CD Review
Various Artists
The Devil's Music
(Indigo/Sanctuary (2003) 2537)
3 CDs, 49 tracks, 181 minutes.
by Craig Ruskey
Review date: December 2003
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"Keeping the Blues Alive Award"
Achievement for Blues on the Internet
Presented by The Blues Foundation
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At the beginning of 1976, a small four-man crew and Giles Oakley set off from the UK to travel the deep South, Chicago and New York, to work exclusively on a documentary that became a five-part series which aired on BBC television as The Devil's Music. This 3-CD set stands as proof of how valuable Oakley's work was. Disc one includes fascinating songs by Sam Chatmon (Stop And Listen/Sam's Rag/Who's Gonna Love You Tonight), Big Joe Williams (Highway 49/Watergate Blues), and Bukka White (Aberdeen, Mississippi), as well as juke performers like Sonny Blake, Joe Willie Wilkins (Mr. Downchild is superb), and Houston Stackhouse with a fine version of the tried-and-true Mean Red Spider, then continues with Fenton Robinson and Billy Boy Arnold laying down some effective rocking Chicago style blues. Disc two contains fine outings by Good Rockin' Charles, Little Brother Montgomery, and Henry Townsend, but James Deshay is startling on a half-dozen, especially his gripping version of Crossroads, worth the price of admission for its blazing juke-joint guitar. Disc three collects eleven performances from the 1963 American Folk Blues Festival with Memphis Slim taking four slots, Sonny Boy Williamson gets five (he's masterful on each), and Matt "Guitar" Murphy has two blistering instrumentals, including a great Taking Off. Sound quality runs from good to superb (some of the juke-joint recordings are sonically challenged) and Neil Slaven's liner notes are well-done and informative. The eight-page booklet has some great photos but recording details are scant at best and need to be extracted from the notes. Considering almost all of the performers on this set are now gone, it does them justice by showing how vital and strong they were during these periods.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk
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