16 Classic Blues Songs from the 1920's Volume 5

 

You should know by now that I love this series and the early, acoustic blues sounds that they promote and this collection is certainly no exception!

Texas Alexander is a helluva guitar player and his "Range In My Kitchen Blues" is excellent, as is Blind Lemon Jefferson's guitar playing and singing on the bouncy "One Dime Blues", Rube Lacy is appropriately maudlin with minimal guitar backing in "Mississippi Jail House Groan", Blind Joe Reynolds is positively frantic in his "Nehi Mama Blues", Ma Rainey follows with her slightly more orchestrated "Deep Moaning Blues" before returning to simple guitar and voice for Crying Sam Collins' "Jail House Blues".

Banjo Joe (Gus Cannon) breaks things up with his ringin' banjo and whistlin' on "Madison Street Rag" and Blind Blake never fails to impress and his fingers are flying in "Seaboard Stomp", the Mississippi Sheiks fill out their sound with fiddle (is that more than one or is my ears playing tricks on me) on "The New Shake That Thing", then Blind Blake is back to complain (legitimately) about the "Low Down Jail House Blues", Ida Cox is "Cold and Blue" as she croons with piano accompaniment, and the keys also back up Elzadie Robinson's holiday blues "The Santa Claus Crave", while Blind Blake returns to let us know he learned his lesson about messin' with married women in "Ain't Gonna Do That No More". The team of Blind Willie McTell and Mary Willis do nice bluesy duets in "Talkin' To You Women About the Blues" and "Merciful Blues" and this set closes with Blind Joe Reynolds classic "Outside Woman Blues", made famous by Cream, of course, but this original deserves its own infamy! 

I doubt that I would have anything bad to say about any volume of this series as I love this music so just buy whatever you can find of these!