Scrapper Blackwell - Hard Time Blues (2000)

Artist: Scrapper Blackwell
Title Of Album: Hard Time Blues
Year Of Release: 2000
Label:
Genre: Blues
Quality: flac
Art: scans

Notes:
Francis "Scrapper" Blackwell was one of Robert Johnson's primary inspirations. Born in February 1903 in Indianapolis to parents of African and Cherokee ancestry, he developed his blues guitar technique during the 1920s while specializing in the distribution of bootleg liquor. Hard Time Blues, a Scrapper Blackwell sampler released by Acrobat Records in 2003, covers a timeline from 1928 to 1935 with eight solo Blackwell performances followed by ten duets with pianist Leroy Carr. Unlike Bad Liquor Blues, a similarly packaged but more varied Blackwell collection released by Catfish Records in the year 2000, Hard Time Blues is laid out as if to emphasize the powerful presence of Blackwell as a soloist alongside his famous collaborations with Carr. This little 18-track survey may serve as an introduction to the work of both men, with Blackwell's contributions standing out as distinct from the shadow of his famous colleague. Note that the rhythmically hypnotic "Trouble Blues," originally released as flipsides of a Vocalion 78 rpm record, is here presented as tracks one and eight, almost as if to "bookend" Blackwell's solo portion of the proceedings, like the soundtrack to a short film with opening and closing credits. "Kokomo Blues" was covered by Kokomo Arnold and then famously converted into "Sweet Home Chicago" by Robert Johnson. ~ arwulf arwulf

Tracklist:

. Trouble Blues, Pt. 1
2. Blue Day Blues
3. Penal Farm Blues
4. Hard Time Blues
5. Back Door Blues
6. Kokomo Blues
7. Down South Blues
8. Trouble Blues, Pt. 2
9. How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone?
10. I Believe I'll Make a Change
11. Big Four Blues
12. It's Too Short
13. Midnight Hour Blues
14. Mean Mistreater Mama
15. Blues Night Blues
16. Barrelhouse Woman
17. Rocks in My Bed
18. Tight Time Blues

Scrapper Blackwell - Bad Liquor Blues (2000)

Artist: Scrapper Blackwell
Title Of Album: Bad Liquor Blues
Year Of Release: 2000
Label: Catfish UK
Genre: Blues
Quality: flac
Art: scans

Notes:
Often mentioned in the same breath with pianist Leroy Carr, guitarist Scrapper Blackwell was honored by Catfish Records in the year 2000 with a 21-track salute consisting of highlights from his recording career during the years 1928-1935. The original 78 rpm records, cut in Richmond and Indianapolis IN, Chicago IL, and St. Louis MO, were initially issued on the Vocalion, Champion, Decca, Varsity, Superior, and Bluebird labels. Blackwell is heard as a solo act, in duets with Leroy Carr and Dot Rice, and in a funny little hokum band featuring a hot kazoo and vocal interjections by Bertha "Chippie" Hill. "Kokomo Blues" and "Penal Farm Blues" are solo performances recorded at an Indianapolis radio station facility where Blackwell and Carr made their first records together in June 1928. "Be-Da-Da-Bum" appears to be the only recording the duo ever made with a vocal by Blackwell. When heard in succession, parts one and two of the "Trouble Blues" have a mesmerizing quality that is intensified by the six-minute duration. With more than two-thirds of the songs performed by Blackwell alone, this is an excellent survey of his best work from this time period. ~ arwulf arwulf

Tracklist:

1. Kokomo Blues
2. Penal Farm Blues
3. Be-Da-Da-Bum
4. Back Door Blues
5. Morning Mail Blues
6. Down South Blues
7. D Blues
8. Blues That Make Me Cry
9. Wayback Blues
10. A Blues
11. Motherless Boy Blues
12. Alley Sally Blues
13. Blue Day Blues
14. Texas Stomp
15. Trouble Blues Pt.1
16. Trouble Blues Pt.2
17. Non Skin Tread
18. Hard Time Blues
19. My Old Pal Blues
20. Bad Liquor Blues
21. Rambling Blues