Various – Louisiana Swamp Blues – 4CD

24,20

Out of stock

SKU: JSP 77180 - 4CD Categories: ,

Description

Yet another marvellous 4CD set from JSP, this time featuring the great sound of the Louisiana Swamps during the golden years for blues and R&B of the 1950s-early 1960s.

These 102 crackers, superbly chosen and compiled by Neil Slaven, sit perfectly in the imagined space between JSP’s own series of four sets of Juke Joint collections and Ace’s more recent By The Bayou series, with the new Bluesin’ By The Bayou – Rough ‘N Tough (CDCHD1403) being the eighth in the line (but still counting!). While this inevitably has resulted in a little duplication between this and other sets, percentage-wise this is negligible and does nothing to undermine the essential and desirable nature of all.

One of the most notable observations arising from an initial inspection of this collection is the lack of star names usually included in any collection of this type. You will look in vain for any sign of Slim Harpo, Lightnin’ Slim and Lazy Lester for starters but you need not fret as what we do have here – the known,  the half-remembered and the completely unknown – is of a stunningly high quality throughout. 

Drawn largely from independent labels in and around Louisiana (Excello mostly prominently of course), the scope of inclusion here extend way beyond the typically doom-laden sound most usually associated with Louisiana swamp blues. While there are many sublime examples of this from the likes of Lonesome Sundown, Silas Hogan, Jimmy Anderson and Boogie Jake, there are also plenty of other local sounds going on, incorporating the influence of zydeco, swamp pop, rock and roll and much more.

And in a set with so many absolute jewels, it is near-impossible to pick out stand out favourites. While it is of course great to hear again all-time classics such as The Crawl by Guitar Jr, It’s Your Voodoo Working by Charles Sheffield and  Jimmy Dotson’s Oh Baby, it is even better to add new favourites. These include Hop Wilson’s demented near-instrumental Chicken Stuff, Cleveland Crotchet’s rockin’ zydeco of Sugar Bee, Classie Ballou’s Crazy Mambo and Clarence Garlow’s Sound The Bell (a song only in my collection prior to this via Johnny Winter’s rip-snorting version on one of his earlier Alligator albums).

Do yourself a favour and get this - if you don’t like it, I don’t know what runs through your veins but it ain’t standard issue human blood!

Track Listing:

CD1
Cookie & the Cupcakes: 1. Married Life - 2:17   Leroy Washington: 2. My True Life - 2:50   Charles Sheffield: 3. Ooh! Wee Baby! Ooh! Wee - 2:35   Guitar Jr.: 4. Family Rules - 2:22   Clarence Garlow: 5. Train Came Down the Track - 3:13   Hop Wilson: 6. Chicken Stuff - 2:02   Blue Charlie: 7. Don't Bring No Friend - 2:53   Boogie Jake: 8. Early Morning Blues - 2:01   Boozoo Chavis: 9. Paper In My Shoe - 2:16   Shelton Dunaway: 10. I Had the Blues - 2:19   Guitar Gable: 11. Congo Mombo - 2:21   Mr. Calhoun: 12. They Call Me Mr. Calhoun - 2:34   Joe Hudson: 13. Hoo-Wee Pretty Baby - 2:11   Juke Boy Bonner: 14. Can't Hardly Keep From Crying - 2:50  Cleveland Crochet: 15. Sugar Bee - 2:33   King Charles: 16. Bop Cat Stomp - 2:14   Lonesome Sundown: 17. I Stood By - 2:34   Tal Miller: 18. Scorched (By the Torch of Love) - 2:28   Charles Sheffield: 19. Isabella - 2:56   Classie Ballou, Sr.: 20. Crazy Mambo - 2:22   Ivory Lee Semien: 21. Fuss Too Much - 2:29   Big Walter Price: 22. San Antonio - 2:03   Jimmy Dotson: 23. I Need Your Love - 2:19   Boozoo Chavis: 24. Gonna Boogie - 2:47   Boogie Ramblers: 25. Bayou Shuffle - 2:52

