"If I made records for my own pleasure, I would only record Charley Patton songs."Here it is, Charley Patton's 'Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton', the legendary 7-CD box set released in 2001 on the Revenant Records label.
– Bob Dylan
Charley Patton was undoubtedly the most influential blues musician of his time. His guitar skills were legendary, and he set a high standard of excellence. Through his music, he captured the essence of his era. Unfortunately, he has largely fallen into obscurity, except among dedicated fans of historic blues.
This collection is widely considered by blues fans and music critics alike as one of the most beautiful and complete historical music packages ever made.
The collection won three Grammy Awards in 2003.
The first five CDs have every single song Charley Patton ever recorded.
CD 6 has artists in Charley’s "orbit" like Ma Rainey, Howlin' Wolf, Poor Boy Lofton, Kid Bailey, Walter Rhodes, Rube Lacy, Blind Joe Reynolds (a newly discovered track!), Tommy Johnson and Roebuck "Pops" Staples.
CD 7 has interviews with Howlin' Wolf, Rev. Booker Miller, H.C. Speir, and Roebuck "Pops" Staples...all of which are a pure treasure in and of themselves.
This set comes with a reprint of John Fahey's 1970 book on Charley Patton, plus 128 pages of new writing on Patton. The slipcase also contains full-size reproductions of 1929 Paramount ads and a complete Paramount/Vocalion record label sticker set.
All tracks are fully remastered and pitch-corrected from the best possible sources, resulting in the definitive versions of this material (just don't expect audiophile quality).
If you're a Blues fan, you'll find this box set nothing short of fascinating.
For the freeload lets talk about groups/artists who became hugely popular – but lost what made them special.
The collection won three Grammy Awards in 2003.
- Best Historical Album: Awarded to producers Dean Blackwood and David Glasser.
- Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: Awarded to designer Susan Archie.
- Best Album Notes: Awarded to blues historian and author David Evans.
The first five CDs have every single song Charley Patton ever recorded.
CD 6 has artists in Charley’s "orbit" like Ma Rainey, Howlin' Wolf, Poor Boy Lofton, Kid Bailey, Walter Rhodes, Rube Lacy, Blind Joe Reynolds (a newly discovered track!), Tommy Johnson and Roebuck "Pops" Staples.
CD 7 has interviews with Howlin' Wolf, Rev. Booker Miller, H.C. Speir, and Roebuck "Pops" Staples...all of which are a pure treasure in and of themselves.
This set comes with a reprint of John Fahey's 1970 book on Charley Patton, plus 128 pages of new writing on Patton. The slipcase also contains full-size reproductions of 1929 Paramount ads and a complete Paramount/Vocalion record label sticker set.
All tracks are fully remastered and pitch-corrected from the best possible sources, resulting in the definitive versions of this material (just don't expect audiophile quality).
If you're a Blues fan, you'll find this box set nothing short of fascinating.
For the freeload lets talk about groups/artists who became hugely popular – but lost what made them special.
Hello everyone, I usually use some kind of translator since I only speak a little school English. If I understand the question correctly, Elvis Presley, Marius-Müller Westernhagen, Trio (NDW), and Lou Reed come to mind. Although I think the last album is great, I would also include the Stones, although of course the length of their career and their considerable age must be taken into account (it's Mick's birthday today). Have a nice evening, Mike
ReplyDeleteMike, you absolutely understood the question. And as always, thank you for your valued input!
DeleteThat first Chicago Transit Authority album was impressive for its counterpoint to the somewhat more genteel Blood, Sweat & Tears. But over time, the band lost its primacy in the area of jazz rock, and lapsed into mindless synth crap as Chicago.
ReplyDeleteElvis, The Stones & Lou are all good calls, IMAO. I'd add The Kinks, Santana, and, at some point (ymmv)The Dead. Van Morrison. Clapton (remember "Clapton is God"). Sinatra.
ReplyDeleteIs it fair just to list a bunch of performers who are now dead? I mean, they have lost their mojo for sure.
ReplyDeleteSilliness aside, there's already a pretty good list (Elvis, the Rolling Stones, Santana, Chicago *sans* Transit Authority, and Clapton). I'll exclude Lou Reed, only because I never liked Reed to begin with. And maybe I should throw in Leonard Cohen, since IMO he never quite matched his first two albums no matter how much "erotic despair" he tossed in or the Barry White voice he cultivated, no matter how many times the Hallmark Channel played "Hallelujah" a few Christmases ago.
Maybe out of meanness I'll add Ted Nugent, except he never was much more than a one-hit wonder anyway.
DeleteAsinus foraminis in Latin.
DeleteIs it fair just to list a bunch of performers who are now dead? I mean, they have lost their mojo for sure.
ReplyDeleteSilliness aside, there's already a pretty good list (Elvis, the Rolling Stones, Santana, Chicago *sans* Transit Authority, and Clapton). I'll exclude Lou Reed, only because I never liked Reed to begin with. And maybe I should throw in Leonard Cohen, since IMO he never quite matched his first two albums no matter how much "erotic despair" he tossed in or the Barry White voice he cultivated, no matter how many times the Hallmark Channel played "Hallelujah" a few Christmases ago.
The Jefferson Airplane.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteOh yeah. It all went very sideways.
