Blind Blake – The Paramount Years – 3CD

Arthur ‘Blind’ Blake was a blues and ragtime guitarist, singer and songwriter who was a leading pioneer and member of what became known as the Piedmont school of bluesmen, performing in a style that was associated with the south-eastern states around Georgia. He was one of the most distinctive and accomplished of the guitarists associated with this movement. Big Bill Broonzy, hearing Blake in person the early 1920s, said of his guitar playing “He made it sound like every instrument in the band- saxophone, trombone, clarinets, bass fiddles, pianos- everything. I never had seed then and I haven’t to this day yet seed no one that could take his natural fingers and pick as much guitar as Blind Blake.”

This 74-track 3CD set features most of the recordings released under his own name, all of which came out on the Paramount label,  and were recorded variously in Chicago, Ill., Richmond, Ind., and Grafton, WI. It Includes recordings featuring Gus Cannon (‘Banjo Joe’), Johnny Dodds (clarinet), Jimmy Bertrand (slide whistle, percussion) and Charlie Spand, Alex Robinson, Aletha Dickerson (piano). He ceased recording when Paramount went bankrupt in 1932 by 1934 he had died at the age of 37.

His recordings not only influenced other Piedmont artists like Blind Willie McTell, Buddy Moss, Josh White and Rev. Gary Davis, but also future top guitarists like Ry Cooder, Leon Redbone and John Fahey. His track You Gonna Quit Me from Bob Dylan’s 1992 album Good As I Been To You is a cover of Blake’s You Gonna Quit Me Blues. Although not an absolutely complete or definitive anthology, this collection provides a substantial and comprehensive overview of the career.

Track Listing:

CD1: 
1. West Coast Blues -   2. Early Morning Blues -   3. Come On Boys Let's Do That Messin' Round -   4. Skeedle Loo Doo Blues -   5. Too Tight -   6. Stonewall Street Blues -   7. Blake's Worried Blues -   8. Tampa Bound (460) -   9. Bucktown Blues -   10. Black Dog Blues -   11. One Time Blues -   12. Dry Bone Shuffle -   13. Bad Feeling Blues -   14. That Will Never Happen No More -   15. He's In The Jailhouse Now -   16. Southern Rag -   17. Sea Board Stomp -   18. Hard Road Blues -   19. You Gonna Quit Me -   20. Wabash Rag -   21. Hey Hey Daddy Blues -   22. Brownskin Mama Blues -   23. C.C. Pill Blues -   24. Goodbye Mama Moan -   25. That Loving I Crave -   26. Rumblin' And Ramblin' Boa Constrictor Blues -

CD2:
1. Tootie Blues -   2. Detroit Bound Blues -   3. Hot Potatoes -   4. Doggin' Me Mama Blues -   5. Steel Mill Blues -   6. Southbound Rag -   7. Low Down Loving Gal -   8. Bootleg Rum Dum Blues -   9. Back Door Slam Blues -   10. Cold Hearted Mama Blues -   11. Panther Squall Blues -   12. No Dough Blues -   13. Search Warrant Blues -   14. Sweet Papa Low Down -   15. Notoriety Woman -   16. Walkin' Across The Country -   17. New Style Of Loving -   18. Ramblin' Mama Blues -   19. Hookworm Blues -   20. Slippery Rag -   21. Doing A Stretch -   22. Poker Woman Blues -   23. Georgia Bound -   24. Fighting The Jug -

CD3:
1. Hastings Street -   2. Third Degree Blues -   3. I Was Afraid Of That #2 -   4. Police Dog Blues -   5. Diddie Wa Diddie -   6. Guitar Chimes -   7. Blind Arthur Breakdown -   8. Ice Man Blues -   9. Chump Man Blues -   10. Baby Lou Blues -  11. Cold Love Blues -   12. Keep It Home -   13. Sweet Jivin' Mama -   14. Hard Pushing Papa -   15. What A Low Down Place The Jailhouse Is -   16. Ain't Gonna Do That No More -   17. Playing Policy Blues -   18. Righteous Blues -   19. Rope Stretching Blues -   20. Miss Emma Liza -   21. Dissatisfied Blues -   22. Night And Day Blues -   23. Sun To Sun Blues -   24. Depression's Gone From Me -