CD2:
Lonesome Sundown: 1. Gonna Stick To You Baby - 2:06   Guitar Jr.: 2. The Crawl - 2:15   Silas Hogan: 3. You're Too Late Baby - 2:07   Big Chenier: 4. Let Me Hold Your Hand - 2:02   Guitar Gable: 5. Cool, Calm and Collected - 2:44   Jimmy Anderson: 6. Naggin' - 2:19   Juke Boy Bonner: 7. Call Me Juke Boy - 2:25   Charles Sheffield: 8. It's Your Voodoo Working - 1:49   Boogie Jake: 9. Loaded Down - 2:10   Boozoo Chavis: 10. Bye Bye Catin - 2:29   Leroy Washington: 11. Be Kind - 2:15   Cookie & the Cupcakes: 12. Closed Up the Backdoor - 2:51   Hop Wilson: 13. Broke and Hungry - 2:42   Classie Ballou, Sr.: 14. Confusion - 2:31   Mr. Calhoun: 15. I'm Ragged and Dirty - 2:33   Elton Anderson: 16. Catch That Train - 2:05   Clarence Garlow: 17. Sound the Bell - 2:30   Jimmy Dotson: 18. Looking For My Baby - 2:07   Boogie Jake: 19. I Don't Know Why - 2:23   Charles Sheffield: 20. Rock 'n' Roll Train - 2:16   Big Walter Price: 21. Oh Ramona - 2:20   Shelton Dunaway: 22. Who Would Have Thought It - 2:20   Hop Wilson: 23. Rockin' In the Coconut Top - 2:01   Good Rockin' Bob: 24. Make Up My Mind - 2:13   King Charles: 25. Won't Be Me - 2:42   Boozoo Chavis: 26. Calcasieu Zydeco Blues - 1:53   Lonesome Sundown: 27. Don't Say a Word - 2:24

CD3:
Left Handed Charlie: 1. Whole Lotta Drinkin' On the Block - 2:46   Big Chenier: 2. Please Try To Realise - 2:38   Guitar Gable: 3. Irene - 2:57   Shelton Dunaway: 4. Keep Livin' - 2:51   Boozoo Chavis: 5. Boozoo Stomp - 2:21   Lonesome Sundown: 6. Learn To Treat Me Better - 2:03   Tal Miller: 7. Mean Old Kokamoo - 2:56   Charles Sheffield: 8. You Move Me - 2:59   Leroy Washington: 9. Wild Cherry - 2:22   Boogie Ramblers: 10. I'm Goin' - 2:56   Jimmy Dotson: 11. Oh Baby - 2:22   Clarence Garlow: 12. Bon Ton Toule - 2:24   Boogie Jake: 13. Bad Luck and Trouble - 2:56   Elton Anderson: 14. If I Don't See You - 2:37   Hop Wilson: 15. Merry Christmas Darling - 3:09   Guitar Jr.: 16. I Got It Made - 2:04   Ivory Jackson: 17. Got the News In the Morning - 2:43   King Karl: 18. This Should Go On Forever - 2:49   King Charles: 19. But You Thrill Me - 2:42   Lonesome Sundown: 20. Leave My Money Alone - 2:52   Blue Charlie: 21. I'm Gonna Kill That Hen - 2:47   Charles Sheffield: 22. Nights of Misery - 2:30   Hop Wilson: 23. That Wouldn't Satisfy - 2:10   Boozoo Chavis: 24. Forty One Days - 2:49   Jimmy Anderson: 25. Nothin' In This World - 2:35

CD4:
Guitar Gable: 1. Guitar Rhumbo - 2:09   Clarence Garlow: 2. Pretty Little Dollie - 2:52   Lonesome Sundown: 3. Lost Without Love - 2:32   Cookie & the Cupcakes: 4. I'm Twisted - 2:59   Hop Wilson: 5. Be Careful With the Blues - 2:39   Silas Hogan: 6. Trouble At Home Blues - 2:28   Charles Sheffield: 7. Cool Cat - 2:47   Boogie Jake: 8. If I Only Hade a Chance - 2:52   Boozoo Chavis: 9. Long Black Curly Hair - 2:47   Guitar Gable: 10. Walking In the Park (With Sally) - 2:18   Clarence Garlow: 11. Carry On - 3:01   Jimmy Dotson: 12. My Poor Heart In Pain - 2:31   Guitar Jr.: 13. Roll, Roll, Roll - 2:20   Blue Charlie: 14. Miss My Lagnion - 3:13   Ashton Savoy: 15. Juke Joint - 2:11   Good Rockin' Bob: 16. Say You Remember - 2:16   Tal Miller: 17. Life's Journey - 2:48   Left Handed Charlie: 18. Honey Bee - 2:43   Hop Wilson: 19. Always Be In Love With You - 2:26   Charles Sheffield: 20. I Would Be a Sinner - 2:02   Lonesome Sundown: 21. No Use To Worry - 2:57   Boozoo Chavis: 22. Oh! Babe - 3:10   Mr. Calhoun: 23. Hello Friends, Hello - 2:41   Leroy Washington: 24. My Chinatown Gal - 2:14   Jay Nelson and the Jumpers: 25. Don't You Want a Man Like Me - 2:05

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