Mississippi Fred McDOWELL - Delta Blues 1964

Mississippi Fred McDOWELL - Delta Blues 1964
Recorded at McDowell's home in Como, Mississippi in 1964, and in Holy Springs,
Mississippi and Berkeley, California in 1965.
 
Blues

Mississippi Fred McDowell, who died on July 3, 1972, was one of the last of the original delta blues artists. He is noted for his bottle-neck guitar work, which is well represented here, as are two field recordings with his mentor, the elusive Eli Green (the only recorded representations of his work). Mississippi Fred McDowell is perhaps best known from songs covered by Bonnie Raitt and the Rolling Stones (who performed "You Gotta Move" on STICKY FINGERS, the original version of which is included in this compilation).
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Recorded in New York during February and July of 1966, the 17 songs on this collection represent Mississippi John Hurt's final studio efforts. It is astonishing that this man, in the final months of his life, could do 17 songs that were the equal of anything he had done at his first sessions 45 years earlier, his playing (supported on some tracks with producer Patrick Sky on second guitar) as alluringly complex as ever and his voice still in top form. Hurt is brilliant throughout, his voice overpowering in its mixture of warmth, gentleness, and power, and in addition to the expected crop of standards and originals, he covers songs by Bukka White (Poor Boy, Long Ways from Home) and Leadbelly (Goodnight Irene) -- all of it is worthwhile, with some tracks, such as Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me especially haunting.
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Mississippi Fred McDowell- (Vocals, Bottle-Neck Guitar);
Rev. Elijah Green.- (Vocals, Guitar);
Annie McDowell- (Vocals).
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A1. Write Me a Few Lines  
A2. Louise  
A3. I Heard Somebody Call  
A4. 61 Highway  
A5. Mama Don't Allow Me  
A6. Kokomo Blues  
B1. Fred's Worried Life Blues  
B2. You Gonna Be Sorry  
B3. Shake 'Em on Down  
B4. My Trouble Blues  
B5. Black Minnie  
B6. That's Alright  
B7. When I Lay My Burden Down
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Mississippi Fred McDOWELL - Standing At The Burying Ground 1996

Mississippi Fred McDOWELL - Standing At The Burying Ground 1996
Recorded Live at the London's Mayfair Hotel, London 1969
Label: SEQUEL
Org. Rec. Red Lightnin´Records 1984

Blues

This compact disc gives us the complete contents of two British Red Lightnin' LPs, and McDowell's complete 1969 show from London's Mayfair Hotel. He is completely in his element here, scratching out dazzling licks on his hollow-body electric guitar, which is turned up loud enough to crunch and grind as he strums and sting real loud when he picks, but not so loud as to distort or overwhelm his singing. The highlights, which could really be the entire album, include "61 Highway," "Shake 'Em On Down," Willie Dixon's "My Babe," Mance Lipscombe's "Evil Hearted Woman," and McDowell's own "Kokomo Blues." Renowned British blueswoman Jo Ann Kelly sits in on one song, "When I Lay My Burden Down," which builds in intensity almost hypnotically, on what may be the best single CD in McDowell's output, and certainly his best concert release.
By  Bruce Eder, All Music Guide.
**
01. 61 Highway 5:59
02. Red Cross Store 5:04
03. When I Lay My Burden Down 4:14
04. Evil Hearted Woman 4:32
05. I Asked For Whiskey, She Gave Me Gasoline 2:56
06. Standing At The Burying Ground 6:24 
07. Glory Hallelujah 3:25
08. Write Me A Few Of Your Lines 5:31
09. My Baby Done Me Wrong 3:42
10. Shake 'em On Down 6:36
11. Louise 6:93
12. My Babe 5:48
13. Waves Of the Water 6:18
14. Kokomo 4:56
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Mississippi Fred McDOWELL - This Ain't No Rock 'N Roll 1968-1969 (REPOST)

Mississippi Fred McDOWELL - This Ain't No Rock 'N Roll  1968-1969 (REPOST)
Label: Arhoolie
Originally released: 1995

