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| Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings | 
 enlarge | Artist: Mississippi John Hurt
Label: Sbme Special Mkts.
Category: Music
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $4.78
You Save: $2.21 (32%)
Buy New/Used from $4.78
Avg. Customer Rating:  (30 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3586
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 723314
UPC: 886972331423
EAN: 0886972331423
ASIN: B0012GMUZY
Release Date: February 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Frankie | | • | Nobody's Dirty Business | | • | Ain't No Tellin' | | • | Louis Collins | | • | Avalon Blues | | • | Big Leg Blues | | • | Stack O' Lee | | • | Candy Man Blues | | • | Got the Blues (Can't Be Satisfied) | | • | Blessed Be the Name | | • | Praying on the Old Camp Ground - Mississippi John Hurt, Traditional | | • | Blue Harvest Blues | | • | Spike Driver Blues |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Mississippi John Hurt recorded 13 country-blues songs for the Okeh Electric Records company in 1928. Then he vanished. Actually, he never went anywhere. Indeed, he never strayed from his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi. He simply put the guitar down. It was the Great Depression, times were tough, money was scarce, and he needed to work. Nearly 30 years later, a blues enthusiast tracked him down, took him back to Washington, D.C., and suddenly Mississippi John's musical career resumed as quickly as it had finished. He recorded again, but these first songs from the late 1920s--with John's melancholy voice and hypnotic guitar playing at its most inspired--are his greatest musical accomplishments. --Percy Keegan
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
A great first stop for anyone with an interest in country blues January 2, 2009
If you've never heard Mississippi John Hurt and have any interest in what's generally called "country blues", please buy this record. If you've listened to Robert Johnson, Son House, Skip James, or any of the other "delta" stylists and not cared for the style, try John Hurt. His style is actually about as different from theirs as night and day. Whereas the typical delta style involves somewhat idiosyncratic guitar accompaniment with intense (and sometimes difficult to decipher) lyrics, John Hurt's style features a fairly light vocal treatment paired with an absolutely masterful alternating bass guitar accompaniment (later taken mainstream by white guitarists like Merle Travis and Chet Atkins). Hurt's tunes have a "pop" quality to them that is generally not found in the music of his peers making them much more accessable for the new blues listener. If you are interested in learning "fingerstyle" guitar, this CD should definitely be among your first stops. It's all Hurt and only Hurt with no overdubs or trickery. The guy was one amazing talent. If you end up liking John Hurt, try Blind Boy Fuller as well. Much more racy lyrics with the latter, but great guitar playing with a similar technique.
An amazing blast from the past January 1, 2009
Ain't No Tellin' became Make me a Pallet on the Floor, my all-time favorite MJH song (which I know best from the 2-record live Vanguard album that I bought second-hand in the 70s). After getting to know him from his recordings in the 1960s, it is wonderful to hear the young MJH. The voice is more clear than the guitar on these, but the pickin style comes through well enough. This is a very misogynistic version of Nobody's Business.
Mellifluous early blues recordings February 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Mississippi John Hurt recorded only 13 songs before returning to a life of obscurity and hard work on a farm. Of these 13 songs recorded in 1928, 11 were penned by John Hurt with the other two being traditional spiritual numbers ("Blessed be the name" and "Praying on the old camp ground"). The recording quality of these Okeh recordings is simply fantastic, and have the best recording quality I have heard from this era. A little hiss is heard (very little) and not much else.
As to the recordings themselves, they are probably the sweetest sounding, most mellifluous early delta/country blues I have ever heard. John Hurt may not have had the well-known name of a Robert Johnson or Son House, but these recordings have had their influence in their own way. The song Stack O' Lee penned by Hurt became an R&B hit in 1950 (as Stack-A-Lee) for New Orleans pianist Archibald, and also became a rock-and-roll hit in 1958 for Lloyd Price (as Stagger Lee).
It should be noted that after Hurt recorded these songs, he went back to work in his hometown of Avalon, MS. Because this was an out-of the-way town, few passed through it, and because of this Hurt was influenced by few outside artists of the day. What we wind up with on this album is the heart and soul of John Hurt.......and it is magnificent.
Superb November 3, 2007
Superb - no other word for it.
Something a learned colleague pointed out to me, listen out for the riff on track 9 which, 50 years later, became JJ Cale's "They call me the breeze"!
The real thing March 22, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fabulous singing, guitar playing that must have had a great influence on Jerry Garcias acoustic stuff. And wonderful songs.
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