Various Artists - Richer Tradition: Country Blues and String Band Music 1923-1942

Richer Tradition Indeed! Essential Collection!

As a budding Paramount Records Man, I have to somewhat agree with the previous review....But that being said, you have to take 'Pre War' Recordings with a grain of salt to begin with. And if your already in that frame of mind, then John Stedman and JSP has once again given us on helluva box set at a great price to listen to! What we have here, and again, if your into the "Paramount Records" thing then you know what I'm talking about, is a bunch of "one off" or "Two Off" country and rural Blues that, unless you were in a 20 mile radius of the artist, you never heard these 78's before. No!, their NOT Charlie Patton or Blind Blake or Blind Lemmon Jefferson, these were the guys and gals that were way below that scale of success, but that's the beauty of these sides....these get even more 'real' than the more popular pre-war artists! I could imagine sitting in someones livingroom listening to these songs while they were playing them! It's THAT intimate! And once again JSP comes up with a collection that is definitely NOT boring. Again, is it Charlie Or Blind Blake...NO...But these folks are real, pretty damned good at their playing and again, this is like being invited to a down home fish fry on a Sunday afternoon in Chicago, or Indiana or any Southern small town back in the pre war days...... I suggest you compare this collection with anything on the Document label, which does a very good job at 'Documenting' Old 78 artists, but for the most part makes for a very boring 'Listen', unless your a scholar. On the other hand, these are real people like you and me who, at least were worthy enough for someone to make a record of them, and JSP deserves Kudo's for putting together a 4 cd set that is both listenable (considering the rarity of the 78's involved) and enjoyable! So, when your ready to go beyond the 'Stars' of Pre-War Blues and Country/Rural music, take the plunge on this set, both the remastering and 'coolness' of this music hopefully will bring you much pleasure!
Gerard Masters March 10, 2008

A Richer Tradition: Country Blues and String Music 1923-1942

This collection is not for the weak-hearted and includes a hundred sides on 4 CDs and there are few (literally and figuratively very few) real gems among them. Undoubtedly, you will find some sweet songs among the pile, any lover of the genre will find enough to be satisfied. However, more than fifty years into the blues revival one can say that most "good" stuff from this genre had made earlier reissues and this collection, sadly, features leftovers, rejects and material nobody chose to include in the past. What's left is not always cream of the crop material, and indeed, this collection seems like they scraped the deep bottom of the barrel to find these rarities. Unless you are an ethnomusicologist or folklorist interested in historical preservation for its own sake, much of this material will sound rough hewn, if not outright unlistenable, not only from an expectedly primitive recording standpoint but from basic musical skills. It seems like they pulled together anyone and anything, regardless of fundamental quality. Even the biggest aficionados of old-time deep-roots & blues, such as me, will find the bulk of this material a stretch. If you are looking for entertainment value with that old music, stick to the mainstay of the genre. February 21, 2008

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