Various Artists - Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues A Musical Journey (115 tracks) +Album Reviews

Nice Set

political idiot | california | 09/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"All this quibbling about the depth of the set...blah,blah,blah. It is easy to tear apart this set, after all like most of his generation Scorsese is really a blues lover through the blues based rock of the sixties. In fact many of the originals in this set were rerecorded by sixties bands. Nothing wrong with that, but I too would like to have seen less of the rock based disc four and five stuff (c'mon the Thuderbirds' "tuff enuff" poorest selection on the whole set). But frankly I am just happy that a major figure in the entertainment industry besides Eric Clapton is giving the blues some much needed exposure. We can only hope this series and set inspires some youngster to participate in this dying art form. When was the last time you were able to enjoy a live performance by a true master of boogie woogie piano (i.e. Pinetop Perkins)? Been a long time I'd bet. BTW...where's Meade Lux Lewis? ooops, not there.I am a very long time blues lover of every style and like any longtime blues fan, I already have every recording on this set. I still bought it anyway: 1. I support keeping the blues alive. 2. It is a very nice set covering a lot of ground, anymore discs would have made this set prohibitively expensive to the casual blues fan. 3. Rare and unreleased recordings would never have appeal to the afore mentioned consumer. Remember these sets are created to make money, not appease the hard core blues fans. 4. You can never please all the people all the time. More of the masters of the eighty eight's would have been nice but piano dosen't sell anymore. There are some nice style specific discs released as part of the series, some of which I will surely buy. 5. I support keeping the blues alive.Lastly, like some else mentioned, just enjoy the danged music. It is a decent blues survey of the last 80 plus years. It is all 100% better then anything on FM radio."

Excellent blues primer

Kenneth Falkenstein | Virginia Beach, VA United States | 10/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the "Year of the Blues," and "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues" is as important a contribution as anything I've seen so far in the effort to increase awareness of and appreciation for blues music.This CD box set is not the soundtrack to the video documentary series. Rather, it is a collection of songs representing the blues through the roughly 80-year history of recorded blues music. While there are some artists who should have been included and weren't, and there are a few selections that are really not appropriate to this collection, overall this is an excellent primer for anyone looking to understand blues music and its evolution.It would be impossible for any collection to include every artist that is loved by every blues fan. However, most of the truly great and important blues artists are here, including Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Winter, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Virtually every style of blues is also represented here, from the Mississippi Delta to New Orleans to Texas to Memphis to Chicago and even to Africa. And contrary to the assertions of some previously-posted critiques, the Piedmont style IS represented with Mississippi John Hurt's "Frankie." (While Hurt did not live in the Piedmont Valley area, he was nevertheless one of the most important Piedmont stylists in blues guitar history.)I do disagree with the inclusion of a few artists whom I do not consider to be blues musicians, such as Jeff Beck and Los Lobos. (Jeff Beck is undeniably a brilliant guitarist, but he is not a blues guitarist.) The absolute worst song in the set is Peggy Scott-Adams' "Bill," a terrible song about a woman who discovers her husband in bed with his gay lover. Aside from the fact that the song is just plain awful, it is also not a blues song. I wonder who was paid off to have it included.There are also a few omissions of important blues artists. Lightnin' Hopkins was one of the most important blues musicians of the 1950s and '60s but was not included. Little Richard was every bit as important to the creation of rock & roll as Fats Domino and Chuck Berry but is not represented. The omission of Dr. John, perhaps the most important blues pianist of the modern era, is inexplicable. More modern accoustic guitarists like John Hammond, Jr. and the incredible Rory Block should have been included (although the newly-recorded Keb' Mo'/Corey Harris cover of Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago" was almost worth the cost of the box set alone). And if Scorsese wanted a representation of blues-influenced Latino music, Carlos Santana would have been more appropriate than Los Lobos.Notwithstanding a few flaws, however, this CD box set is an excellent representation of recorded blues history, covering the entire history of the blues and including most of the important artists and styles of this wonderful musical genre. I highly recommend it to anyone who is either desiring to learn about the blues or who is already a blues fan and is simply looking for a good thorough collection of great blues music."

Excellent material representing the entire blues genre!

