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MATCHBOX BLUESMASTER SERIES SET 3
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MATCHBOX MSESET 3 [6 CDs: 5 hours 10 mins]
CD1
Memphis Harmonica Kings 1929-30
The Complete Recordings in Chronological Order of Noah Lewis and Jed Davenport
Noah Lewis
- Chickasaw Special (56337-2)
- Devil In The Woodpile (56338-2)
- Like I Want To Be (64734-2)
- Ticket Agent Blues (64736)
- New Minglewood Blues (64737-2)
- Selling The Jelly (64738)
- Bad Luck's My Buddy (64739-2)
Jed Davenport
- Selling The Jelly (C-6438)
- Talkin' Bout My Buddy (C-64739-2)
- How Long How Long Blues (m-197)
- Cow Cow Blues (M-198)
- Beale Street Breakdown (Mem-734)
- You Ought To Move Out Of Town (Mem-735)
- The Dirty Dozen (Mem-763)
- Jug Blues (Mem-764)
- Save Me Some (Mem-774)
- Piccolo Blues (Mem-775)
CD2
Texas Alexander Vol. 2 (1928-29)
- Sittin' On A Log (400454-B)
- Mama's Bad Luck Child (400455-B)
- Boe Hog Blues (400456-B)
- Work Ox Blues (402330-A)
- The Risin' Sun (402331-A)
- Penitentiary Moan Blues (402334-B)
- Blue Devil Blues (402335-A)
- Tell Me Woman Blues (402346-A)
- 'frisco Train Blues (402347-B)
- St. Louis Fair Blues (402348-B)
- I Am Calling Blues (402349-A)
- Double Crossing Blues (402639-B)
- Ninety-Eight Degree Blues (402640-A)
- Someday, Baby, Your Troubles Is Gonna Be Like Mine (402641-A)
- Water Bound Blues (402642-A)
- Awful Moaning Blues - part 1 (402643-B)
- Awful Moaning Blues - part 2 (402644-B)
CD3
Ramblin' Thomas 1928-32
Complete Recordings In Chronological Order
- So Lonesome (20334-2)
- Hard To Rule Woman Blues (20335-3)
- Lock And Key Blues (20336-3)
- Sawmill Moan (20337-2)
- No Baby Blues (20338-1)
- Ramblin' Mind Blues (20339-2)
- No Job Blues (20343-2)
- Back Gnawing Blues (20344-2)
- Jig Head Blues (21017-4)
- Hard Dallas Blues (21018-2)
- Ramblin' Man (21019-4)
- Poor Boy Blues (21020-4)
- Good Time Blues (21027-1)
- New Way Of Living Blues (21028-2)
- Ground Hog Blues (70666-1)
- Shake It Gal (70667-1)
CD4
Country Girls 1926-29
Lillian Miller
- Kitchen Blues (9570-A)
- Harbor Blues (13713-A)
- You Just Can't Keep A Good Woman Down (13714-A)
- Butcher Shop Blues (13176-B)
- Dead Drunk Blues (13178-A)
Hattie Hudson
- Doggone My Good Luck Soul (145338-2)
- Black Hand Blues (145339-2)
Gertrude Perkins
- No Easy Rider Blues (145340-1)
- Gold Daddy Blues ((145341-2)
Pearl Dickson
- Twelve Pound Daddy (145370-3)
- Little Rock Blues (145371-2)
Laura Henton
- He's Coming Soon (147562-2)
- Heavenly Sunshine (147563-1)
- Lord, Youve Sure Been Good To Me (KC-579)
- I Can Tell The World About This (KC-580)
- Plenty Good Room In My Father's Kingdom (KC-581)
- Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes (KC-582)
Bobbie Cadillac
- Carbolic Acid Blues (147599-2)
CD5
Rufus & Ben Quillian 1929-31
Blue Harmony Boys
- Sweet Miss Stella Blues (Gex-2471)
- Jacking The Load (Gex-2474-A)
- Take It Out Too Deep (Gex-2475-A)
- Ragged But Right (Gex-2476-A)
- All In Down And Out (Gex-2477-A)
- Good Feeling Blues (Gex-2478-A)
- Keep It Clean (150362-2)
- Good Right On (150363-1)
Rufus & Ben Quillian
- Working It Slow (151088-2)
- I Got Everything (150189-2)
- Satisfaction Blues (151090-1)
- It's Dirty But Good (151091- )
Rufus & Ben Quillian with James McCrary
- Holy Roll (151994-1)
- Workin' It Fast (151997-1)
James McCrary
- Shove It Up In There (151998-2)
- Loose Me From This Woman (151999-1)
CD6
Harmonica Showcase 1927-31
De Ford Bailey And D. H. 'Bert' Bilbro 1927-31
De Ford Bailey
- Pan-american Blues (E-22475/76)
- Dixie Flyer Blues (E-22501/02)
- Up Country Blues (E-22503/04)
- Evening Prayer Blues (E-22505/06)
- Muscle Shoals Blues (E-22507/08)
- Old Hen Cackle (E-22509/10)
- The Alcoholic Blues (E-22511)
- Fox Chase (E-22512)
- John Henry (47111-2)
- Ice Water Blues (47112-1)
- Davidson County Blues (47116-1)
D.H. 'Bert' Bilbro
- C. & N. W. Blues (402041)
- Mohana Blues (402042)
- Yes, Indeed I Do (402309)
- We're Gonna Have A Good Time Tonight (402310)
- Chester Blues (69364-2)
The third box in this reissue series proves just as invigorating as its confreres. For the genesis of the Matchbox releases and the principles of restoration, and a number of other essential elements, I’ll refer you back to my reviews of the first two boxes ( Set No.1 and Set No.2 )
The third box has plentiful variety, from harmonica to solo guitar and vocal, vocal duets and good old ‘Country Girls’. As before, each LP now occupies a CD and the average disc length is around 52 minutes.
