For their fifth box set of their essential Down Home Blues series, the Wienerworld label has put together a 3 disc set of artists from the deep south from the 1940s and 50s, taking you through rural dirt roads and low ceilinged juke joints. The 83 songs are culled from various 78 and 45 rpms, and are fantastically remastered for rich clarity.
The Deep South was the source for much of the blues sound that eventually became R&B and rock and roll. This set starts in 1941 with Frank Edwards singing and playing the rack harmonica with Washboard Sam on some down home folk tunes like “Sweet Man Blues” an Three Woman Blues” and ends up in Atlanta in 1961 with Danny Boy Thomas boogieing hard on guitar with Jerry Reed on ‘Koko Me Baby” and “Wild Women”. In between you have vintage Sonny Boy Williams wailing on the harmonica on ‘Alice Mae Blues” as well as a real young Ray Charles on the piano in Miami for a 1951 session that has him jamming on “Guitar Blues” and in fantastic voice on the agonizing “Where Did You Go”. Marilyn Scott gets rocking on guitar and voice with an R&B team on “Beer Bottle Boogie” and “Uneasy Blues” and David Wylie takes to the deep Delta on “Baby You Don’t Mean Me No Good”.
Some of the blues are acoustic and informal, others include electric guitar and are jumping hard. Each song takes you travelling through time and to places that have now been cemented over and civilized, both urban wise and musically.
The 78 page book that accompanies the 3 discs includes a series of essays, a complete and thorough session listing, some very cool and rare photos and a collection of labels from the original 78s and 45s. This set oozes with the swampy heat of the rural south.