Deletehttps://falsememoryfoam.blogspot.com/2026/07/perfect-tens-dept-jefferson-and-his.html
What profit it a man to gain the world but lose his soul? Then again, I didn't have to make a living playing psychedelic music in the mid seventies......
DeleteIt was a tough gig in the late 'sixties.
DeleteANON RF: Papa John Creech kinda sucked, so that didn't help. And the loss of Spencer D (who I think was their Charlie Watts) sure didn't help. Actually, it was probably that they lost track of their causes, politically. From Volunteers to Bark in one humiliating stagger. Same could be said of the great Phil Ochs. When you don't have a raison d'être, what have you got? [Boy, am I annoying today... See below...]
DeleteLet's see, The Rolling Stones lost Brian Jones, then Mick Taylor, then Bill Wyman, then perhaps most importantly Charlie Watts...
ReplyDeleteANON RF: Totally obnoxious comment alert: Bill Wyman wasn't much of a loss. [Please don't hit me...] The other three DEFINITELY were.
DeleteLynyrd Skynyrd & King Crimson come to mind.
ReplyDeleteBlood Sweat and Tears kinda dive bombed after Al Kooper left.
ReplyDeleteI was gonna mention BS&T, but Al didn't leave, he was kicked out of his own band! They deserve what they became.
DeleteI see good candidates already mentioned; what first occurred to me was The Doors. Now, I like several things about every album they released up to "L.A. Woman," and I'm also quite fond of Morrison's "American Prayer." Still, a reasonable listener might conclude that, once the old notebooks had been mined for all their material, there wasn't a lot of poetry and storytelling left. Better not to make gods of reasonably-talented-but-immature young men.
ReplyDeleteD in California
What made them special was Jim Morrison, and they certainly lost him.
DeleteNeil Young (sorry everybody)
ReplyDeleteI love the 70's era, but after that...
~ Jon
He lost David Briggs.
DeleteToo many to list really. Elvis must be the standout (similarly Cliff Richard in the UK) and none of the Beatles were quite the same individually as they were as Beatles collectively despite enormous popularity for years after (similarly Simon & Garfunkel as solo artists). The Who without Keith Moon were not the same band, the Everly Brothers weren't when they went fully into country music and so on and so forth .
ReplyDeleteAs a generality I tend to think that an artist/ bands first 5 years in the spotlight if any tend to be their special years because usually that's when they are 'hungriest' and most driven (and the songs tend to have been fine tuned the most) and the longer their success lasts the more that special something that brought them to the fore in the first place tails off not least because the novelty of it has faded in the eyes of the public (and the music media) and the music industry has moved in directions that don't quite suite them as well.
Sometimes artists having lost it can get it back for a period, Paul Weller did when he went solo but again he had something to prove. Others like Kevin Rowland of Dexy's Midnight Runners ended up being boo'ed off stage (deservedly) just for even trying.
Of course it can last less than 5 years. The Sex Pistols 'special' something disappeared off a cliff after the first album. Why? Because Glen Matlock was kicked out of the band and he was the real musical inspiration and the Pistols without him became a cardboard cutout punk band. Ironically Matlock could never attain that special impact again either.
I think there are so many factors that can undermine that special something it is far harder to find artists or bands that actually manage to retain their special something rather than identify those that have lost it. The only band to me who possibly come close to having retained are the Zombies but then only after a 20 year plus hiatus and largely off the back of under appreciated material they produced first time around which gave them a new lease on life.
Other than that perhaps it's different in the Jazz /Classical arenas simply because its more about individual technique, interpretation and innovation in those genres rather than having a sound that is original and in tune with the times?
Link
ReplyDeletehttps://workupload.com/file/fqkEUMz2Rvw
I disagree about Cliff. He made some of his best work in the seventies, andd though his last 40 years of work is not that sepctacular, his live shows (even the ones last year at 80) are surprisingly good. And together with Mick Jagger, Tom Jones and Paul McCartney well aged.
ReplyDeleteKool and The Gang was a band I would think off. Their seventies work is superb, but did not bring food on the table, so the early eighties brought them their paycheck, and well done.. They have ten years of quality, and after they earned what they deserved in another way. Clever.
Metallica first albums were great, the first two U2 albums were great. A lot of bands started great and became lazy over the years, lazy, predictable and/or plain boring.
Bands that changed because a key member died or left are mostly subject to creative decay.
I too thought of U2. Good call, Richard!
DeleteMany would agree that Metallica peaked before Cliff Burton died. The self-titled black album gave them a second life as a more mainstream metal band, but perhaps they were not really Metallica anymore.
I'd have to include Elton John and Neil Diamond on this list. Started off strong, but eventually became ponderous and self-important.
ReplyDeleteSteve Miller
ReplyDeleteRod Stewart
Gene Vincent as an aside I actually own this box set found it in local second hand shop...
ReplyDeleteI also had the UK only edition of the Fahey book from way back still have both.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, I'm late to the party. Submitted for your approval is one "Rod Stewart," a man who crafted a run of group and solo performances, both writing great songs and making great choices of songs to cover. These stand as some of the best work out there from 1968 to the mid 1970s. After that, the hits, money, hot babes, and rock start royalty lifestyle continued but the "art" declined.
ReplyDelete