Men of Blues [Northquest]

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: Allegro Corporation (Dist

Notes: This curious three-disc box set mixes in old blues 78s with latter rediscovery recordings to form a rather random, but pleasantly cohesive (if somewhat cursory) introduction to early blues. The wide variety of styles here is impressive, though, ranging from the guttural roars of Charley Patton and Son House, through the highly personalized blues pieces of Sleepy John Estes, the haunting tunings of Skip James, to the near-jazz urban piano blues pieces of Peetie Wheatstraw and Amos Milburn. It's not an exhaustive box set, certainly, but it would probably work fine for casual listeners looking for a representative sampling of early blues styles. ~ Steve Leggett This is a curious and interesting budget-priced two-disc compilation of historical blues and jazzmen. And therein lies the beauty and the question: this set, spanning only 20 cuts over two discs, places the great jazz talents of the early era -- Louis Armstrong, Jazz Gillum, and Hot Lips Page -- in the same company as Charles Brown, Lightnin' Hopkins, Peetie Wheatstraw, and Barbecue Bob. What it reveals is the magical ability of the blues to translate across genres. This set is so strange it is worth picking up because of its rather hodgepodge focus. The sound is acceptable and the price is most certainly right. ~ Thom Jurek

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25