Blues

“To quote the liner notes, "One can never have enough of Fred McDowell in his record collection." That sums it up for me. Tracks #18 were recorded in 1969 and were previously released as Arhoolie LP 1046. Tracks #918 were recorded in 1968 at Chris Strachwitz' house, and were previously unissued. Fred McDowell is a genuine icon of traditional country blues. There's no doubt that blues has a soul when you listen to this man and his guitar. Just go out and get this one!”
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Mississippian Fred McDowell did not record until the 1960s blues revival when he was first "discovered." Bonnie Raitt struck up a friendship with him, and he refined her slide guitar playing. This album captures McDowell in a band setting with properly unobtrusive players. McDowell plays a percussive, loping guitar emphasizing his dry vocals with stinging slide repetitions as on "Diamond Ring." He's a great electric country blues player, and this album, like all of his recordings, is exciting. This CD includes 10 tracks previously unreleased, to boot.
By Michael “Wolf” Spicer — Music City Bluesletter.
**
“Arhoolie has made available an essential blues album, a masterpiece of electric bottleneck guitar playing, an historic recording of Mississippi Fred McDowell, and an 18 track CD with a heap of terrific previously unissued material- all in one release: Fred McDowell's This Ain't No Rock N' Roll.

Along with the previously released recordings of McDowell on theArhoolie label, including "You Got To Move" (CD304) and "Good Morning Little School Girl" (CD 424), this latest collection is just as stellar. But, what differentiates this one is that Fred is heard playing an electric guitar and is joined, at times, by a small, sympathetic rhythm section. "This Aint No Rock N' Roll" takes the originally issued Arhoolie LP 1046 Fred McDowell and his Blues Boys (although I can't find "Big Stars Falling" from the original Arhoolie LP), and adds 10 previously unissued cuts for 77 minutes of prime amplified bottleneck blues.The first 8 cuts (from the LP) were recorded in 1969 with Fred accompanied by second guitar, bass and drums, while the 10 unissued tracks were recorded in 1968 with Fred playing solo, except with drums on "I Heard Somebody Calling Me,""Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning," and "Mama Said I'm Crazy" (which also has added harmonica). The music ranges from slow, lurking, moody cuts like the excellent "Levee Camp Blues" and "I Wonder What I Have Done Wrong" to the driving, pulsing songs like "Dankin's Farm" and "My Baby." An additional bonus is the recording of"new" and "rekindled" songs that Fred added to his later repertoire, such as "I Worked Old Lu and I Worked Old Bess," "Diamond Ring,""Meet Me Down in Froggy Bottom" and "Jim, Steam Killed Lula "

Either with or without electric amplification, McDowell's dark vocals intertwined with his spellbinding bottleneck playing is truly sublime. And "This Ain't No Rock N' Roll" can strongly attest to the power of Mississippi Fred's electric work.”
By Dennis Rozans — Blues Rag.
**
“The Arhoolie, from 1968-9, is thoughtlessly titled - there's a well known 1969 Capitol LP with an almost identical title due for CD reissue any day now. Even worse, both highlight Fred as an electric guitar player with a small group. Confusing or what!

As I wrote in a profile of Fred in RR.131, his acoustic playing and vibrant slide was so strong and dominant that electricity seemed superfluous. Yet he was already electric on his home ground for dances and parties and it was more a mistaken perception of what he should be doing rqther than his own inclination that kept his early recordings unplugged (didn't young Dylan have the same problem around the same time?)

This CD includes all but one of the tracks on Arhoolie LP 1046 in which Fred was given unobtrusive and remarkably effective support by Mike Russo on second guitar John Kahn, bass, and Bob Jones, drums. Together with his own amplified guitar, it gave him a much fuller, rhythmically varied foundation while reducing the complexity of his own solo playing because there was no longer a need to provide melody and rhythm himself.

Much as I love the acoustic Fred, this is one electric set I rate very highly indeed. There are ten previously unheard tracks recorded in Chris Strachwitz's home the previous year which are comparatively low key and a bit tentative, rather as if Fred was still unsure about what to do with the extra power available. A year or so later when the LP was recorded, he was confident and assertive, fully in control of the beast and able to expand his acoustic technique to generate new dynamics and express the potential of the instrument. It's like Muddy Waters moving away from his Library of Congress sides to the electric sound of the early Chess sides, where the music scarcely changed while the way it was shaped did.

