Search - Scrapper Blackwell, Brooks Berry :: Live 1444 Gallery & Comp 77 Recordings (1959-1960)

Great Acoustic guitar Blues

B. D. Tutt | London, UK. | 10/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Guitarist Scrapper Blackwell was, with his partner Leroy Carr, one of the most popular blues performers of the early 1930s. However, with the death of Carr, Blackwell's career faltered, and he lived quietly in Indianapolis until white blues enthusiasts located him in the late 1950s. The result was a handful of recordings, mainly on obscure labels, before he was murdered in 1962.Tracks 1 - 12 are previously unissued performances drawn from a concert Blackwell gave in September 1959, featuring him solo, singing, playing the piano and accompanying singer Brooks Berry. Tracks 13 - 22 are the re-issuing of the long unavailable "Blues Before Sunrise" album on the British "77" label.Both sessions find Blackwell in fine form. His guitar style is a complex one, swinging but blues drenched, and combining strong chordal work and single string runs. Perhaps more striking still is his vocal work: a gentle voice, slightly hoarse and immensely weary, combining beautifully with strongly poetic and original lyrics. Most of the songs are original blues, but "Down & Out" is given a poignant reading, while "Little Boy Blue" is a delightfully playful rendition of the nursery rhyme. Brooks Berry is eminently forgettable, but does not detract from a fine CD.Recommended for all lovers of acoustic guitar blues."