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Various Artists - When the Sun Goes Down Vol. 2 - The First Time I Met The Blues

Track listing:
  1. Telephoning the Blues - Victoria Spivey 3:12
  2. Viola Lee Blues - Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers 3:12
  3. Haven't Got a Dollar to Pay Your House Rent Man - Genevieve Davis 3:32
  4. Saturday Blues - Ishman Bracey 3:31
  5. When I Woke Up This Morning She Was Gone - Jim Jackson 3:16
  6. Canned Heat Blues - Tommy Johnson 3:39
  7. Statesboro Blues - Blind Willie McTell 2:36
  8. Stealin', Stealin' - Memphis Jug Band 2:59
  9. Judge Harsh Blues - Furry Lewis 3:06
  10. Rent Man Blues - Edna Winston 3:06
  11. I Don't Care What You Say - Harris & Harris 2:49
  12. I Hate a Man Like You - Lizzie Miles 3:29
  13. Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do - Part 1 - Frank Stokes 3:20
  14. I'm a Mighty Tight Woman - Sippie Wallace 2:54
  15. Blue Yodel #9 - Jimmie Rodgers 2:42
  16. The Girl I Love, She Got Long, Curly Hair - Sleepy John Estes 2:59
  17. Don't Want No Woman - McCoy & Johnson 3:15
  18. Cocaine Habit Blues - Memphis Jug Band 2:51
  19. Married Woman Blues - Blind Willie Reynolds 3:20
  20. Red Nightgown Blues - Jimmie Davis 3:01
  21. Hardworking Woman - Mississippi Matilda 2:55
  22. Doubled Up in a Knot - Bo Carter 2:54
  23. If You Want Me, Baby - Daddy Stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah 2:45
  24. The First Time I Met the Blues - Little Brother Montgomery 2:51
  25. Sales Tax - Mississippi Sheiks 3:05

Notes

Recording Dates Feb 7, 1927 - Oct 16, 1936

Released Aug 20, 2002
RCA

from silver

When Bluebird/RCA launched its blues-oriented When the Sun Goes Down series in 2002, it described the compilations as "the secret history of rock & roll." That didn't mean that the series focuses on obscure, lesser-known rock & roll recordings; rather, it spotlights pre-'50s recordings that helped pave the way for the rock & roll explosion. Spanning 1927-1936, When the Sun Goes Down, Vol. 2: The First Time I Met the Blues illustrates the diversity of the prewar blues world. The terms "country blues" and "prewar blues" are often used interchangeably, and in fact, a lot of prewar blues did fall into the country blues category (which could be anything from Mississippi Delta blues to Piedmont blues to Memphis blues). But there was also an urban, jazz-influenced school of prewar blues: classic female blues, which was quite popular in the '20s and '30s -- and when this CD is playing, one is reminded of the differences between classic female blues and country blues. Recordings by Victoria Spivey ("Telephoning the Blues") and Lizzie Miles ("I Hate a Man Like You") are the essence of jazz-minded classic blues -- the latter even boasts Jelly Roll Morton on piano -- whereas Bo Carter's "Doubled Up in a Knot" and Sleepy John Estes' "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" are state-of-the-art country blues. Meanwhile, old-time country singer Jimmie Rodgers (not to be confused with the Jimmy Rogers who recorded for Chess) favors a rural/urban blend on "Blue Yodel No. 9," which boasts Louis Armstrong on cornet. Rodgers' outlook was primarily rural, but "Blue Yodel No. 9" underscores his willingness to incorporate jazz on occasion. Historians will find a lot to admire about this diverse, far-reaching CD.