clearos2004 | Sweet Home Chicago | 12/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the "comeback year" for the blues and "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues" as good as good if not better than all blues cds so far. This is really a contribution as anything we've seen so far in the effort to increase awareness of and appreciation for blues music.The best part is that it's personalized from Scorsese's own liking. People might agree the Rolling Stones should have been included, for instance, but this 116 song piece is not a "best-of the blues". It's more of Martin Scorsese's perspective of what the blues has achieved for America and beyond.This CD box set is not the soundtrack to the video documentary series. Rather, it is a collection of songs representing the blues through the roughly 80-year history of recorded blues music. This is an excellent primer for anyone looking to understand blues music and its evolution.It would be impossible for any collection to include every artist that is loved by every blues fan. However, most of the truly great and important blues artists are here, including Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Winter, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Virtually every style of blues is also represented here, from the Mississippi Delta to New Orleans to Texas to Memphis to Chicago and even to Africa. And contrary to the assertions of some previously-posted critiques, the Piedmont style IS represented with Mississippi John Hurt's "Frankie." Also, Luther Allison and Johnny Winter ARE included also.There are also a few omissions of important blues artists. Lightnin' Hopkins was one of the most important blues musicians of the 1950s and '60s but was not included. Little Richard was every bit as important to the creation of rock & roll as Fats Domino and Chuck Berry but is not represented. The omission of Dr. John, perhaps the most important blues pianist of the modern era, is near as bad as leaving out the Rolling Stones and their massive love for the blues. More modern accoustic guitarists like John Hammond, Jr. and the incredible Rory Block should have been included (although the newly-recorded Keb' Mo'/Corey Harris cover of Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago" was almost worth the cost of the box set alone). And if Scorsese wanted a representation of blues-influenced Latino music, Carlos Santana would have been more appropriate than Los Lobos.Notwithstanding a few flaws, however, this CD box set is an excellent representation of recorded blues history, covering the entire history of the blues and including most of the important artists and styles of this wonderful musical genre. Scorsese does a great job with the layout of the entire 5 disc set. Included is a color print book with song by song explanations co-written by a Grammy Award winning music writer, and many pages portraying blues from the very beginning(1830's) to today. I highly recommend it to anyone who desires learning about the blues, or a fan simply looking for a good thorough collection of great blues music."

Different matrial than single discs

William | 09/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Apparently the 5 disc box set contains material (and omits some) that is not on the seven program CDs. So the total song list is even more comprehensive. I did notice that some of the single discs on Amazon have songs listed that do not appear on the discs I've seen in the stores: notably the Red White and Blue disc, which Amazon's list says Van Morrison performs on. The CD in the store lacks those tracks, possibly others."

****1/2. Very impressive

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 07/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This five-disc, 6-hour box set is by far the most thorough and well-researched overview of the genre.

The 59-page booklet is exceptionally well written and extremely informative, and almost every major blues artist from the 1920s to the 1990s is represented, from Mamie Smith's 1920 recording "Crazy Blues" over Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, to Keb'Mo' and Shemekia Copeland.

Disc 1 covers the earliest acoustic blues and "blues-related" material by the likes of Louis Armstrong and Jimmie Rodgers. Disc two focuses primarily on the slightly more urban blues forms of the 30s and early 40s. Disc 3 and half of disc 4 is primary electric 50s and 60s blues, and the rest of this admirable collection is devoted to more contemporary blues artists, both black and white.

It's almost too much, actually. Newcomers will perhaps find that 116 songs, some of which were recorded 80 years ago and suffer from horrible fidelity, are too much. And longtime blues fans will own much of this music already.

But there is no denying the quality of the music assembled here. The compilers obviously know something about the blues, and they have chosen some of the very best songs from the genre's masters, and while this certainly isn't everything you'll ever need to know about the blues, "Martin Scorsese Presents" still manages to capture the power of Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Son House, Otis Rush and numerous others.

Robert Nighthawk and Lightnin' Hopkins aren't here, and neither are Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, or Big Walter Horton (not as a featured performer anyway). But a hundred other guys (and gals) are represented by some of their finest work: Muddy Waters' thumping "Hoochie Coochie Man", Elmore James' omnipresent "Dust My Broom", John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom", Howlin' Wolf's awesome "Killing Floor", the witty "Don't Start Me To Talkin'" by Sonny Boy Williamson (II), Otis Rush's smouldering slow burner "So Many Roads, So Many Trains", T-Bone Walker's "They Call It Stormy Monday", Robert Johnson's eerie "Crossroads Blues", the classic "Statesboro Blues" by Willie McTell, and Son House's razor-edged "Death Letter" all rank among the most impressive blues tunes ever cut. And there are several gems here which few casual blues fans will have heard, like slide guitarist Tampa Red's wonderful readings of "Black Angel Blues", "When Things Go Wrong" (AKA "It Hurts Me Too"), and "Don't Lie To Me".

Proto-rock n' roll numbers like "Hound Dog" (Big Mama Thornton's original recording, not Presley's cover), "Rocket '88", and Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" are here as well, along with juicy R&B by Smiley Lewis, Fats Domino and Ray Charles, and 70s, 80s and 90s blues and blues-rock artists like the Allman Brothers Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Taj Mahal, Keb'Mo', and Susan Tedeschi. All bases are covered, really, so if you are looking for a collection of 116 blues tunes, some of which are quite obscure and very much less accessible and radio-friendly than Muddy Waters or B.B. King, this is it.

I have almost all of this music already...which is why I've borrowed "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues" at my local library. I would never buy it. It is a thoroughly impressive piece of work, surprisingly good, even, but it is also one which longtime blues fans may appreciate more than newcomers who are in danger of choking on reed pipes, violins and bad acoustics before disc 1 has even run out.

And that is the problem with this box set as I see it: who is its audience supposed to be? Casual listeners probably won't buy a seventy dollar box set unless they have money to burn, and seasoned blues collectors may admire the quality of "MSPTB", but they won't buy it 'cause they already have a hundred of these 116 recordings.

But maybe I'm just underestimating the taste of the record buying public and this set'll sell a million units like the Robert Johnson box set ;o)"

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