Various Artists - The Devil's Jump - Indie Label Blues 1946-1957 : 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 77164
“In this age of so many good blues compilations, it's hard to fathom that there's much else left that hasn't been collected into one box set or another. But thanks to long time blues fan/collector Neil Slaven, this set is actually worth some attention from blues fans. The sound is decent overall, with some tracks sounding a bit muddy-but what's important is the music. The packaging is the usual for JSP boxes-each disc in a separate jewel case, and everything fits inside a flimsy slip case. The notes, by Slaven, give an idea of what we're listening to, but don't go into any great detail. There's track-by-track information which is important, especially for seldom (or never) heard music like this...There's a few well known names like John Lee Hooker, Smokey Hogg, Eddie Kirkland, Johnny Temple, Eddie Burns, Baby Boy Warren, and Memphis Slim-all who recorded for small labels before any relative notoriety in later years. But the remainder of these performers are little (or not) known to most fans. Included are Lee Brown, Jimmie Gordon, Detroit Count, Robert Richmond, Walter Mitchell, Johnny Wright, Country Paul, Robert Henry, Ralph Willis, Johnny Temple, and Kid Thomas. Little is known about several of these performers-they seem to have recorded a few tracks and then disappeared.
The bands are small combos, along with a number of solo performances by several of these artists, including Detroit Count, John Lee Hooker, and Country Paul among others. There's different styles of blues here, but you'll find few if any acoustic guitars-this was the beginning of the transition to the electric guitar. A few of the combos have horns, or are piano driven. The only common denominator is that these tracks were released on small labels like King, Queen, 20th Century, Harlem, Gotham, DeLuxe, etc. The vast majority of these tracks have a rough, unsophisticated sound to them-which only enhances the music. Each disc is arranged chronologically. The four discs aren't a continual chronological look at the music. Apparently this was done to show the development of the music on each disc.
The 20 unreleased tracks will excite deep collectors/fans of small label blues performers from this period. Included are tracks from Lee Brown, John Lee, Smokey Hogg, Eddie Kirkland, Jimmie Gordon, Johnny Temple, John Lee Hooker, and Kid Thomas. And while there's nothing truly startling here, it's always nice to have this many rare tracks included if you're (like me) a deep fan of the blues.” - Stuart Jefferson