DOWN HOME BLUES CLASSICS 1943-1953

Searching for a blues collection that covers a lot of ground? You might want to opt for Down Home Blues Classics, a 100-track post-WWII anthology released in 2004 by Boulevard Vintage. Given the high percentage of urban blues in this collection, the phrase "down home" could be misleading, unless you take into account the musicians' home turf, and the producers seem to have done exactly that by starting out in Texas, moving the focus up to the Great Lakes region (Chicago and Detroit), then downriver toward the Mississippi Delta. The lineup is wonderfully diverse because each selection is performed by a different artist, and only about 25-percent of these people are really well-known to casual blues followers. Examples of individuals from this set who deserve wider recognition are Thunder Smith (an early colleague of Lightnin' Hopkins); Dr. Hepcat, also known as Albert Lavada Hurst, who was the first African American DJ in Texas; Rattlesnake Cooper, Big Charlie Bradix, Rocky Fuller, Morris Pejoe, Little Hudson & His Red Devil Trio, Silver Cooks & the Gondoliers; Stick Horse Hammond, Lost John Hunter & His Blind Bats; Seth Richard, who recorded as Skoodle-Dum-Doo; Doug Quattlebaum, Square Walton, and Lazy Slim Jim. That list barely scratches the surface of this amazing stash of blues recordings dating from the years 1943-1953. (Allmusic)

trax CD 1 - Texas:
1. Little Mama Boogie - Thunder Smith 2. Cross Country Blues - Frankie Lee Sims 3. Hobo - J.D. Edwards 4. Hole In The Wall - L.C. Williams 5. Rock Island Blues (1947) - Leroy Ervin 6. Alley Special (1947) - Wright Holmes 7. Quinsella (1947) - Sonny Boy Johnson 8. Hattie Green (1949) - Dr. Hepcat 9. Angel Chile (1947) - Andy Thomas 10. Back To Santa Fe (1948) - Lee Hunter 11. Rattlesnake Blues (1949) - Rattlesnake Cooper 12. Mistreated Blues (1949) - Buddy Chiles 13. No One To Love Me (1949) - Leroy Johnson 14. Too Many Women Blues (1949) - Willie Lane 15. Locked In Jail Blues (1949) - Johnny Beck 16. Wee Wee Hours (1948) - Charlie Bradix 17. Forgive Me Blues (1950) - Jesse James 18. Black Snake Blues (1951) - Monister Parker 19. Neglected Woman (1951) - Alexander Moore 20. Gambling Blues (1949) - Lil' Son Jackson 21. Throw A Little Boogie (1949) - Manny Nichols 22. Give Me Central 209 (1951) - Lightnin' Hopkins 23. Western Rider Blues (1950) - Soldier Boy Houston 24. Take It Easy (1951) - Nat Terry 25. Sittin' Here Wonderin' (1951) - Luther Stoneham
trax CD 2 - Chicago & Detroit:
1. Boogie (1948) - Snooky Pryor & Moody Jones 2. Hard Times (1948) - Floyd Jones 3. Stop Messing Around (1948) - Walter Mitchell 4. Cadillac Woman (1948) - Robert Richard 5. Big City Blues (1949) - Big Maceo 6. Please Don't Think I'm Nosey (1949) - Baby Boy Warren 7. Notoriety Woman (1949) - Eddie Burns 8. Rolling Stone (1950) - Muddy Waters 9. Cut That Out (1953) - Junior Wells 10. Crawlin' King Snake (1951) - Tony Hollins 11. Crying Won't Help You (1951) - Robert Nighthawk 12. Soon One Morning (1952) - Rocky Fuller 13. Mean Old World (1952) - Little Walter 14. Tired Of Crying Over You (1952) - Morris Pejoe 15. It Was A Dream (1953) - John Brim 16. The Last Time (1952) - Jimmy Rogers 17. Sad Story (1952) - Blue Smitty 18. Little School Girl (1952) - L.C. Greene 19. Something's Wrong With My Little Machine (1953) - Robert Henry 20. Brutal Hearted Woman (1953) - Johnny Shines 21. I'll Die Trying (1952) - J.B. Lenoir 22. I'm Looking For A Woman (1953) - Little Hudson 23. I'm The Boogie Man (1953) - John Lee Hooker 24. She Fool Me (1953) - Harvey Hill Jr. 25. High & Lonesome (1953) - Jimmy Reed
trax CD 3 - Memphis & The South:
1. She's A Married Woman (1949) - Big Joe Williams 2. How Many More Years (1951) - Howlin' Wolf 3. Build Myself A Cave (1950) - Mr. Honey 4. Mr.Ticket Agent (1949) - Silver Cooks 5. Creole Gal Blues (1949) - Edgar Blanchard 6. Too Late Baby (1950) - Stick Horse Hammond 7. Country Boy (1949) - Pee Wee Hughes 8. Ardelle (1950) - David Pete McKinley 9. Cadillac Blues (1952) - J.D. Horton 10. Schoolboy (1950) - Lost John Hunter 11. Eyesight To The Blind (1951) - Sonny Boy Williamson 12. 1951 Blues (1951) - Luther Huff 13. New Arrival (1951) - Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones 14. Dust My Broom (1951) - Elmore James 15. Catfish Blues (1951) - Bobo Thomas 16. Goin' Back To Mama (1952) - Clarence London 17. Highway 80 Blues (1953) - Tommy Lee 18. Western Union Man (1953) - Chicago Sunny Boy 19. After Awhile (1952) - Papa Lightfoot 20. Sweet Angel (1953) - Earl Hooker 21. Seventy Four Blues (1951) - Willie Love 22. Easy (1953) - Jimmy & Walter 23. Take A Little Chance (1953) - Jimmy Deberry 24. Make A Little Love (1952) - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup 25. Goin' To New Orleans (1953) - Little Sam Davis
trax CD 4 - New York & The East Coast:
1. Broome Street Blues (1943) - Skoodle-Dum-Doo & Sheffield 2. Black Jack Blues (1943) - Gabriel Brown 3. Worried Man Blues (1947) - Blues Boys 4. Income Tax Blues (1951) - Ralph Willis 5. Poor Little Angel (1949) - Dennis McMillan 6. Broke Down Engine Blues (1949) - Blind Willie McTell 7. Applejack Boogie (1949) - Pinetop Slim 8. Number Writer (1949) - Dan Pickett 9. She's Gone (1948) - Big Boy Ellis 10. Your Sweet Man Blues (1949) - Leroy Dallas 11. Blues Mixture (1949) - Stick McGhee 12. Shackles Round My Body (1949) - Little David 13. Ticket Agent (1949) - Curley Weaver 14. I Got What My Daddy Likes (1950) - Marylyn Scott 15. Blinds Blues (1951) - John Lee 16. Keep Your Hands Off 'Er (1951/2) - John Tinsley & Fred Holland 17. Awful Shame (1948) - Hank Kilroy 18. Lizzie Lou (1952) - Doug Quattlebaum 19. Rub A Little Boogie (1950) - Duke Bayou 20. So Much Trouble (1952) - Brownie McGhee 21. Wine Head Baby (1952) - Lazy Slim Jim 22. Baby, Let's Have Some Fun (1952) - Sonny Terry 23. Rumours About My Baby (1952) - Willie Baker 24. Gimme Your Bankroll (1953) - Square Walton 25. Shake Baby Shake (1952) - Champion Jack Dupree
...served by Gyro1966...