These are perhaps the best recordings in Son House's arsenal (1940's Library of Congress), meaning they are amongst the best blues recordings ever made. With that said, there are versions out there with better remastering and some of the spoken takes found on other reissues are omitted.
When listening to some of these old recordings, they seem kind of "tame" as blues have evolved over the generations. But these are the men who influenced (& taught) the giants like Muddy Waters. Some good stuff here.
The biggest debate in blues circles these days is, "where did the blues begin?" Ever since the blues revival of the 50s and 60s, the answer has been "the Mississippi Delta." But in recent years, more than a few blues buffs have argued, that while the Delta is where the harshest form of blues indeed gelled, there is very little evidence to suggest that blues started there. Further, Delta blues in its heyday was almost… more »
"Yes, I'm gonna get me religion, I'm gonna join the Baptist Church/ You know I wanna be a Baptist preacher, just so I won't have to work" — Son House, "Preachin 'the Blues" Blues singers recorded dozens of superb gospel sides during the commercial recording heyday of the '20s and '30s, and later during the folk and blues revival of the late '50s and early '60s. Many blues singers had gospel songs in their repertoire, but… more »
In ways that grow more important by the day, the 1972 presidential contest between incumbent Republican Richard Nixon and Democrat George McGovern has dictated the tone, style and execution of every election since. It birthed the modern-day primary format; it defined and honed the press 'approach to all political coverage; it featured the most effective use of the presidency itself as a campaign asset; and, finally, even in defeat, McGovern's campaign dramatically shifted every campaign's… more »
