Mission Control - Entry Number 003 (time warp, should have been between 1&2)
Artist: Skip James
Title: The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James
Release Date: 1994 (material originally recorded and released 1931)
Length: 53 min
Relevance: Recommendation from Ian
Pre-Listen: I've heard "Devil Got My Woman" from its appearance in "Ghost World."
My Favorites: "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" & "How Long Blues"
TLDR: At times more lively and upbeat than Robert Johnson, but at times the sound quality is problematic.
This should have been listened to before
the Robert Johnson collection, but Ian didn't make the recommendation until I'd already started listening to the Johnson entry. No big deal this time, and this will inevitably happen again with way more time-warpiness. Oh well, moving on.
The thing that stands out most to me about this collection of songs is that it shows a lot more variety than Robert Johnson's work. With one or two exceptions, such as "They're Red Hot," most of Johnson's songs sounded very similar to me, almost to the point of having a recognizable template. Skip James' songs, however, are more varied in tempo, instrument and theme. Johnson keeps pretty close to the themes of difficult women, hard luck, hellish life, etc. James hits these themes, but also has a few religious songs, which seems to confirm this citation-needy line from his Wikipedia entry:
"James epitomized the complicated personality typical of many bluesmen, living a hard and sometimes reckless life while holding austere religious beliefs."
Johnson, by comparison, asks for assistance from God a few times in his songs, but doesn't go out of his way to express any positive, enthusiastic religious view. This non-well-roundedness, bent toward the cooler, eviler side, may be why Johnson seems to be a more charismatic and sexy idea for rock musicians to latch onto, and part of why Johnson's legend is larger than James' (along with, you know, his mysterious early death and all that).
Skip James recorded in the very early 1930s, and there must have been significant advancement in recording clarity before Robert Johnson's 1936/37 sessions, or perhaps higher quality equipment for Johnson to use. The difference is noticeable, and James is often unintelligible, like the more gravelly parts of
the Anthology of American Folk Music, which was recorded in the same couple years. The liveliness of his more upbeat songs comes through, however, so I will probably be revisiting this album as much as Johnson's work. It's nice to hear that even bluesmen can enjoy a nice few minutes of jaunty piano. I'm also glad I got a third piece of music from before 1950. Thanks, Ian!
Up Next: An inspiration, of sorts, for Jerry Garcia and Tony Iommi.
