John Hurt - the Okeh recordings, Avalon Blues
February 14, 2010
Two names that come up in any decent history of the blues are Robert Johnson and John Hurt. Robert Johnson is the better known having supplied Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Led Zeppilin and every other 60s group of note with their principle blues rifts and signature songs. John Hurt seems to be less well known and entirely different. There's a distinct folk element in Hurt's work over which the blues are laid that isn't present in Johnson's. Hurt's music nearly always sounds happy, like he's singing it with a smile on his face. But it reminds me of a lot of Mexican peasant music, which also sounds happy and gay, but actually is about a man who wants to kill his wife with his hunting knife for sleeping with his brother. She's usually depicted as hiding under the kitchen table screaming. John Hurt has a few tunes like that; Nobody's Dirty Business for example. It's nobody's dirty business if he wants to belt into his girlfriend or kill his wife, nobody's business but his own. There are a few of those, but at the same time there's his version of Frankie, as in Frankie and Johnny, but in Hurt's version, it's not Johnny, it's Albert. And if you only need one reason to buy this album, or any other complilation of Hurt's music, it would have to be the immortal Stack O'Lee, that bad man, cruel Stack O'Lee. Stack O'Lee has been a figure in American Black men's folk history since somewhere in the 19th century and the versions of it are legion; almost as many as there are versions of Frankie and Johnny. In fact the only song on this album that I reckon they could've well done without is Blessed Be the Name, which basically goes Blessed be the Name, blessed be the Name, blessed be Name, to a churchy hymn tune for 2 1/2 minutes that feels like ten. Very, very boring. So yes, I'd say buy this album if you care about blues, blues history and knowing what it all sounded like back at the beginning. It's a good listen.
A Folk-Blues (Gentle) Giant
(1 of 1 Found this Helpful)
December 11, 2009
What an amazing story. In 1928, OKeh recording director Tommy Rockwell discovers a then 35-year-old John Hurt in Avalon, Mississippi. Hurt goes to New York in February and cuts a handful of tracks. "Frankie" and "Nobody's Dirty Business" sell well enough to bring Hurt back in December for two more recording dates. These thirteen tracks are the result of those 1928 sessions. Hurt would spend the next thirty-five years in relative obscurity before his next recordings at the age of 70. But even if he never stepped into a recording studio again, these recordings would still make Hurt one of the most revered folk-blues artists.
I first encountered Hurt's music by way of Doc Watson, but there's no substitute for the real thing. There's no flash, no guitar pyrotechnics. Just a simple man whose restrained vocals and unique fingerpicking create nothing short of magic. ESSENTIAL [Running Time - 38:17]
CD
September 30, 2009
Good fast service. Crack on front of case on arrival. Otherwise, the CD was in perfect condition.
real blues
July 1, 2009
if you want some of the original, down and dirty, soulful blues. Mississippi Jhon Hurt is it(and of course son house). not much more I can say other than infectious, this lp will put the blues in your heart and if it doesn't go see a cardiologist.
Amazing Performer, Amazing Songs
June 24, 2009
I got into Mississippi John Hurt after hearing him on the Anthology of American Folk Music, and I really love it. His guitar picking is wonderful and relaxing, his voice has a great laid-back quality to it, and the songs, spirituals and ballads alike, are beautifully written. Folk lovers, get this CD. You won't regret it.
