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Various – A Short Cut To The Grave – Gin, Justice, Jail & Judgement 1924-1942 – 4CD

24,20 19,36

SKU: JSP 77121 - 4CD Categories: ,

Description

A fascinating compilation devoted to the various themes of sin and wrongdoing-Gambling-Alcohol-Coke and in-Prison-Death. With artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Tampa Red and Blind Willie McTell.

The early Country Blues and more urban hokum Blues was terrific music which has had a massive musical influence over the years. But the artists were singing too-some very crafty and subtle lyrics (and some rather direct as well?) on contemporary social themes. Their lyrical artistry is exposed here. These are people with a message and a message that travels down the years.

Track Listing:

CD1: Gambling
Papa Charlie Jackson: 1. Four-Eleven-Forty Four - 3:02   New Orleans Willie Jackson: 2. Numbers on the Brain - 3:03   Charlie "Dad" Nelson: 3. Coon Can Blues - 2:47   Peg Leg Howell: 4. Skin Game Blues - 3:06   Walter Beasley: 5. Georgia Skin - 2:57   Memphis Jug Band: 6. Snitchin' Gambler Blues - 3:23   Jim Jackson: 7. Policy Blues - 3:10   Foster & Harris: 8. Alley Crap Game - 3:03   Leroy Carr: 9. Gambler's Blues - 3:09   Blind Blake: 10. Poker Woman Blues - 2:43   Clifford Gibson: 11. Bad Luck Dice - 3:16   Mississippi Sheiks: 12. Hitting the Numbers - 3:01   Bob Campbell: 13. Dices Blues - 2:51   Louisiana Johnny: 14. Policy Blues - 2:52   Bumble Bee Slim: 15. Policy Dream Blues (You Better Get on It) - 2:48   Cripple Clarence Lofton: 16. Policy Blues (You Can't 3-6-9 Me) - 3:10   Kokomo Arnold: 17. Policy Wheels Blues - 2:57   Memphis Minnie: 18. I'm a Gamblin' Woman - 3:11   Peetie Wheatstraw: 19. Coon Can Shorty - 2:55   Red Nelson: 20. Gambling Man - 2:48   Roosevelt Sykes: 21. Drunken Gambler - 2:40   Washboard Sam: 22. Policy Writer's Blues - 2:41   Jimmie Gordon: 23. Number Runner's Blues - 2:45   Robert Nighthawk: 24. Good Gamblin' - 3:08   Peter Cleighton: 25. Roaming Gambler - 2:46

CD2: Alcohol, Coke & Gin
Ma Rainey: 1. Booze and Blues - 3:11   Lewis Black: 2. Corn Liquor Blues - 2:58   Victoria Spivey: 3. Dope Head Blues - 3:19   Luke Jordan: 4. Cocaine Blues - 3:25   Margaret Johnson: 5. Dead Drunk Blues - 3:07   Jim Jackson: 6. Bootlegging Blues - 2:57   Tommy Johnson: 7. Canned Heat Blues - 3:38   Bill Johnson's Louisiana Jug Band: 8. Don't Drink It in Here - 2:52   Clifford Gibson: 9. Whiskey Moan Blues - 2:45   Jenny Pope: 10. Whiskey Drinkin' Blues - 3:14   Barbecue Bob: 11. Me and My Whiskey - 3:09   Memphis Jug Band: 12. Cocaine Habit Blues - 2:50   Leroy Carr: 13. Papa Wants to Knock a Jug - 2:32   Funny Paper Smith: 14. Corn Whiskey Blues - 2:54   James "Stump" Johnson: 15. Barrel of Whiskey Blues - 2:54   Roosevelt Sykes: 16. Devil's Island Gin - 3:02   Lucille Bogan: 17. Drinking Blues - 2:57   Scrapper Blackwell: 18. Bad Liquor Blues - 2:48   Jimmie Gordon: 19. Drunken Woman Blues - 2:49   Blind Teddy Darby: 20. Bootleggin' Ain't Good No More - 3:08   Jack Newman: 21. Blackberry Wine - 2:49   Big Joe Williams: 22. Haven't Seen No Whiskey - 3:23   Bukka White: 23. Good Gin Blues - 2:23   Memphis Slim: 24. Beer Drinkin' Woman - 2:59   Sonny Boy Williamson I: 25. Blues That Made Me Drunk - 3:00

