Early Acoustic Blues That You Can Use!
You know the world of Delta Blues music was a rough one. We all know the stories about Robert Johnson and his deal with the devil. Probably the most important aspect about the rough and tumble acoustic blues of the '20's, '30's, and '40's, is that it essentially birthed a little something called Rock and Roll. And while Rock and Roll may have subsequently died in recent years, it pretty much lost its soul far earlier around the time that Styx made it big. Country Blues, Delta Blues, whatever you want to call it, was a musical genre that reeked of soul. Raw emotion so powerful that it would make Mary J. Blige look like David Bowie during his mid-70's Plastic Soul era.
This is the genuine Blues and a great many artist represented it during this time period, names like Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Missississippi John Hurt, and Blind Lemon Jefferson just to name a very few. In fact, Blind Willie Johnson was a street preacher in essence, and the collections of his Field Recordings(which was the name regularly ascribed to early twentieth century recording methods)often included his wife on backing vocals. Needless to say, the Gospel music of yesteryear, and in Blind Willie Johnson's hands, genuinely rocked. Acoustic blues music of the era actually made Christianity seem cool, which is no easy feat.
The American South of the early twentieth century birthed some of the most amazing music in the history of recorded sound. Percussive effect was minimal, sometimes nothing more than a tapping of the foot along with the locomotive strum of a well worn in acoustic guitar. Do a search, find yourself a CD retrospective based upon one of the above mentioned artists, and if you really want to dig deep, try to locate some of the genuine dusty old records either through eBay or some former Hippie acid casualty at your local neighborhood music store. In the meantime, witness the late great Skip James perform "Crow Jane," and try not to grow a soul in the process, as you will find it impossible to resist:
This is the genuine Blues and a great many artist represented it during this time period, names like Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Missississippi John Hurt, and Blind Lemon Jefferson just to name a very few. In fact, Blind Willie Johnson was a street preacher in essence, and the collections of his Field Recordings(which was the name regularly ascribed to early twentieth century recording methods)often included his wife on backing vocals. Needless to say, the Gospel music of yesteryear, and in Blind Willie Johnson's hands, genuinely rocked. Acoustic blues music of the era actually made Christianity seem cool, which is no easy feat.
The American South of the early twentieth century birthed some of the most amazing music in the history of recorded sound. Percussive effect was minimal, sometimes nothing more than a tapping of the foot along with the locomotive strum of a well worn in acoustic guitar. Do a search, find yourself a CD retrospective based upon one of the above mentioned artists, and if you really want to dig deep, try to locate some of the genuine dusty old records either through eBay or some former Hippie acid casualty at your local neighborhood music store. In the meantime, witness the late great Skip James perform "Crow Jane," and try not to grow a soul in the process, as you will find it impossible to resist:
Labels: blues
