Bukka White Albums (5)
'Fixin' to Die'
Release Date 4/20/2004
Tracks 20
Label Snapper Music Group
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
In 1963, graduate students and blues fans John Fahey and Ed Denson sent a letter addressed to Bukka White, Old Blues Singer, c/o General Delivery, Aberdeen, MS, in an effort to locate the man who had recorded a 78 called "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues" on the OKeh label in 1940. Amazingly, the letter actually reached White, who was still alive, having moved to Memphis. The two budding blues scholars rushed there to meet him, recording the songs found on this collection in the singer's room. These historic recordings reveal that White's robust guitar playing and his gruff, thundering voice had lost none of their vitality in the intervening years, and the bluesman delivers impassioned versions of some of his key tunes, including "Shake 'Em on Down," and the song that led to his rediscovery, "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues." White even takes a surprisingly nimble turn at the piano for "Drunk Man Blues." These sessions were originally released on Fahey's Takoma label, and although White went on to do other recording dates, most notably with Arhoolie Records in 1963, he never sounded quite this intimate and impassioned again. The only minor complaint about this reissue is that the haunting version of "When Can I Change My Clothes" included here is mislabeled "Parchman Farm Blues." ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
There are two volumes in this series, but one could make a guess that twice as many boxes of this second volume are sitting on the warehouse shelf, unwanted. That's because eventually word got out that one side of the second volume consisted of a long monologue entitled "Mixed Water," basically the story of how Bukka White got a bunch of people drunk via trickery. If one were to purchase only one Sky Songs volume, some would give the nod to the first in the series, since it is all music. The term "music," however, is vague enough to apply to that album's nearly 14 minutes of piano playing. The second volume of Sky Songs features a higher overall proportion of this artist's wonderful slide steel guitar music, and less piano. As for "Mixed Water," it is a curiosity piece. If recordings such as this had more of an audience, it would be a real boon for journalists, many of whom have stacks of recordings such as this, done for interview sessions and featuring musicians raving about this and that. Over the years, "Mixed Water" sometimes showed up on college radio programs, even getting the montage treatment from the late-'80s crowd of taping weirdos. The length of the pieces would encourage even a sane listener to want to fiddle along, but this was the whole idea of this series and makes it totally unique in the history of country blues recording. White indulged in stream of consciousness improvised songcrafting for these recordings, and was encouraged to go on to his heart's content. The monologue may have been the result of him running out of musical ideas -- his steamroller ran magnificently in only two gears, apparently -- or producer Chris Strachwitz may have felt that this material had enough historical importance to merit the gobble of so much vinyl. Bukka White fans will find a handful of recordings available that present the artist in the confines of a more structured setting, which as disappointing as it is to admit, was actually the way to go with this guy. These records will in turn make the newly fanatic White supremacy converts covet the Sky Songs just because the idea of them will sound so appealing. In the end, the idea is better than the reality, but it sure would be nice if there were recordings like this of other country blues greats. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
'Baton Rouge Mosby Street'
Release Date 1/1/1972
Tracks 6
Label Blues Beacon
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
If records were rated for being unique alone, this series of two volumes on Arhoolie would be prize winners. Amongst the many available recordings of American country-blues, there is absolutely nothing that the Sky Songs could be compared to, something some blues listeners might be thankful for. The concept of a producer taking an artist and refining his statements into a polished, professionally acceptable version of a finished product is turned around completely on its ear here. That this kind of approach might be the enemy of the eccentric such as White is a given, but to allow him to do exactly what he wanted for as long as he wanted over the course of four sides may not have been a good alternative. As a result, these records could perhaps figure into the Guinness Book of World Records as containing the longest country-blues numbers on record, such as the 13-minute and counting "Sugar Hill," the piano track on this volume. White is of course much more effective and exciting to listen to when he plays his steel guitar, and many blues fans might go much further than that simple statement and insist that the blues in general is better in little morsels rather than extended epics. Of course, the history of the genre on recordings begins with abbreviated performances, because it was impossible to cut more than three minutes at once. But skip ahead 50 years and even the electrified blues styles contain long tracks only in the case of extended jams of some kind, the longest one of all being some two hours of "Refried Boogie" plopped onto four sides by Canned Heat. Compared to that, the performances here are mere burps in the sands of time. The listener may still find it tedious making it through these tracks no matter what instrument White is playing or how friendly his vocals sound. It isn't a situation without hope, mind you. "My Baby" is an example of a good result that can came from this lack of editing. White builds the song's intensity surely and slowly, verse upon verse of detail backboned by an insistent riff that literally brings chills to the spine while he sings about this very image. It doesn't hurt that as the verses progress, he gets into some narrative action that would fit right into The Evil Dead. As is the case with incredibly long movies and plays, a psychic adjustment can be made and the most monotonous tracks such as "Sugar Hill" can become some kind of a metaphysical experience, including the piano solo that he plays almost identically at least four times. Who's counting? Perhaps the fellow who faded out the track. Some of the tracks fade in as well, as if they were captured in the middle of their creation. This was the whole idea, as the artist coined the term Sky Songs to describe the idea of ditties coming to him as if they were falling into his mind from up above. The concept of musicians receiving inspiration from the universe at large is of course something even the elite such as Karlheinz Stockhausen lay claim to, so there is no need to dismiss White's inspiration off-hand. Whether country-blues artists missed an opportunity for greatness by not recording similarly long performances is not something anyone will ever be able to judge, as these recordings remain the lone examples of a country-blues imagination allowed to run wild. Inexplicably, timings are provided for two of the tracks and not the others; perhaps the guy with the stopwatch kept dozing off on the job. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
