SKIP JAMES
Studio Sessions - Rare And Unreleased (Vanguard)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Considering the impact he had on the blues, as a primary, if not the primary, exponent of the Bentonia School guitar style, a pianist with a distinctive touch reflecting ragtime and boogie influences and a singer whose uncanny falsetto is invariably described as "haunting," Nehemiah "Skip" James is surprisingly undocumented in recordings. A couple dozen tracks recorded for Paramount in 1931 and a couple albums recorded after his re- introduction at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival have comprised the James canon. On the basis of that relatively meager output, James was an influence on blues artists ranging from Robert Johnson to Eric Clapton.

This collection of 19 previously unreleased tracks from a 1967 session for Vanguard Records can only enhance James' already formidable reputation. At 65, just two years before his death, James was in full command of his talents, and he displays the full range in these tracks, accompanying himself on piano and guitar. This isn't just an important historical release. It's just as significant to today's music as those 1931 sides were to the young blues players and archivists of the early 1960's. The difference is that we can hear them on a beautifully re-mastered 20-bit recording instead of some ancient 78s.

Vanguard's role as a faithful custodian of this music deserves your support. Spending some money on and some time with this album would be the perfect way to give it.

Track List:

Backwater Blues * Everybody Ought To Live Right * I Want To Be More Like Jesus * Jack Of Diamonds * My Last Boogie * Lazy Bones * Let My Jesus Lead You * My Own Blues * Oh, Mary Don't You Weep * Omaha Blues * Bumble Bee * One Dime Was All I Had * Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning * Somebody Gonna Wish They Had Religion * Somebody Loves You * Sorry For To Leave You * Sporting Life Blues * They Are Waiting For Me * Walking The Sea

© 2003 - Shaun Dale