Sony adds ta Legacy series New Blind Willie Johnson CD B kkk ek The Complete Willic Jobnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Columbia /Legacy 1993 Rkkk Dark Was The Night, Blind Willic Johnson, Columbia/ icv Mojo Workin’ Series 1998 This week Sony releases a selection of songs from the great gospel blues musician Blind Willic Johnson (t Born c. ve died c.1950) as part of umbia, 's Mojo Workin’ Series. my , It would be a great addition to any- body’s record collection unless you already own the 1993 Complete Willie Joknson on the same label. Dock the new one two notches for redundancy and I dropping songs. All of Johnson’s recorded output is from the late twenties — a total of 30 ; Songs taped for Columbia in Dallas, Atlanta and New Orleans. The locations of the sessions describe the outer margins of Johnson’s universe as he spent most of his life performing on the streets of Dallas and southéastern Texas. ‘In 1927 he and his wife Angeline briefly settled in Waco, before moving to Beaumont near the Louisiana border. Johnson died from the effects of a house fire (and lack of med- ical attention) around 1950 although there is no documentation _ Of his death. :, The 16 songs on Dark Was The Night are as good an introduction as any to the hard fire and brimstone life of the brilliant musician. Blind Willie Johnson ad tivo ‘distinct styles of singing (false bass or a natural tenor) id two distinct styles of playing guitar (open E tuning with pockerknife bottleneck or standard tuning without bottleneck) with many variations in between. The songs emselves are guaranteed to give you chills. “He bitidus than most self-accompanicd sirigers, often ‘instrumental verse, taking a break in another losing with an instrumental segment: His tonal of timing are incomparable: as opposed to 1 artists he varies the'speéd of his vibrato drasti- “tally, often, speeding up as he slides into-a note,” writes Steve Calt in‘ the: liner notes to the Yazoo CD Praise God I’m Satisfied. ‘his most ‘unusual creations is the title cur “Dark Was Cold Was The Ground” which has also been CHICAGO musician B: Visibie Ink Press’ excellent new Diues consumer guide. recorded by Ry Cooder. The song defies categorizing as “its emphasis is on pure sound rather than form”, says Calt. Despite Sony’s best attempts at reproduction Blind Willie Johnson remains in a class by himself. aga0g Among new blues recordings and rereleases coming out in the next month look for: Life, Love and The Blues — Evra James; The Original Delta Blucs- Son House; The Best of Bobby Blue Bland Vol. 1 & 2, I Choose To Sing The Blses— Duster Bennett; Flastin’ Back = Tyrone Davis, Up From The Skies — Ellen McIlwaine; Little Boy Blue - Waker Horton; Raisin’ Hell Live! ~ Elvin Bishop; Deja Blue ~ Angela Strehii: The Way It Is - Big Mama Thornton; I’m So Satisfied - Junior Parker; and Bricks In My Pillow ~ Robert Nighthawk. 000 Tower Records” Pulse Magazine features its annual survey of the blues scene in its July issue. Articles on the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Honeyboy Edwards, Big Jack Johnson, John Hammond, nd a Hound Dog Taylor comic can be found at www.tow errecords.com Kodak's maximum versatility film for better-looking Pictures in sunlight, low light, action or still. <= TONIGHT CAND EVERY NIGHT) “SOMEONE AN BC “> WILL-WIN f ont LEAST SOR sHaRe it's all you need to know about film uddy Guy eraces the cover of . Friday, July 3, 1998 — North Shore News — 35 Rating consumer guides S kwkkx MusicHound Blues, Visible Ink 1998 @ ick The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Blues, Blackwell 1989 @ x The Grove Press Guide te the Biues, Grove Press 1993 MusicHound’s new consumer guide to the blues is a very welcome addition to the genre. While Rough Guide, Penguin and others have published excellent volumes on various types of music the blues has been ill-served by its critical community. The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Blwes (first published in 1989), edited by historian Paul Oliver, provides a great context for the music but gets bogged down when it actually discusses records. The book was put together just as CDs were overtak- ing vinyl as che disc du jour and in : trying to distinguish between the two they confuse the reader. Or at least this reader. The main problem is a convolut- ed cross-referencing system between CDs and LPs which is wav ‘more trouble than its worth. Twelve of the world’s leading authorities con- tributed to the book and it does make fascinating reading. Just don’t try to find anything. Frank John Hadley i is the man responsible for the perplexing Grove . Pros Guide to the Blues Most music consumer guides try to cover all available recordings or at ieast make the reader aware of what criteria were used in selecting the discs. Hadley gives only z sampling of each artist with a hopelessly inadequate addendum listing new releases that came out as the book went to press. While Hadley has written for Down Beat and Living Blues there is no indication that the capsule reviews have been published Esewhere. Into this sorry field enters MusicHound with its easy-to-read, well-researched book. of reviews. More than 600 bliies artists are’ ered with extensive information on cach — what what to buy if you like those, what to avoid. An 8! lists blues media sources, web sites, festivals, labe With over 40 writers contributing to the pro undoubtedly come acress some opinions you don’t agree with, but that’s part of the fun. There are also some glaring om sions (such as Hamilton, Ontario’s King Biscuit Boy; Ho Page) that need to be addressed in future editions... MusicHound Blues comes with 2 CD of artists from, the... House of Blues label including Luther Allison, Otis Clay, The: Blind Boys of Alabama and Taj Mahal. Highly recommendes ‘Custom Made Orders’. 904-9446. 1 i093 Marine Drive at Lloyd Ave., North Van* OPEN. 7. DA’ Ss: 10-6 .