The Folkways Years: 1959-1973

by Memphis Slim

Overview

These 21 tracks, selected from the recordings Memphis Slim did for Folkways, tend to be in solo piano or sparsely accompanied arrangements, as one would figure since Folkways was a traditionally oriented label. Still, it doesn't sound like a forced or awkward attempt to steer the pianist toward an outdated approach. It's just on the quiet and restrained side, and not different from numerous recordings Memphis Slim did for more commercially minded labels throughout his career. Although half of the material is just Slim alone at the piano (sometimes singing, sometimes not), it does actually show him in a variety of contexts. Willie Dixon accompanies him on bass on a few numbers; Jazz Gillum does the vocal and harmonica for "Key to the Highway" (which is actually a track on which Memphis Slim was the sideman, not the featured artist); Matt Murphy plays electric guitar on a few songs; Pete Seeger joins Memphis Slim and Dixon on "Midnight Special"; and there are actually drums by Jump Jackson on a couple of tunes. It's assured piano blues whatever the situation, not among his very best recordings, but certainly respectable. Unfortunately, the liner notes, quite detailed in most respects, do not give the dates of recordings for the individual tracks; from the sound of things, most of these date from 1959 and the early 1960s, although the title indicates a timespan of 1959-1973. Three of the cuts were previously unreleased, including "Every Day I Have the Blues," the atypical organ instrumental "The Gimmick," and the piano instrumental "The Dirty Dozens." ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	02/22/2000
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074012826
Rank:	75070

Tracks

1. Joggie Boogie
2. I Left That Town/Harlem Bound
3. Key to the Highway
4. Chicago House Rent Party Blues
5. Stewball
6. The Dirty Dozens
7. Beer Drinking Woman
8. Walking Blues
9. Pinetop's Boogie Woogie
10. San Juan Blues
11. Prison Bound
12. If the Rabbit Had a Gun
13. Backwater Blues
14. You Name It
15. M & O Blues
16. Every Day I Have the Blues
17. Just a Dream
18. Midnight Special
19. The Bells
20. Mean Old Frisco
21. The Gimmick

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Memphis Slim   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Kip Lornell   Compilation Producer,Producer,Annotation
Lead Belly   Composer
Charles Segar   Composer
Charlie Pilzer   Mastering
Leroy Carr   Composer
Pete Reiniger   Sound Supervision
Pinetop Smith   Composer
Peter Chatman   Composer
Memphis Slim   Composer
Anthony Seeger   Production Supervisor
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup   Composer
Big Bill Broonzy   Composer
D.A. Sonneborn   Production Supervisor
Walter Davis   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Christian Becker   Production Assistant
Raeburn Flerlage   Photography
Mary Monseur   Coordination
Carla Borden   Editorial Assistant
Traditional   Composer
Bessie Smith   Composer