Those extra ten tracks are valuable for songs Fred never recorded commercially and a trifle surprising because of the comparatively seldom use of slide. Another side of Fred and a I valuable addition to his recorded repertoire.”
By David Harrison — Folk Roots.
**
01. My Baby
02. Levee Camp Blues
03. When The Saints Go Marching In
04. Diamond Ring
05. Dankin's Farm
06. You Ain't Treatin' Me Right
07. Ethel Mae Blues
08. Meet Me Down In Froggy Bottom
09. Mama Said I'm Crazy
10. I Heard Somebody Calling Me
11. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning
12. I Wonder What Have I Done Wrong
13. I Worked Out Old Lu And I Worked Out Old Bess
14. Jim, Steam Killed Lula
15. Worried Now, Won't Be Worried Long
16. Going Away, Won't Be Gone Long
17. Going Down That Gravel Bottom
18. Bye, Bye Little Girl
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Mississippi Fred McDOWELL - I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' 1969

Mississippi Fred McDOWELL - I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' 1969
Label: Capitol
Recorded September 8 & 10 1969 in Jackson, Mississippi

Blues

By the time acoustic blues master Mississippi Fred McDowell finally plugged in for the first time, something this recording captures, his songs were already a major part of the emerging blues-rock scene of the late 1960s. The slide-guitar genius was a Delta blues purist of the first degree who ignored all else, even while serving as a significant influence on a new generation of blues players. His influence endures, and his music, in its original form, remains riveting. The best example is the timeless classic "You Got to Move," covered by the Rolling Stones in a surprisingly faithful rendition on 1971's Sticky Fingers and radically reconfigured by adventurous jazz diva Cassandra Wilson three decades later on Belly of the Sun. Both versions are excellent, but McDowell's original, saturated with searing sincerity and electrifying licks, is better. In similar style, McDowell demonstrates the inspiration behind "Kokomo Me Baby" (popularized by his protégé Bonnie Raitt), "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," and "Baby Please Don't Go," all core material of the modern blues-rock repertoire. All have since been done in different styles, but none have been done better. If you're looking for the real roots of modern blues and you haven't explored McDowell's ragged but righteous creations, you need to immediately redefine your search and hear his inspirational source music firsthand.
By Michael Point.
**
Before I nitpick about Amazon's official review, I'd like to say this is one of the finest blues albums ever.
That said, Michael Point obviously hasn't listened to much of the early blues, or he'd have realized that Big Joe Williams sang "Baby Please Don't Go" in the 30's, Leroy Carr wrote "Kokomo Blues" (later "appropriated" by Robert Johnson and turned into "Sweet Home Chicago") and there's a very compelling argument that Gary Davis wrote "You Got to Move."

The blues, however, is an artform of cliche's, the forerunner of sampling, and Mississippi Fred does great justice to every song he covers. My favorite tracks are both of the ones he speaks on and "Red Cross Store," which is a jam and a half!
By TW.
**
Mississippi Fred McDowell is one of the masters of slide guitar. He has never received the credit he deserves but those who have heard will never forget him. This CD I have on a album and I have looked for the CD for years and Iam so glad its finally here. When listening to Fred McDowell you must put yourself back in time and listen close, he is all by himself playing he doesn't need a band. Its hard to believe one man can make so much rhythm. Fred McDowell is what the blues is all about, and there is no one who comes close to his original, distinctive style.
By Dawn Camp.
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Fred McDowell- Vocal & Guitar
Jerry Puckett- Bass
Darin Lancaster- Drums
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A1. Baby Please Don't Go   4:48
A2. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl   4:26
A3. Kokomo Me Baby   3:00
A4. That's All Right Baby   5:04
A5. Red Cross Store   4:04

B1. Everybody's Down on Me   9:12
B2. 61 Highway   4:43
B3. Glory Hallelujah   2:47
B4. Jesus Is on the Mainline   3:38
**
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