Son House - 'The Complete Library of Congress Sessions, 1941-42'
'The Complete Library of Congress 1941-42' is the 19 recordings Son House made in 1941-42, and were recorded by Alan Lomax.
Some of the recordings were recorded in Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. You'll hear
occasional railway noises in the background, as the store, which had the
electricity necessary for the recording, was close to a branch-line
between the lake & Robinsonville.
If Son wasn't at
his peak here, he wasn't far off. Vocally, he sounds like a younger man, his guitar playing is, as always, excellent. On some tracks Son is joined by Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin & Leory Williams who sound like they are enjoying themselves, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if a
little whiskey was involved.
Son didn't record all that often, so
your choice is among a handful of badly preserved Paramount sides from
1930, these field recordings (ambient train sounds and all) from his
home locale and not far beyond his prime, or the studio collection from
1965, when Columbia Records had to find Son a guitar before he could even
try to recreate his sound. That's pretty much it for recorded Son House. His genius
shows up in each of those choices, but this one, to my ears, is the best overall.
The Complete Library of Congress Sessions, 1941-42
01. Levee Camp Blues
02. Government Fleet Blues
03. Walking Blues
04. Shetland Pony Blues
05. Fo' Clock Blues
06. Camp Hollers
07. Delta Blues
08. Special Rider Blues
09. Special Rider Blues
10. Low-Down Dirty Blues
11. Depot Blues
12. The Key of Minor
13. American Defense
14. Am I Right or Wrong
15. Walking Blues
16. County Farm Blues
17. The Pony Blues
18. The Jinx Blues, Part 1
19. The Jinx Blues, Part 2
Tracks 1 to 7, were recorded at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi in August 1941.
Tracks 8 to 19, were recorded in Robinsonville, Mississippi, on 17 July 1942.
This is music that reaches inside of you...
For the freeload, tell us about a song that reaches you on an emotional level
I picked up a copy of Mickey Harts Mystery Box when it came out in 1996. When I heard the song Down The Road I began blubbering. Guess I realized then that there would be no more Dead shows and no more heartfelt Garcia guitar solos.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there are other songs that got to me emotionally but this was first to come to mind.
"Nearsighted" by Rupert Holmes. "Black Cow" by Steely Dan. I bought the albums that these tracks are on in 1979. i was getting married and it was the best time of my life. I lost my wife in 2015 and these tracks (and others not mentioned) strike the heart.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for your loss, Rowan.
DeleteFrank Zappa's Watermelon In Easter Hay. The ultimate instrumental including Joe's last imaginary guitar solo...
ReplyDeleteOne of the great breakup songs is Hot Burrito No.1 by Flying Burrito Brothers. Gram Parsons' vocals just wrench at your gut. Very emotional.
ReplyDeleteThe song "Long Before I Was Born" by the Danish band "Savage Rose" still gives me goose bumps even after 50 years, especially in the last verse, where Annisette sings with a reverberated voice that seems to come straight from hell:
ReplyDelete"Tell a very good lie to the one you love"
I've not heard Savage Rose mentioned for years, will play the In The Plain album today, not listened to it for a long time.
DeleteIf there were one song that hits that spot more than other it's ' English Rose' by the Jam from the 'Setting Sons' album.
ReplyDeleteIt has a haunting quality to it and the lyrics speak to me on so many levels.
After 48 years together my wife died in 2021. I'm still having problems dealing with it. Another two weeks and she'd have been 70. I have never shared this. But my computer is filled with songs she liked. I finally got her to sing along in the car. We'd been singing Build Me Up, Buttercup. Although a happy song, I can't listen to it anymore. Strange how things change when you lose someone. I didn't even know we were getting old.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know we were getting old... I know what you mean. I lost my wife in 2022 , we'd been together 42 years, I celebrated her 70th birthday two weeks ago. The day she collapsed had started out as just a normal day.
DeleteSorry to hear that Nobby. It's not easy. My wife and I were still making plans for the future. That day we'd gone to the grocery store. That night she complained of being tired. I told her to go on to bed. She never woke up.
DeleteNope, not easy. I spend all my time now just keeping busy and forging a new solo life for myself. You just have to accept it and move on without forgetting what you had.
DeleteSo sorry to read this. All I can say is hang in there & Onward Thru The Fog...
Delete-notBob
How Can I Be Sure by The Young Rascals. The lyrics, the instrumentation that was so different for pop music at that time, the emototive singing just still gets to me (followed closely by Jobim's Dindi, as sung by Gal Costa).
ReplyDeleteGod Only Knows -Joe Henry hits every time -Muzak McMusics
ReplyDeleteThe Unthanks are an English folk group from Northumbria who play traditional folk and a very interesting selection of cover versions. About ten yeas ago I was watching them at a festival when they performed a version of King Crimsons Starless, it was magnificent and really hit me emotionally. Much of this is down to their very unique harmonising, they do other emotionally charged tunes, but too many to mention.
ReplyDeleteFields of Gold sung by Eva Cassidy. Since I'm typing next to my sleeping spouse, I googled the lyrics so I could listen to it quietly in my head. And I learned it was written by Sting. Meh, I still like it.
ReplyDeleteFarewell, Farewell by the Fairports. The tune, Sandy Denny's sublime voice ... I burst into great wracking girlish sobs every time I play it. The best song Richard Thompson ever wrote, had he written it as he claimed and not stolen about 90% of it.
ReplyDeleteFT3
Nightswimming by R.E.M.
ReplyDelete"these things they go away / replaced by every day..."
A bunch of Jackson Browne songs, obviously, like Late For The Sky. But there is one moment that sticks out.
For A Dancer
"And in between the time you arrive, and the time you go / may lie a reason you were alive / but you'll never know" chokes me up every time.
Linda Paloma always gets me, especially after you're aware of the personal crisis he went through leading up to the recording of The Pretender lp.
DeleteDifferent folks, different strokes - I absolutely hate the cheesy ersatz mariachi arrangement of "Linda Paloma". The Pretender is a great album, no doubt, but for me that song is the worst thing on it...
DeleteFor me, it's John Coltrane's 'Naima'. There's something very emotive about the melody and Trane's tone.
ReplyDeleteThe Coltrane track that always gets me is “After the Rain.”
DeleteGbrand
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down ... how war affects individuals
ReplyDeleteAnd Leon Russell's Magic Mirror.
ReplyDeleteLink
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-KznoqKgvio
Don't Give Up- Kate Bush/Peter Gabriel
ReplyDeleteI'm almost completely unfamiliar with this band, but they have at least one brilliant song that never fails to give me goosebumps:
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/6zJcdCEpfDw?si=Ij80aaecK102a1y-
What Is This Thing Called Love?
ReplyDeleteI bet I have 100+ versions. Lady Day of course, although Clifford Brown's rendition is the one that gets right in there.