"let me echo an earlier review: Yazoo has completely re-mastered these timeless songs from the best available 78's; I have never heard Patton sound so three-dimensional, the remastering bringing more of a living presence to the songs than ever before. I hear things I didn't hear before, the spoken asides jump out, little touches I hadn't noticed... I've listened to Charlie Patton for well over 30 years and have never heard him sound so good. It really is astounding what Yazoo has done. Kudos to Yazoo! Their approach to the remastering this time really paid off. This is the best sounding Patton there is."
A very fine single-disc overview
Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 04/04/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you're not up for one of the numerous Charlie Patton box sets, this is a really excellent alternative.
Yazoo's "The Best Of Charley Patton" gathers 23 cuts, 70 minutes of music, including "Down The Dirt Road Blues", "Pony Blues", "Shake It And Break It", "Banty Rooster Blues", and numerous others. The sound quality is a good as any disc you'll ever come across, and while these sides certainly aren't as clean as Robert Johnson's or Blind Willie McTell's prewar singles, Yazoo has done a really fine job remastering the songs.
There are other excellent Charlie Patton discs, like Wolf Records' "Pony Blues: His 23 Greatest Songs", Recall's very reasonably priced double-disc overview "Screamin' & Hollerin' The Blues", and Snapper's brand new "Hang It On The Wall", but as far as single disc compilations go, none are better than this one, and few are quite as good.
A very fine purchase. And kudos to Yazoo Records for actually spelling Patton's name the way he spelled it himself!"
Best sounding Patton on disc
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen | right here | 12/10/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've heard four other discs of Charlie Patton's music and this new Yazoo re-remaster is by far the best sounding. Other Charlie Patton discs sound just plain muddy with too much high-end removed, others are nearly unlistenable, but not this one.
According to the liner notes, this is the first disc allowing the listener to hear "High Sheriff" and "Jersey Bull" at the correct speed. This is the only Patton disc with sound quality earning a five-star review as far as I'm concerned."
The greatest sounding Patton cuts ever!
Robert G. Martinez | Brooksville FL | 12/31/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Unless you go back to 1934 and put them on a new Victrola, I doubt if these cuts ever sounded better. I've had Charlie Patton compilations in the past and many of the cuts sounded very scratchy. Those recorded on the Paramount label are the worst since they didn't have the resources that Victor or Columbia did and the Paramount 78's did not hold up with time. I don't know how they did it, but they cleaned them up on this disc and they now sound as good as ever. Patton had a rough emotional voice and his singing goes back to 1910 or even earlier. His guitar playing utilized showmanship with a lot of slapping and weird bass lines and breaks. These recordings date from 1929 to 1934, the year of his death. One minor quibble is that despite the excellent job Yazoo does on remastering these cuts they do not provide us with discography dates. "Record nerds" like me want to know when they were recorded for historical purpose. These classic blues records are a must for any blues fan or historian. Patton is mentioned in the same reverent tones as Robert Johnson. Essential!"