Louie Bluie [Original Soundtrack]

by Howard Armstrong

Overview

The soundtrack to the Louie Bluie film has Howard Armstrong (aka Louie Bluie) in informal settings with various musicians including Ted Bogan, Ikey Robinson, Yank Rachell, and Tom Armstrong. The selection of material gives a good indication of the breadth of the songster's repertoire, with ragtime, songs in German and Polish, blues, and a bawdy version of "Darktown Strutter's Ball" with much explicit profanity. If you're a casual blues fan and want a representative disc of the songster genre, you could do a lot worse than this, especially as the clear fidelity is far superior to what's possible from remastered 78s. And if you need some of those remastered 78s, the disc isn't a total loss either, as it has the 1934 single he issued under the name "Louie Bluie," "Ted's Stomp"/"State Street Rag," which has some expert, speedy violin (on "Ted's Stomp") and mandolin (on "State Street Rag") by Armstrong. The CD reissue adds four songs from 1929-1938 not on the original Arhoolie LP: "Vine Street Drag" by the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, two sides by Sleepy John Estes with Yank Rachell (including the famous "Milk Cow Blues"), and a 1938 single by Yank Rachell. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	08/18/1998
Label:	Arhoolie
UPC:	0096297047026
Rank:	119830

Tracks

1. New State Street Rad
2. Nothing in This Wide World for Me
3. That'll Never Happen to Me
4. Ted's Stomp
5. My Four Reasons
6. Barushka
7. 38 Pistol Blues
8. Darktown Strutters' Ball
9. When He Calls Me I Will Answer
10. Vine Street Drag
11. My Gal Sal Medley
12. State Street Rag
13. Du, Du Liechst Mir Im Herzen
14. Railroad Blues
15. Cacklin' Hen
16. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
17. Vine Street Drag
18. The Girl I Love
19. Milk Cow Blues
20. When You Feel Down and Out

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Howard Armstrong   Primary Artist,Guitar,Violin,Vocals,Mandolin
Yank Rachell   Primary Artist
Sleepy John Estes   Primary Artist
Ted Bogan   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Willie Sievers   Primary Artist,Piano
Banjo Ikey Robinson   Banjo,Vocals
Tom Armstrong   Bass

Technical Credits

Morgan K. Dodge   Booklet,Tray Card Design
Mockridge   Composer
Robert Crumb   Artwork
Sleepy John Estes   Composer
Kokomo Arnold   Composer
Yank Rachell   Composer
Terry Zwigoff   Producer
Public Domain   Composer