Various Artists - Louisiana Swamp Blues 1954-1963 : 4 x CDs (due to weight, this price for the USA only. Outside of the USA, the price will be adjusted as needed) (Mega Blowout Sale)
SKU
23-JSP 77180
Hoo buddy, this set is more fun than a drawerful of crawdads! This is jumpin’ juke joint blues with a strong Cajun / regional accent. There is a serious party happenin’ on every track here!
“All the way back to the days of vinyl I was lucky enough to have stumbled onto Lightnin' Slim, Slim Harpo, Lonesome Sundown, and other blues/r&b performers from the "swamp" region around Louisiana. Some of the locals combined the accordion and electrified instruments and French/English languages into something new and exciting, while others incorporated this local sound with just bluesy electric guitars and vocals, and a small band that was a product of the region. Later I stumbled across Hop Wilson whose great steel guitar playing was pretty incredible in this context. This box set collects many of these great sides recorded for the Excello label and other even smaller labels from the region, all redolent of the period and area.
But what's great about this set is that it doesn't just focus on the more well known performers but collects many sides from relatively and unknown performers for fans who might not know a lot about this region's music. Compiled by Neil Slaven whose long time work in the blues field is known to every deep fan of the music. His knowledge and feel for the music makes him the perfect choice to put something like this together. The tracks are from the mid 1950's (Boozoo Chavis) into the early 1960's.
This is real gut-bucket, no-frills music. The blues runs all through this set, and hearing this music you too will agree that this style of music is unique to the swampy regions of Louisiana. Included are tunes like Cookie & The Cupcakes' "Married Life", Clarence Garlow's "Train Come Down The Track", Hop Wilson's "Chicken Stuff" (look for his album on the Ace label), Classie Ballou's "Crazy Mama", Guitar Jr.'s "The Crawl", Jimmy Dotson's "Looking For My Baby", Boozoo Chavis' "Forty-One Days" and "Oh! Baby", and many more from both these performers and a number of others.
The sound is similar to other JSP sets--not great--but good, especially with tracks recorded on a shoestring budget in a tiny studio. Similar to other JSP box sets each disc is in a separate jewel case with an individual booklet, and everything fits inside a flimsy cardboard slipcase. The notes (by Slaven) are informative and interesting, especially if you aren't familiar with this music. There are other compilations of Louisiana region music, but this set has a depth that makes it worthwhile for fans. Give this music a try--you may find yourself starting to groove on the sounds from this unique area.” - Stuart Jefferson