Skip James - Hard Time Killing Floor - 2003.

Review:

Hard Time Killing Floor Blues was the first session Skip James recorded following his rediscovery by John Fahey and Henry Vestine in the mid-'60s. Though he had not played the blues for more than 20 years, his skills were largely undiminished, and he turns in a fantastic set here. James was the pinnacle of the Bentonia (Mississippi) sound, which combines complex fingerpicking with falsetto vocals, resulting in somewhat spooky-sounding strain of blues. James reprises several of his 1931 Paramount sides on this session, as well as a couple new tunes that chronicle the illnesses of James' latter days. Anyone with a passing interest in acoustic blues should own some James. This set would make a great starting point, especially for those who don't take well to the surface noise that can accompany his '30s sessions. The new mastering here sounds rich and warm. Highly recommended. [This set was previously released as Biograph 122, with a different running order.]

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Skip James - The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James - 1930.

Review
The Complete Early Recordings CD showcases a true guitar virtuoso who was no slouch on the piano either. His break on "Illinois Blues" is almost off-putting in the nonchalance with which he twists the notes around, and "How Long 'Buck'" features him giving forth some funky piano in an almost playful manner. This is a remastered edition of an earlier Yazoo collection, and features the same 18 songs that appeared on Document's Complete Recorded Works, but the sound quality is still a problem at times. High-quality sources for "What Am I to Do Blues," "4 O'Clock Blues," and several other of the numbers here are simply not known to exist, but these are the best-known editions of the songs until better 78 discs happen to turn up (if ever). Regardless of the surface noise, it is a delight listening to James' rippling guitar run on "4 O'Clock Blues" or his piano improvising (and improvising the percussion by pounding away with his feet) on "20-20 Blues." And his fiercely intense original rendition of "I'm So Glad" makes the repopularized version by Eric Clapton and Cream from the 1960s seem like easygoing pop. Actually, James' vocals tend to suffer under the weight of the surface defects far more than his playing -- the source discs distort on high-volume passages, which mostly occurs with his singing rather than his playing. Therefore, fans of blues guitar or piano need have no hesitation in picking this disc up. The Complete Early Recordings

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mp3 320 kbps - 71 Mb
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Skip James/Howlin' Wolf/Son House/Bukka White/Rev. Pearly Brown: Devil Got My Woman

Review

One of the most welcome offshoots of the folk revival of the early 1'60s was a renewed interest in rural blues styles; suddenly, a generation of superb blues artists whose music had been all but ignored for years found a new audience, with a handful going on to successful new careers. Devil Got My Woman: Blues at Newport 1966 is comprised of footage shot by noted archivist and producer Alan Lomax during {~the 1966 Newport Folk Festival, including appearances by country blues masters Howlin' Wolf, Son House, Skip James, Bukka White, and Rev. Pearly Brown.

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