1959-1968 Newport Folk Festiv [Compilation, Live]

Disc one opens with a six-song set by "Mississippi" John Hurt which includes "Candy Man" and "Stagolee", and also includes two spooky songs by an ailing but still-powerful Nehemiah "Skip" James, four songs by Son House, and songs by Bukka White and Fred McDowell, as well as two excellent acoustic solo performances by Muddy Waters. House's "Death Letter Blues" and "Empire State Express", Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied", and Skip James' "Devil Got My Woman" are among the highlights, but there aren't really any "lowlights".

Disc two features a great little set by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, a wonderful rendition of Sleepy John Estes' "Clean Up At Home", three excellent songs by the underrated Robert Pete Williams, and several other fine performances, including Mance Lipscomb's version of Blind Willie Johnson's "God Moves On The Water", and Jesse Fuller's "San Francisco Bay Blues" (which you may have heard Eric Clapton cover on his "Unplugged" album).

On disc three, Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins plays an electric guitar (gasp!) on a great, swaggering "Baby Please Don't Go", and is backed by drummer Sam Lay on "Shake That Thing". John Lee Hooker lays down haunting versions of "Tupelo" and "The Great Fire Of Natchez", as well as a gritty "Boom Boom". Muddy Waters is accompanied by pianist Otis Spann on a great, swinging "Blow Wind Blow". And the 6'6" John L. "Memphis Slim" Chatman plays a version of "How Long" to rival that of Leroy Carr himself.

Almost all of these performances are acoustic, and there is a lot of wonderful acoustic slide guitar here...Muddy Waters, Son House, Fred McDowell, Mance Lipscomb, and Bukka White all play ringing bottleneck phrases. Sonny Terry blows his customary harmonica, and Memphis Slim and Otis Spann both contribute some excellent piano playing. And while many of these songs have been available on various LP and CD releases before, "Best Of The Blues 1959-1968" includes almost a dozen previously unreleased recordings, of which Sonny Terry's & Brownie McGhee's "Drink Muddy Water", "How Long" by Memphis Slim, and John Lee Hooker's "Let's Make It", are among the greatest.

This collection is a must-have for anyone with an interest in the 60s blues revival, or just acoustic blues music in general, and you won't believe the fidelity. A wonderful two hours and fifty-three minutes of music.

Vangaurd Records is to be commended for making the right artistic choices in thier production of this CD. Many of these performances had been floating around for years on other Newport collections. Producer Tom Vicker devoted an entire disc to each of these three categories: delta blues, country blues and urban blues. There is a sense of continuity on each disc without any jarring segues. Engineer Jeff Zaraya captures the warm analogic glory of the orginal performances and wisely chooses not to edit out foot stomping, hand clapping and crowd noises. Zaraya's mastering work captures the passion of the living blues and he avoids the mistake of reducing the performances to sterile museum piece curiosities.

The scope of performers is staggering. Son House, self proclaimed mentor of Robert Johnson, whose piercing slap-time steel guitar was the alter-ego to his gritty emotional baritone. Skip James, ghost of the delta, sings in his haunting falsetto with his mastery of complex right hand poly-rhythymic bassline fingerpicking. Jesse Fuller, San Francisco's one man band, plays his ramshackle ragtime blues. Mississppi John Hurt demonstrates his wry humor and his delicate five finger picking of his brillant orginal music. Polished performers like Muddy Waters and Brownie McGee know how to pace a show and work the crowd. Harlem's Rev. Gary Davis' does "old time religion" gospel shouting and precision ragtime picking. The suprise is an obscure ex-con, Robert Pete Williams with his eerie "stream of consciousness" lyrics and elliptical song structures. Robert Pete Williams, more than any of the performers, is connected to the roots of West African folk music. By my own count, John Lee Hooker was the last performer on these recordings to die(June 21, 2001). These astounding Newport performances are, at once, a historical document, a tribute to the diverse artistry of American blues, and some of the most passionate and riveting music I've ever heard. An essential for anyone collecting blues or roots music.

Regarding the artists & their material.. well, you really can't go wrong with sets by Mississippi John Hurt, Muddy, Son House, John Lee Hooker, & etc. The artists on disc 1 alone is a "who is who" of the early blues that were only heard on scratchy vinyl before these organized festivals existed. Some might've considered them past their so called "prime", but their performances don't reflect upon it, as they take the listener & the white crowd on a trip down the Delta. Some of the performances on this package are unbelievable.

Might be me, but John Lee Hooker's set REALLY stands out. He sounds DANGEROUS, & his unreleased tracks alone make this package a well worth buy.

An interesting note, that in this mostly acoustic set is the inclusion of two Butterfield Blues band cuts. Having these cuts on different sources, it was great to hear them sonically remastered in all its glory.

Recommended, but more importantly, this is essential listening.