Rating 4.0
The best overview of the blues transition I've ever found!I got into the blues the way a lot of folks in my generation did: through covers by Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and other rock bands. I know "modern" blues well -- B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Mississippi John Hurt, Lightnin' Hopkins (who I was lucky enough to see in a tiny club in Dallas before he died). But the transition of the blues from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago and other points north has always been kind of hazy. I've read numerous books on the history of the blues, and I've bought MANY compilations, but I never came across anything that provided a seamless transition from Delta blues to the dawn of rock 'n' roll. This series is phenomenal. The sound quality is uniformly excellent, especially considering the age and source material of some of these tunes. My favorites are Discs 3 and 4 because they contain the essence of the blues and blues-to-rock that I know. But put these four CDs in your CD player and play them sequentially and you will get a phenomenal sonic history of the evolution of the blues. There's another When the Sun Goes Down that covers the Piedmont blues, which, combined with Delta-to-Chicago blues truly came together and gave birth to rock. Someone gave this one star because of sonic quality. I suggest they have their CD player checked, since I found the quality to be excellent on all four CDs. If you are like me and "kind of know blues" but want a better understanding of the blues' evolution, then buy this!
If you're interested in how blues got to rock 'n' roll, these CDs are available individually. That's how I got the four. I started with CD4, which ends with Little Richard's first recording...and leaves you on the doorstep of the birth of rock. Then I worked my way back in time, buying CD3, which is GREAT, and finally I just went ahead and bought 1 and 2. I'm glad I bought 1 and 2, because once I had all four and played them sequentially one night while reading a book, I felt myself transported in time and place as the blues evolved. It was an amazing experience!
Blues purist or casual listener -- this four-CD set is essential owning. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars...Some People Are Stupid - REALLY STUPIDThis review is a direct response to the person who has given it a solitary star. Well I fit into the category of people who "dont know better" This is the best sounding remastering I have EVER heard. The only things that I can think of that compare are Old Hat CDs (how they got some of the sounds on the Basement CD I dont know), JSPs Carter Family & Jimmmie Rodgers box sets, or many many items that Bear Family have been responsible for. I would like to hear Ace have a go remastering stuff from the dawn of recordings - but mostly their releases pick up (date-wise) just about where this stuff stops. As for Document - well, I rate them VERY highly and buy their stuff and enjoy it - BUT THEY DONT SOUND BETTER THAN THESE. It just isnt the case. I was astonished when I first heard the quality of the remastering on this set. Add to that the incredible sound they have got on the Sonny Boy Williamson's and Leadbelly's "Secret Histort" discs. I havent yet heard the Blind Willie McTell one. How anyone can say that this isnt the way this stuff is supposed to sound is beyond me. And its all been done without taking away ANYTHING from the integrity of the recordings. Have a listen and make your own mind up. The bloke who reviewed this and gave it only 1 star should go back to his medium wave radio. Fine retrospective for the devoted blues fan"The Secret History Of Rock And Roll" brings together a hundred original blues classics on four discs.
This series is designed to shine a light on the roots of rock & roll music, and the remastering of these many 70-year-old tracks sounds surprisingly good.
Among the instantly recognizable tunes, many of which were covered in one form or another by rock bands of the '60s and '70s are Big Joe Williams' "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Walk Right In" by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, Huddie Ledbetter's "The Midnight Special", "Statesboro Blues" by Blind Willie McTell, "Good Morning School Girl" by Sonny Boy Williamson, "Canned Heat Blues" by Tommy Johnson, and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right" and "My Baby Left Me".
All the discs in this series are available individually, and the last two volumes are the most immediately accessible for casual or "mid-level" fans, who might want to stick with just those two.
This well annotated collecion isn't supposed to be listened to in one long sitting...even this fine and influential music is not quite varied enough for that. But if you are seriously interested in early acoustic blues, and its influence on 50s and 60s rock n' roll, "When The Sun Goes Down" ranks among the best compilations of its kind.
4 1/2 stars. Definitely recommended. |
