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Avg: 4.5 (31 ratings)
- Date Released: February 22, 2000
- Genre: Blues
- Style: Traditional Blues
- Label: Smithsonian Folkways
An energetic tour through the blues.
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We Say...
Recorded when Broonzy was 63, just a year away from his death from cancer in 1958, you’d never guess this was made by a mortally ailing man. From the brisk opener, "Hey Baby," this is a energetic tour through the blues from someone whose career rode the genre from Mississippi house parties to international fame. From "Louise" to his own signature piece, "Key to the Highway," he’s not only in fine, muscular voice but his guitar playing is supple, whether on adroit rhythm or inventive lead. As a reminder that Broonzy was a songster, not just a bluesman, he throws in "Frankie and Johnny" and the gospel of "This Train," as well as reflecting racial tensions of the period on "Black, Brown and White." It’s a master class in the Delta sound, with an epic sense of the closing of a chapter of history. As classic performances go, they don’t come much bigger than this, and as a memorial to one of American’s greatest bluesmen, it’s perfect.
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They Say...
This is something of a best-of for Broonzy's Folkways recordings, done in 1956-57 near the end of his life, all featuring just his voice and his acoustic guitar (although Pete Seeger adds banjo to a live version of "This Train (Bound for Glory)"). Although Broonzy, who died in 1958 of throat cancer, was likely not in peak physical shape by this time, you wouldn't suspect that from the quality of the performances. His vocals are still rich and moving on a relaxed selection of originals and standards, including such well-known favorites as "Trouble in Mind," "Key to the Highway," "Digging My Potatoes," "It Hurts Me Too," and "C.C. Rider." Especially good is his version of "Louise," where the intensity rises to a level higher than most of the other tracks approach. Occasionally Broonzy gets into racial and social comment, as on "When Will I Get to Be Called a Man" and the more controversial "Black, Brown and White Blues."
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| 01. |  |
Hey, Hey Baby |
2:54 |
|
| 02. | |
Frankie and Johnny |
2:09 |
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| 03. | |
Trouble in Mind |
3:20 |
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| 04. | |
Joe Turner, No. 2 (Blues of 1890) |
5:16 |
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| 05. | |
Mule-Ridin' Blues |
3:45 |
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| 06. | |
When Will I Get to Be Called a Man? |
2:20 |
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| 07. | |
Poor Bill Blues |
3:15 |
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| 08. | |
Key to the Highway |
2:35 |
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| 09. | |
Plough-Hand Blues |
3:27 |
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| 10. | |
Digging My Potatoes |
3:00 |
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| 11. | |
When Things Go Wrong (It Hurts Me Too) |
3:00 |
|
| 12. | |
C.C. Rider |
2:35 |
|
| 13. | |
Saturday Evening Blues |
3:35 |
|
| 14. | |
Shuffle Rag |
2:07 |
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| 15. | |
Southbound Train |
4:52 |
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| 16. | |
Hush, Somebody's Calling Me |
4:01 |
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| 17. | |
Louise |
4:01 |
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| 18. | |
Black, Brown and White (intro) |
1:25 |
|
| 19. | |
Black, Brown and White |
2:44 |
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| 20. | |
Willie Mae Blues |
3:31 |
|
| 21. | |
This Train (intro) |
1:21 |
|
| 22. | |
This Train (Bound for Glory) |
3:02 |
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| 23. | |
In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down (intro) |
1:05 |
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| 24. | |
In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down |
4:22 |
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24 Total Tracks, 73:42 Total Length
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Credits
- Moses Asch - Recorder // Jeff Place - Annotation // Jeff Place - Reissue Compiler // Studs Terkel - Recorder // Pete Reiniger - Mastering // David Gahr - Photography // Kip Lornell - Editing // Christian Becker - Production Assistant
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