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Various Artists - The Blues: A Smithsonian Collection of Classic Blues Singers (1993)

Track listing:
CD1
  1. Black Snake Moan Blind Lemon Jefferson 2:53
  2. Broke and Hungry Blind Lemon Jefferson 3:03
  3. Match Box Blues Blind Lemon Jefferson 2:50
  4. Shake That Thing Papa Charlie Jackson 3:00
  5. Shave 'Em Dry Blues Ma Rainey 2:40
  6. Countin' the Blues Ma Rainey 3:11
  7. Jailhouse Blues Bessie Smith 3:15
  8. Mama's Got the Blues Bessie Smith 2:58
  9. Backwater Blues Bessie Smith 3:19
  10. Special Delivery Blues Sippie Wallace 3:26
  11. Death Sting Me Blues Sara Martin 2:55
  12. Barbecue Blues Barbecue Bob 3:13
  13. Man Trouble Blues Jaybird Coleman 3:06
  14. Long Lonesome Day Blues Alger "Texas" Alexander 3:05
  15. Kansas City Blues, Pts. 1 & 2 Jim Jackson 6:35
  16. Why Don't You Come Home Blues Furry Lewis 2:47
  17. Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground) Blind Willie Johnson 3:23
  18. Minglewood Blues Cannon's Jug Stompers 3:42
  19. Cool Drink of Water Blues Tommy Johnson 3:35
  20. Big Road Blues Tommy Johnson 3:23
  21. Bull Doze Blues Henry Thomas 3:28
  22. How Long, How Long Blues, Pt. 1 Leroy Carr 3:03
CD2
  1. Blues Before Sunrise Leroy Carr 3:35
  2. Downtown Blues Frank Stokes 3:13
  3. Stack O' Lee Blues Mississippi John Hurt 2:58
  4. Rolling Mill Blues Peg Leg Howell 3:06
  5. Mr. Johnson's Blues, No. 2 Lonnie Johnson 2:58
  6. Pony Blues Charley Patton 2:58
  7. 44 Blues Roosevelt Sykes 3:07
  8. Bumble Bee Blues Memphis Minnie 2:49
  9. I'm So Glad Memphis Minnie 2:40
  10. The Dirty Dozens No. 1 Speckled Red 3:14
  11. Divin' Duck Blues Sleepy John Estes 3:15
  12. K.C. Moan Memphis Jug Band 2:33
  13. Sitting on Top of the World Mississippi Sheiks 3:14
  14. M & O Blues Walter Davis 3:05
  15. Dry Spell Blues, Pt. 1 Son House 3:10
  16. Devil Got My Woman Skip James 3:00
  17. Chain Gang Bound Bumble Bee Slim 3:44
  18. Broke Down Engine Blind Willie McTell 3:10
  19. Big Bill Blues Big Bill Broonzy 2:58
  20. I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town Big Bill Broonzy 2:54
  21. Old Original Kokomo Blues Kokomo Arnold 2:53
  22. Strut That Thing Cripple Clarence Lofton 2:53
  23. Crow Jane Carl Martin 2:54
  24. Baby Please Don't Go Big Joe Williams 3:20
CD3
  1. The First Time I Met You Little Brother Montgomery 2:50
  2. Dust My Broom Robert Johnson 2:59
  3. Cross Road Blues Robert Johnson 2:31
  4. Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp Peetie Wheatstraw 2:35
  5. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl Sonny Boy Williamson [I] 3:01
  6. Sloppy Drunk Blues Sonny Boy Williamson [I] 3:16
  7. Sent for You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today) Jimmy Rushing 2:59
  8. Roll 'Em Pete Big Joe Turner 2:51
  9. Wee Baby Blues Big Joe Turner 2:55
  10. Fixin' to Die Blues Bukka White 2:48
  11. Step It up and Go Blind Boy Fuller 2:54
  12. Anna Lou Blues Tampa Red 2:55
  13. Worried Life Blues Big Maceo Merriweather 2:56
  14. I've Been Treated Wrong Washboard Sam 3:17
  15. T-Bone Blues T-Bone Walker 3:17
  16. Stormy Monday T-Bone Walker 3:01
  17. Mozelle Blues Tommy McClennan 2:56
  18. It's a Low Down Dirty Shame Louis Jordan 2:51
  19. Cherry Red Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson 3:10
  20. That's All Right Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup 2:55
  21. Driftin' Blues Charles Brown 3:16
  22. Mr. Blues Jumped the Rabbit Wynonie Harris 2:50
  23. Boogie Chillen' John Lee Hooker 3:10
  24. Tim Moore's Farm Lightnin' Hopkins 2:40
  25. No Rollin' Blues Jimmy Witherspoon 4:02
CD4
  1. Louisiana Blues Muddy Waters 2:57
  2. Honey Bee Muddy Waters 3:23
  3. Reconsider Baby Lowell Fulson 3:13
  4. Eyesight to the Blind Aleck Miller 3:02
  5. Monkey Woman Blues Jimmy Yancey/Mama Yancey 4:07
  6. Hound Dog Big Mama Thornton 2:51
  7. Mystery Train Junior Parker 2:25
  8. Hoodoo Man Junior Wells 3:08
  9. Every Day I Have the Blues Joe Williams 5:28
  10. Smokestack Lightning Howlin' Wolf 3:08
  11. The Sky Is Crying Elmore James 2:50
  12. Woman Blues Boogie Memphis Slim 3:10
  13. Farther up the Road Bobby "Blue" Bland 2:59
  14. I'll Take Care of You Bobby "Blue" Bland 2:22
  15. The First Time I Met the Blues Buddy Guy 2:21
  16. Rooster Blues Lightnin' Slim 2:35
  17. So Many Roads, So Many Trains Otis Rush 3:13
  18. Big Boss Man Jimmy Reed 2:50
  19. I Got a Woman Ray Charles 2:54
  20. Join the Army Henry Johnson 3:38
  21. Let's Straighten It Out Latimore 3:28
  22. Dog Days of August John Cephas/Phil Wiggins 5:13

Notes

While any collection professing to be a definitive overview of a genre usually falls short of the mark, it's hard to find fault with this excellently researched and compiled four-disc set from the Smithsonian Collection. Running the recorded history of the music chronologically, the first disc explores the early sides by guitarists like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Barbecue Bob, Blind Willie Johnson, and Tommy Johnson, and classic blues singers like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Sippie Wallace. Volume two rounds up sides from Leroy Carr, Mississippi John Hurt, Charley Patton, Memphis Minnie, Son House, and Big Joe Williams, as well as off-the-beaten-track delights from the Memphis Jug Band and the Mississippi Sheiks. The third volume continues in the history of Delta blues with classic entries from Robert Johnson and Bukka White, moving into the Bluebird beat, ending up with the first recordings from John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins. The final disc is a veritable feast of Chicago blues with classic sides galore from Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, and Jimmy Reed, finishing with more contemporary offerings from Ray Charles, Latimore, and a retro style closer from Cephas & Wiggins. The transfers on the really vintage sides are as good as any you're likely to come across, and the song selection throughout is impeccable. Add a sumptuous booklet chock-full of photos and an abundance of historical facts, all well-annotated by W.K. McNeil, and you've got a box set for the ages. Very, very well done.