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We then get an instrumental version of the Sam and Dave hit ‘Hold On I’m Coming’
with Cody’s eery slide guitar, followed by Billy Boy Arnold’s ‘Cryin’ and Pleadin’

which quotes from his big hit ‘I Wish You Would’. ‘I Love You, I Need You’ is a loping
Jimmy Reed-style song, while ‘I Don’t Mind’ is a dramatic soul ballad by James Brown
and we finish with a fabulous version of Elmore James’ ‘Stranger Blues’ with Cody’s

excellent voice and slide guitar. Much as I liked the original version of GA-20 I think
that this new version is even better with Cody’s voice and slide guitar just adding

another dimension to the sound.

Graham Harrison

Various Artist—I Died Over You—Document Records

ASIN : B0CF2RNBRH

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to review this album before
Halloween – it features 30 vintage (1918 – 1960) tracks

on the theme of death, with extensive liner notes from
Gillian Atkinson. Opener ‘Death’ by Lion and the Audley
Francis Washboard Orchestra, is a delicious mashup of
calypso and trad jazz and ‘I’ll be Glad When You’re Dead,

You Rascal You’ is a knockabout jug band thrash from
The Nashville Washboard Band. Jelly Roll Morton gives

us ‘Dead Man Blues’ and Sonny Boy Williamson (II) is featured with ‘She Brought
Life Back to the Dead’ and Cleoma Breaux & Joseph Falcon give us the haunting
Cajun ‘The Waltz that Carried Me to My Grave’. Ida Cox sings a mournful ‘Death

Letter Blues (not the Son House song), Atlanta’s Buddy Moss gives us a lovely
country blues ‘When I’m Dead and Gone’, while Memphis Slim plays one of his piano
classics ‘Mother Earth’.

It's not all jazz and blues though there is great variety here with Western Swing
from Bud Messner & his Skyline Boys who sing the title song and Cactus Pryor and
his Prickly Pears with a Spike Jones-like ‘Cry of a Dying Duck in a Thunder Storm’.

Plus, we also get some early rock and roll tracks. There are also songs from Greece,
Sweden and Denmark and Britain is represented by the BBC Dance Orchestra, Gracie
Fields, Leslie Sarony and Isla Sinclair. Despite its macabre theme this record isn’t

at all depressing, there is certainly lots of variety and in fact some of the tracks are
quite humorous, although I must admit I found it hard to listen to Hank Fort’s ‘You
Can’t Hurt Me Now Because I’m Dead’ which makes light of domestic violence!

Graham Harrison