Various Artists - The Devil's Music (special)
SKU
Indigo 2737
Yes, really: $6.00 for 3 CDs in a snazzy little box. This is the soundtrack to a 1976 BBC documentary series about blues, which apparently was never shown again. It says here that discs one & two comprise the long-lost soundtrack LPs to 'The Devil's Music', a highly acclaimed 1976 BBC documentary series. Disc three reissues a rare live LP recorded at a 1963 European blues festival. I have a lot of blues material and I didn't have most of this stuff and the 3rd disc - which is live at a European fest in 1963 and completely unreleased otherwise, includes big names like Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson and Matt Murphy.
"You can't go wrong with this collection-ranging from the jug band sounds of Sam Chatmon to the boogie woogie of Little Brother Montgomery to the raw back-country sounds of Bukka White. Somewhat more modern sounds include the New Orleans strut of Fenton Robinson and the Louisiana beat of Billy Boy Arnold. The legendary Aces take you to Chicago in the 50's, and the unique nine-string guitar master Big Joe Williams exorcates Tricky Dick in "Watergate Blues". I've never heard of James DeShay, who dominates Disc #2, with some rowdy,overamped electric blues live from what sounds like a tiny dive. His version of Howlin' Wolf's "Evil" is fine. The third disc stems from the "American Folk Blues" tours of Europe in the early 60's, which inspired the likes of John Mayall, the Animals, and the Stones. Decent live recordings of fantastic performances by Sonny Boy Williamson II, Memphis Slim, and Matt "Guitar" Murphy. Previously released but fairly rare-none of this material is on the readily avaliable L&R discs or the Reelin' In The Years DVD's, and Sonny Boy sings some of his greatest tunes."-Mark Schlesinger