Search - Various Artists :: 20 to Life: Prison Blues

An entry in the blues-as-cultural-documentation archive, this recording, made in 1960, has been dusted off by Fuel 2000, although with little explanation. The CD booklet retains the original liner notes by Dr. Harry Oster, who recorded these performances by inmates at the Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana. The notes themselves are interesting, not only for their anachronistic language, but for Oster's peculiar perception on the material. He tells you what the songs are about but not where they came from, despite the presence on this recording of several standards, like "They'll Miss Me When I'm Gone" and "Boll Weevil Blues." As those titles imply, the music is mostly country blues in the Mississippi Delta vein. The performances themselves are heartfelt and frequently of very high quality, although this particular album does not contain any discoveries (as opposed to Angola Prisoners' Blues, made at the same time, and featuring early performances by Robert Pete Williams). --Genevieve Williams