Take Me Back: Document Shortcuts, Vol. 2

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: Allegro Corporation (Dist

Notes: Personnel: Frank Hutchison, Joe McCoy, Johnny Temple, Memphis Minnie, Muddy Waters, Skip James, Alonzo Scales, Carolina Slim (vocals, guitar); Rev. Lonnie Farris, Bukka White, Casey Bill Weldon (vocals, slide guitar); Fiddlin' John Carson (vocals, fiddle); Jazz Gillum (vocals, harmonica); Courtland Thomas, Calvin Dillard, Clifford Medlock, Louis Jones, Alberta Perkins, Henry Singleton, Jewel Paige, Amos Easton, Thomas Johnson (vocals); Junior Morgan, Kansas Joe, Willie James Lacey, Tiny Webb, Brownie McGhee (guitar); George Barnes (electric guitar); John Mitchell (banjo); Phebel Wright (mandolin); Robert Lee McCoy , Sonny Terry (harmonica); Garvin Bushell (clarinet, alto saxophone); Johnny Dunn (clarinet); Maurice Simon (alto saxophone); Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis (tenor saxophone); Jewell L. Grant (bass saxophone); Joe "Bledsoe" Brown (trumpet); Herb Fleming (trombone); James Clark , Jelly Roll Morton, Willard McDaniel, Blind John Davis, Bob Call, Bob Gaddy (piano); Mister Zero, Mort Perry, George Woods, Deacon McMillan, Judge Riley, Oscar Lee Bradley (drums); Amanda Sortier, Washboard Sam (washboard); Star (tambourine). Recording information: Atlanta, GA (04/13/1927-??/??/1965); Boston, MA (04/13/1927-??/??/1965); Chicago, IL (04/13/1927-??/??/1965); Dagana, Senegal (04/13/1927-??/??/1965); Jennings, LA (04/13/1927-??/??/1965); KT (04/13/1927-??/??/1965); Los Angeles, CA (04/13/1927-??/??/1965); New York, NY (04/13/1927-??/??/1965). Unknown Contributor Role: Thyam Sy. Document Records has nearly 900 titles in its catalog and is easily the largest purveyor of American vernacular music, with titles featuring vintage American blues, jazz, boogie-woogie, gospel, old-timey, and country, all drawn from commercially released 78s and rare field recordings. If You Take Me Back is one of a series of samplers Document has released that allows a quick glimpse into the label's vast archive, and with tracks ranging from early country blues to stylish early jazz, it has a well-sequenced variety that is often lacking on the single-artist discs, which are predominantly archival in nature. Among the highlights here are Bukka White's classic 1940 recording of "Fixin' to Die Blues"; a rediscovered Skip James doing "Illinois Blues" at a 1964 concert in Boston; a raw, stunning field recording of Jimmy Peters & the Ring Dance Singers stomping through "Rockaway" in 1934; and the exciting gospel-blues of Rev. Lonnie Farris & the Gospel Flames on "Golden Street," recorded in 1962 and featuring some amazing electric slide guitar work from Farris. The range of styles presented here is impressive, and If You Take Me Back works both as a wonderful sampler of what Document offers and as a quick introduction to true American roots music at its finest. ~ Steve Leggett

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