Son House Albums (6)
'New York Central Live'
Release Date 11/5/2003
Tracks 6
Label Acrobat
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'Live at Gaslight Cafe, 1965'
Release Date 11/14/2000
Tracks 12
Label Document
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What The Critics Say
Son House's earliest recordings, three two-sided 78s ("My Black Mama," "Preachin' the Blues," "Dry Spell Blues") recorded in New York on May 28, 1930, proved to be a hard act to follow, and House never really equaled these fierce, driving performances again, although he came close. The field recordings he did for Alan Lomax in 1941 and 1942 are certainly indispensable, featuring a loose, ad hoc Delta string band on half the cuts, and the intimacy on these is amazing, but the larger-than-life roar of his 1930s Paramount tracks is muted (Catfish Records has released the early 78s and the Lomax field material on a single disc as Preachin' the Blues -- still the best Son House purchase out there). House's rediscovery in 1964 led to some interesting sessions for Columbia Records, and a handful of live recordings from his time on the folk and blues coffee house circuit have surfaced, including a set from House's Rochester home, recorded in 1969, but on each of these House sounds increasingly tired, worn, and wearied. The fire had long since gone out, although he was capable of generating a facsimile of the old roar on occasion, as this set recorded at Gaslight Café in New York in 1965 shows. The versions here of "Empire State Express" and "Death Letter Blues" (nearly nine minutes long and still incomplete, even at that length) are startling in their intensity, showing some of the power of the 1930s material, but it is obvious on most of the other tracks that age and a long, hard life have left House a mere shadow of his former musical self. Still, just like you don't want to be caught by a Baptist preacher (an occupation House once practiced) trying to sneak out on the sermon, it's nearly impossible not to listen to this set clear through once it begins. It feels like an important bit of living history, and behind every tortured, exhausted note you can almost hear the ghost of Son House in his fiery prime. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
'Oberlin College Concert'
Release Date 4/16/1995
Tracks 6
Label King Bee
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What The Critics Say
The "re-discovery" of the folk-blues tradition in the mid 1960s brought a second wave of fame to many performers. Son House's career was given a new lease of life when the singer performed at regular blues and folk festivals around the US, which led to House playing the college circuit. The Oberlin College Concert, recorded when House was sixty-three, shows a mature artist, but one who had lost little of the menace and wonder of his earlier sessions. House performs long, rambling, revelatory versions of his best material, songs like "A True Friend Is Hard To Find" and the closing, apocalyptic "Preachin' Blues" in which House sounds positively possessed. Although listeners may find minor problems with the release -- House's voice is not quite as powerful as twenty years previously, but this release stands as one of the blues' finest live documents of the 1960s. ~ Thomas Ward, All Music Guide
'Delta Blues and Spirituals'
Release Date 1/1/1995
Tracks 10
Label Capitol
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What The Critics Say
Recorded live for an enthusiastic audience at London's 100 Club on June 30 and July 14 of 1970 during House's final European tour, Delta Blues and Spirituals is a great last look at a true blues legend. Though Son House would live another 18 years after this recording, he would only perform for five more, and by most accounts he was only a shadow of his former self relatively shortly after this collection's release. Thus, Delta Blues and Spirituals remains one of the last vibrant documents of one of the most essential fathers of Delta blues at the top of his game. Though it's probably not a great place to start as an introduction, as it only includes eight songs, avid fans will no doubt enjoy House's two lengthy monologues and the excellent 30-page booklet included. The material itself is truly first-rate -- four blues and four spirituals are represented, making fine examples of House's impassioned blues hollering. House is joined by Canned Heat's Alan Wilson on harmonica on "Between Midnight and Day" and "I Want to Go Home on the Morning Train," making this collection some of Wilson's last recorded work, as he would die a month and a half later. Overall, the disc makes for a compelling listen from start to finish, and definitely serves as more than just an impressive historical footnote. ~ Matt Fink, All Music Guide
'The Legendary Son House: Father of the Folk Blues'
Release Date 1/1/1992
Tracks 9
Label Columbia
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What The Critics Say
This was the first such presentation of a Delta blues musician done by Columbia, which seemed like a pretty hip label at the time, since they had both Bob Dylan and Paul Revere and the Raiders. The man's picture on the front is mesmerizing, in a word; the white shirt, black string tie, and silver steel guitar just adding to the excitement. Perhaps this album picture was the first glimpse many young listeners had of such a style of guitar. It was decades before Dire Straits appropriated the image. Revisionist critical thinking has it that the older recordings by Son House can't match the music created during his '30s sessions for Paramount. Here, of course, we have the music as sports syndrome, an area where the elderly are always going to fail in someone's eyes. So much of music enjoyment, however, is a subjective reaction that so often involves many other factors, among them time and place. The sound of the metal slide quietly hovering over the strings can bring to mind only one thing in the mind of a westerner: an angry rattlesnake. And the way many listeners' jaws dropped upon hearing music such as this for the first time may not be quite as intense as a hiker's facial expression upon encountering such a creature, but it is close enough. There is a second blues legend appearing here as well. Guitarist and harmonica player Al Wilson was a founding member of Canned Heat, and a musician so good at what he did that he became a sterling example of the possibility that young white blues fans could actually learn to play this music really well, with intensity. The original pressing contains nine tracks, each of them gems. The length some of the tracks are allowed to go to is really wonderful. One of them is more than nine minutes long. Producers of country blues material in the 21st century would probably frown on such a thing because they are guilty of helping water the genre down over the years. The inevitable repackaging of material from these recording sessions in the '90s contained alternate takes, a decision that picks open arguments about whether the old man's playing at that time really warranted hearing every take, or, in fact, whether such documentation is really even that important in a genre such as blues. However one feels about such controversial subjects, it definitely seems like producer John Hammond picked the right tracks the first time out. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
