Search - Son House :: Heroes of the Blues: The Very Best of Son House

More than lives up to its name

David Mandau | Takoma Park, MD | 09/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the most chilling moments of Martin Scorcese's segment of The Blues is Son House on stage--with his trademark string tie and pencil-thin moustache--absolutely flailing away on his acoustic as he moans the lyrics to Death Letter. That song is included here (under the title Walking Blues) in a more delicate version but the sorrow and pain of the lyrics come through strongly. There are other classic tracks, too, like Grinnin' in Your Face (a favorite of Jack White of the White Stripes) and John the Revelator. Most of these recordings come from the '30s and '40s, with three coming from his equally valid '60s comeback. This is a great overview of Son House's work that no blues collection should be without."

Doin' The Devil's Work

Alfred Johnson | boston, ma | 05/23/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I recently reviewed Mississippi John Hurt's The Last Sessions in this space. Hurt was `discovered' in the early 1960's by young, mainly white, folk singers looking to find the roots of American music. Well, Hurt was not the only old black country blues player `discovered' during that period. There is a now famous still picture (as well as well as video performance clip, I wonder if it is on YouTube?) of Hurt along with the legendary Skip James and the musician under review Son House jamming at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963. That was a historic (and probably one of the last possible) moments to hear these legends of country blues in one spot together.



And why was House on that stage with Hurt and James? Well, the short answer is that old flailing National steel guitar. However, the real answer is that like Hurt he represented a piece of American music that was fast fading away, at least in its original form -the country blues. Can anyone beat the poignancy of Death Letter Blues or bitterness of Levee Moan? Or when House gets preachy on John the Revelator and other old time religious songs of shout and response. The tension between being a preacher man and doing the `devil's work (playing the blues) is more clearly felt in House's work than in Hurt's.



House's repertoire is not as extensive as Hurt's and there is a little sameness of some of the lyrics but when he is hot watch out. There is another famous film clip of him alone flailing away at the guitar almost trance-like, sweating buckets doing Death Letter sitting down in a chair on stage under the hot lights. That is the scene you want to evoke when you listen to these selections. And do listen.





"