The Harmonica Kings in chronological order – a constant feature of the recordings is the chronology – open the box with a vitalising sequence of 78s from 1929-30. Hear the amazing virtuosity of Noah Lewis, the Horowitz of the Harp, as he powers his way through some pieces either solo or with Sleepy John Estes and others. Even in the plentiful cornucopia of Memphis musicians Lewis is astonishing – his train tropes, blues hollers (spurred on by Estes) and the like are a marvel of invention and control. The Beale Street Rounders and Beale Street Jug Band featured Jed Davenport and the classic I’m Sitting on Top of the World is here of course, fully representative of this tight band, which covered hokum as well as blues and all stations in between. One thing they also did, with too much regularity, was play Tight Like That under different names, but I’m not complaining.
Disc 2 features the second volume in the series devoted to Texas Alexander, One of the three San Antonio, Texas tracks is in poor estate but, as Lonnie Johnson is accompanying, it’s insightful to hear how influential Alexander was on him as a significant amount of Alexander’s singing style seeped into Johnson’s own vocals. Alexander was something of an aficionado of filth, rather a constant in blues – I’d recommend Ninety-Eight Degree Blues, recorded with guitarist Little Hat Jones - but you’ll encounter others that entertain almost as much. Of most interest to Jazz fans will be the two sides where King Oliver plays with guitarist Eddie Lang and Clarence Williams at the piano (New York 1928) which are Tell Me Woman Blues and ‘Frisco Train Blues, and are far from the best-known of Oliver’s obbligato performances on disc.
Ramblin’ Thomas recorded largely in Chicago but there’s one side here from a visit to Dallas in February 1929. Four of these sides are honestly tagged with information that they are rough copies and I think better ones have now turned up. It’s an inevitable corollary of a straight LP-to-CD reissue series that one has to make the best of original LP material. Indeed, more of that 1932 session has now turned up than was known at the time Matchbox released this LP and can be sourced elsewhere, on CD and indeed online. Probably born in Louisiana Thomas was a superior lyricist with an excellent technique. His deft instrumental breaks are a constant pleasure and he absorbed elements of recorded performances from other artists – Victoria Spivey for instance – whilst there is a strong vein of autobiography in his ‘ramblings’, very much more pronounced than some of the more generic recounting of some of his contemporaries. The Dallas disc has a Country Dance feel to it, showing his versatility and ability to blend with requirements to earn an honest dollar, to augment what he earned in the streets.
The artists in disc 4 were recorded between 1926-29 and include Lilian Miller, with one side accompanied by the precocious and sadly short lived teenage Hersal Thomas, and her others with George W Thomas and Charlie Hill. She’s sadly a nondescript singer but her inclusion rounds out the picture. Much more satisfying is Hattie Hudson’s brace. Some have suggested that Gertrude Perkins was also Hudson as all their songs were recorded at the same session with the same pianist, Willie Tyson, but she sounds more laryngitic than Hudson to my ears and the accompaniment is more lugubrious. Pearl Dickson impresses whilst the Gospel singer Laura Henton sometimes has to contend with a mighty brass bass accompaniment but manages to overcome this and proves highly accomplished. The final track is by Bobbie Cadillac and she features on a previous release (MSE208) singing duets.
If you are after Good Time music, try disc 5 for the Blue Harmony Boys. Steady rhythm and hokum flair are their metier – saucy and slick. There’s some Hawaiian influence from time to time in the guitar styling though once again a number of these tracks are taken from poor originals which might limit enjoyment to some extent. The Boys included Rufus Quillian and Brother Jackson with possibly James McCrary – and Rufus was also joined by Ben Quillian when they recorded in Atlanta where they were certainly joined by McCrary.
The last CD, by pleasing symmetry, revisits the harmonica. De Ford Bailey is yet another of the harp railroad virtuosi whose command of the rhythms and whistles are splendidly conceived. He has a lightness too that is a fine corrective to more relentless performers. Catchy and flexible these NYC and Nashville sides are a constant delight, and you can play them straight through without any fatigue – farmyard impressions and whoops included. Bert Bilbro was a rather lesser player but a flexible stylist well worth getting to know and as much at home with railroad schtick as the Country milieu. His Chester Blues is really John Henry. Unusually in this series Bilbro was white.
The late Paul Oliver’s notes were always a wonderful addition to this series telling the reader everything necessary and known about the musicians and their backgrounds and songs. There’s much more to come in this sequence and much to relish here.
Jonathan Woolf