CD3: Prison
Peg Leg Howell: 1. New Prison Blues - 3:17   Julius Daniels: 2. Ninety Nine Year Blues - 3:05   Sam Collins: 3. The Jail House Blues - 2:32   Buddy Boy Hawkins: 4. Jailhouse Fire Blues - 2:31   George "Bullet" Williams: 5. The Escaped Convict - 2:57   Sylvester Weaver: 6. Penitentiary Bound Blues - 3:04   Blind Lemon Jefferson: 7. Hangman's Blues - 3:24   Furry Lewis: 8. Judge Harsh Blues - 3:00   Bessie Tucker: 9. Penitentiary - 3:26   Tampa Red: 10. Prison Bound Blues - 3:29   Ed Bell: 11. My Crime Blues - 2:49   Robert Wilkins: 12. Police Sergeant Blues - 3:03   Lucille Bogan: 13. Whiskey Selling Woman - 3:12   Gene Campbell: 14. Robbin' and Stealin' Blues - 2:44   Memphis Jug Band: 15. He's in the Jailhouse Now - 3:13   Lillie Mae: 16. Buggy Jailhouse Blues - 2:44   Leroy Carr: 17. Big House Blues - 3:04   Kansas Joe McCoy: 18. Joliet Bound - 3:09   Charley Patton: 19. High Sheriff Blues - 3:12   Kokomo Arnold: 20. Chain Gang Blues - 3:04   Red Nelson: 21. Jailhouse Blues - 2:59   Bukka White: 22. Parchman Farm Blues - 2:39   Sleepy John Estes: 23. Jailhouse Blues - 2:57   Champion Jack Dupree: 24. Angola Blues - 2:54   Big Maceo: 25. County Jail Blues - 2:54

CD4: Death
Blind Lemon Jefferson: 1. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean - 2:54   Bessie Mae Smith: 2. My Daddy's Coffin Blues - 3:10   Mooch Richardson: 3. Burying Ground Blues - 2:47   Tom Dickson: 4. Death Bell Blues - 3:12   Billy Bird: 5. Down in the Cemetery - 3:13   Nolan Welsh: 6. Dying Pickpocket Blues - 2:50   Charley Patton: 7. Prayer of Death, Pt. 2 - 2:51   Georgia Tom: 8. Suicide Blues - 2:35   Tampa Red: 9. Dying Mercy Blues - 3:10   Leola Manning: 10. Laying in the Graveyard - 3:03   Blind Willie McTell: 11. Death Cell Blues - 3:08   Bumble Bee Slim: 12. Dead and Gone Mother - 3:01   Jimmie Gordon: 13. Graveyard Blues (Dead and Gone Blues) - 3:13   Lead Belly: 14. Death Letter Blues - 3:01   Leroy Carr: 15. Six Cold Feet in the Ground - 3:04   Georgia White: 16. Graveyard Blues - 2:35   Red Nelson: 17. Crying Mother Blues - 2:39   Walter Vincson: 18. When the Breath Bids the Body Goodbye - 3:02   Black Spider Dumplin': 19. Death of the Gambler - 2:39   Washboard Sam: 20. Gonna Kill My Baby - 3:06   Little Son Joe: 21. Bone Yard Blues - 2:15   Bukka White: 22. Strange Place Blues - 2:52   Baby Doo: 23. Death of Walter Barnes - 2:57   Bill Gaither: 24. A Short Cut to the Grave - 2:49   Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: 25. Death Valley Blues - 3:14

Reviews:

1. AllMusic - Steve Leggett
This wonderful set includes four discs, 100 tracks in all, of vintage blues 78s released between 1924 and 1942 compiled by collector and archivist Neil Slaven. Each of the four discs has a theme, with the first disc presenting songs about gambling (including Peg Leg Howell's harrowing and kinetic "Skin Game Blues"), the second covering alcohol and drugs (including Tommy Johnson's immortal "Canned Heat Blues"), the third playlisting songs about jail and prison (including Bukka White's powerful "Parchman Farm Blues"), and the fourth winds things up with songs about death (including Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean"). Several of the sides here will be familiar to serious fans of prewar country blues, but there are enough rare sides here, too, to make this set an archival treasure, and the themed discs help sketch out the imagined (and sometimes very real) arc of many of these players' lives and times.

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