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The CD comes with a 128-page booklet which has photographs by McCormick and also
producers Jeff Place and John Troutman write about his rather sad life. The Smithsonian have
over 600 of McCormick’s field recordings so there are likely to be other collections of his
recordings issued in the future.

Graham Harrison

Various Artists—An Anthology of 20th Century Blues—Ac-
robat ASIN: B0C6QH9R52

Wow! This very reasonably-priced four-CD, 100-track collec-
tion presented in more or less chronological order gives a won-
derful overview of blues in the 20th century and also shows the
way in which the music developed over that time. Not only that,
unlike many other similar compilations which are assembled
from whatever tracks happen to be available, here we have
particularly significant, often signature songs associated with
each artist, for example Charley Patton – Spoonful Blues, Cham-
pion Jack Dupree – Junker Blues, T-Bone Walker – Stormy Mon-
day Blues etc.

We go from the classic blues singers Alberta Hunter, Victoria Spivey, Bessie Smith etc. to the
early country bluesmen Blind Lemon Jefferson, Papa Charlie Jackson, Blind Blake etc. and also
the blues piano players Walter Davis, Big Maceo, Roosevelt Sykes etc. and not forgetting the
jug bands. There are also examples of songsters like Leadbelly, Josh White and Jesse Fuller,

jump blues from Jay McShann and Wynonie Harris, harmonica players from Sonny Terry and
Jazz Gillum to Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter. Finally, we get to the electric blues of
the 50s and 60s with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King etc and there are even a few
examples from white artists like Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Mike Bloomfield and Canned Heat.
However, it seems to stop at the end of the 1960s so we don’t get the full century or to hear for
example Taj Mahal, Stevie Ray Vaughan or Robert Cray – although this is really just nit-picking!

What particularly struck me when listening to some of the earlier tracks here was how
sophisticated they are, the recording quality may not be brilliant and the instrumentation is
quite simple but this isn’t the ‘crude’ music that many jazz critics used to paint blues as in the
1960s. However, although this is a good compilation, personally I don’t think that this is quite
as good as the very similar Proper box set “The Complete History of the Blues 1920-1962” but
if you had these two collections then you would certainly have a very comprehensive over-
view of the blues, albeit that there would be several duplicate tracks.

Graham Harrison

Chickenbone Slim—Damn Good And Ready—Vizztone
Records ASIN : B0C3SKXBZW

Chickenbone Slim (Larry Teves) and his band The Biscuits are
from San Diego but ventured up to San Jose to record this album
of twelve original songs at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studio.
The Biscuits are Laura Chavez (guitar), Justice Guevera (bass)
and Marty Dodson ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds (drums) with
Larry himself on vocals and guitar. Opener ‘High Ballin’ Train’
is a rocker, and ‘Let’s Go Lindy’ is a swinging jump blues but I
particularly liked ‘Drink Me’ with its great reverb-laden guitar