"American Primitive" Vol. 2 - Pre-War Revenants (1897-1939)

Revenants. Phantoms. Biographical ciphers who emerged from their anonymous dark, made 78 rpm recordings, and were promptly swallowed up by darkness again. Yet their recordings have made an indelible place for themselves in our world by dint of their capacity to inspire wonder.
At once a collection of secret blueprints for a raw musics revolution and a testament to the enduring power of great art to shock, confound, inspire and sustain. John Fahey’s final curated work for Revenant.
Revenant’s long-awaited follow-up to 1997’s much-saluted American Primitive Vol. I.
“Stunning. Buy this now.” – Esquire
“Exquisite.” – Pitchfork
“Remarkable.” – NPR’s All Things Considered
“Anyone interested in American culture should find a way to hear this record. It’s possibly the most important archival release since Harry Smith’s seminal Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952.” – Harper’sIn the early days of the recording industry, many folk performers made just a few records, or only one record, before vanishing, their life stories and basic biographical data untraceable to this day. American Primitive, Vol. 2 assembles 50 tracks from such performers on this two-disc set, most from the late '20s and early '30s (the sole cut predating 1926 is Cousins & DeMoss' "Poor Mourner," from 1897). On one level, then, this is an incredibly valuable compilation for serious collectors of early American folk and blues music -- "names too obscure even for Harry Smith" (overseer of the revered Anthology of American Folk Music collections), as the liner notes declare. That's true -- not a one of these names will be familiar outside the hardcore collector circle. Mississippi blueswoman Geeshie Wiley is about the most "famous," and that's about as much for the unavailability of hard information about her as for her music. On a more general level, however, the anthology's of great value to anyone with an interest in such material, not just serious collectors, on several accounts. The level of the performances is almost up to par with those of the more famous early blues and folk musicians. The variety, from rural blues and Appalachian folk to gospel, ragtime, and minstrel-ish novelty, is much greater than it is on most such anthologies. The mastering, courtesy of the fine folks at Revenant, is about as good as it'll get for such aged discs, and the whole lot is given Revenant's usual scrupulous yet entertaining annotation. What you'll find particularly engaging will depend upon your particular tastes, but some of the more ear-opening digs into this archive include the sharp, pinching acoustic blues guitar of Henry Spaulding's "Cairo"; Homer Quincy Smith's penetratingly funereal "Go Down Moses"; the disconsolate humming of Pigmeat Terry; and the masterful blues-folk guitar picking on Bayless Rose's instrumental "Frisco Blues." Overall, it's a testament to the variety of expression picked up on record at a time when deciding what to record, and how to perform what was recorded, was a much more spontaneous exercise than it would usually be in later eras. (Richie Unterberger, Allmusic)

trax disc 1:

1. I Want Jesus To Talk With Me Homer - Quincy Smith 2. Deal Rag - Walter Taylor 3. Motherless Child Blues - Elvie Thomas 4. Big Bed Bug (Bed Bug Blues) - Tommy Settlers & His Blues Moaner 5. I Got Your Ice Cold Nugrape - The NuGrape Twins 6. Molly Man - (Red Hot) Old Mose / Moses Mason 7. Black Dog Blues - Bayless Rose 8. Workhouse Blues - Mattie May Thomas 9. Bo-Lita - Kid Brown & His Blues Band 10. My Mama Always Talked To Me - John Hammond 11. Ballin' The Jack - The Salty Dog Four 12. Friday Moan Blues - Alfred Lewis 13. Pick Poor Robin Clean - Geeshie Wiley 14. It's Cold In China Blues - The Mississippi Moaner 15. Black Sheep Blues - Pigmeat Terry 16. Old Hen Cackle - Two Poor Boys 17. Frisco Blues - Bayless Rose 18. Hot Time Blues - William Harris 19. Take A Look At That Baby - Two Poor Boys 20. Skinny Leg Blues - Geeshie Wiley 21. Little Birdie - John Hammond 22. Little Girl In Rome - Otto Virgial 23. Dangerous Blues - Mattie May Thomas 24. Mean Low Blues - Blues Birdhead 25. Be My Kid Blues - Elizabeth Johnson

trax disc 2:

1. Last Kind Words Blues - Geeshie Wiley 2. Poor Mourner - The Cousins & Virginia DeMoss 3. Jamestown Exhibition - Bayless Rose 4. There's A City Built Of Mansions - The NuGrape Twins 5. Cairo Blues - Henry Spaulding 6. Two White Horses In A Line - Two Poor Boys 7. Shrimp Man - (Red Hot) Old Mose / Moses Mason 8. Don't Mistreat Your Good Boyfriend - The Bubbling Over Five 9. Bull Frog Blues - William Harris 10. Purty Polly - John Hammond 11. Go Down Moses - Homer Quincy Smith 12. Over To My House - Geeshie Wiley & Elvie Thomas 13. Shaking Weed Blues - Tommy Settlers & His Blues Moaner 14. Big Mac From Macamere - Mattie May Thomas 15. Moaning The Blues - Pigmeat Terry 16. Original Blues - Bayless Rose 17. John Henry Blues [Take 3] - Two Poor Boys 18. Sobbin' Woman Blues - Elizabeth Johnson 19. Bad Notion Blues - Otto Virgial 20. Eagles On A Half - Geeshie Wiley 21. Mississippi Swamp Moan - Alfred Lewis 22. Red Cross The Disciple Of Christ Today - Moses Mason 23. Kansas City Blues - William Harris 24. As Free A Little Bird As Can Be - John Hammond 25. No Mo' Freedom - Mattie May Thomas

...served by Gyro1966...