"Blessed Are..." by JOAN BAEZ – August 1971 US and UK 2LP Studio Set on Vanguard Records with a Bonus 45-Single (US Copies Only) – band featuring Norman Blake and Pete Wade on Guitars, Charlie McCoy on Harmonica, Norbert Putnam on Bass and Production, Kenneth Buttrey on Drums with Back Up from The Memphis Horns, The Holladay Singers and The Town And Country Singers (September 2005 UK Ace/Vanguard Masters 2CD Expanded Edition Reissue in the Original Masters Series – Jeff Zaraya Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Salt Of The Earth..."

 

Joan Baez needed (in some respects) to re-establish herself with the buying public as not just that 60ts protest singer of old, but a contemporary artist in the emerging singer-songwriter scenery of 1971.

 

And for platter number fourteen on Vanguard Records – her studio double album "Blessed Are..." released in August of that huge year for Rock Music and its adjoining genres, did just that - it went to No. 11 in the US Billboard Rock LP charts- something many Folkies hadn’t been able to do. Amongst the ten cover versions of contemporary Country-Rock and Folk-Rock hipsters like Mickey Newbury, The Band, Kris Kristofferson and Jesse Winchester – were ten new originals and even a free 2-Track 45-single for first callers.

 

This sweet-sounding 2CD Remaster has done that urge-to-splurge proud – even including both sides of that 45-single on a separate CD and throwing in a previously unreleased throwback to 1969 as a Bonus. To the hungry and the broken...

 

UK released September 2005 - "Blessed Are..." by JOAN BAEZ is on Ace/Vanguard Masters VMD2 79760 (Barcode 029667016728). This 'Original Master Series' 2CD Reissue offers the full August 1971 US double-album Remastered onto CD1 with its accompanying 2-Track 7" bonus single remastered onto CD2 as Plus One More, a Previously Unreleased Performance from the 1969 Woodstock Festival as Track 3. It plays out as follows:

 

CD1 "Blessed Are..." (78:06 minutes):

Side 1

1. Blessed Are...

2. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [Band cover]

3. The Salt Of The Earth [Rolling Stones cover]

4. Three Horses

5. The Brand New Tennessee Waltz [Jesse Winchester cover]

Side 2

6. Last, Lonely And Wretched

7. Lincoln Freed Me Today [David Patton cover]

8. Outside The Nashville City Limits

9. San Francisco Mabel Joy [Mickey Newbury cover]

10. When Time Is Stolen

Side 3

11. Heaven Help Us All [Ron Miller cover]

12. Angeline [Mickey Newbury cover]

13. Help Me Make It Through The Night [Kris Kristofferson cover]

14. Let It Be [Beatles cover]

15. Put Your Hand In The Hand [Gene MacLellan cover]

Side 4

16. Gabriel And Me

17. Milanese Waltz/Marie Flore

18. The Hitchhiker's Song

19. The 33rd Of August [Mickey Newbury cover]

20. Fifteen Months

Tracks 1 to 20 are her fourteenth album "Blessed Are..." - released August 1971 in the USA on Vanguard VSD-6570-1 - same catalogue number in the UK but minus the bonus 2-track 7" single that came with original US copies (see CD2). Produced by NORBERT PUTNAM and JACK LOTHROP - all songs written by Joan Baez (except the cover versions noted above). It peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard Rock Charts (didn't chart UK).

 

CD2 "Blessed Are..." Bonus Tracks (12:56 minutes):

1. Maria Dolores

2. Plane Wreck At Los Gatos (Deportee)

Tracks 1 and 2 were issued as 'Bonus Disc' 7" single with original copies of the US double album

3. Warm And Tender Love (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED performance from the 1969 Woodstock Festival)

 

The 12-page booklet has dense new liner notes (done in 2004) by Grammy-nominated music historian ARTHUR LEVY. Levy explains that a suggestion to relocate sessions to the newly kitted out Quadrafonic Studios in Nashville by Maynard Soloman (a Producer at Vanguard) opened up a whole new level of creativity for her. Perhaps more importantly, it sided Baez's beautiful voice and poise with top session-players like Norman Blake and Pete Wade on Guitars, Charlie McCoy on Harmonica, Norbert Putnam on Bass and Production, Kenneth Buttrey on Drums with Back Up from The Memphis Horns, The Holladay Singers and The Town And Country Singers. Blake had played for Johnny Cash for years while Norbert Putnam and Kenneth Buttrey were in Area Code 615.

 

The Remaster is by JEFF ZARAYA using original analogue tapes and is gorgeous - clean and full - and with much of the music acoustic-based - has a sweet clarity to it.

 

She smartly chooses three Mickey Newbury tunes all from his "Looks Like Rain" album issued in the USA on Mercury Records SR 61236 in September 1969. She taps 1968's "Beggars Banquet" for a cover of The Stones "Salt Of The Earth" and you can so see why her heart would be with the lyrical and musical sophistication of The Beatles' beautiful "Let It Be". Matthews Southern Comfort also saw the beauty in the Country sway of "The Brand New Tennessee Waltz" - probably Jesse Winchester's most popular tune.

 

While I kinda cringe at the overwhelming earnest in the title track "Be Blessed..." and stuff like "Last, Lonely And Wretched", Baez was no slouch on quality with songs of her own like the seven-minutes of "Three Horses" (a stallion on the hill tale), the horse-trot acoustic jaunt in "Outside The Nashville City Limits" (a local with a slow drawl shows her the most beautiful place in Tennessee), the sad and plaintive "When Time Is Stolen" (laughter riddled with tears) and the grey quiet horse that nobody sees except "Gabriel And Me".

 

The Spanish Language "Maria Dolores" 7"-single track over on the short CD2 comes complete with hacienda swaying strings and ladies – while lettuce is rotting in the five-minute Mexican Border deportation tale of woe - "Plane Wreck At Los Gatos" – a Woody Guthrie lyrical gem. But best surprise of all is the pretty love-in vibe of Bobby Robinson's "Warm And Tender" (a song he gave to Percy Sledge on Atlantic Records). Recorded live at Woodstock in August 1969, it's actually a gorgeous Baez and Harmony Vocalist rendition – a slow and heartfelt melody ballad and a clever way of tying-up this themed double.

 

I would be the first to admit that this kind of Folk/Folk-Rock is very much of its time – but the quality of the songs, playing and the CD transfers makes "Blessed Are..." a must-buy for fans...

"Any Day Now" by JOAN BAEZ – December 1968 US 2LP set of Bob Dylan Covers on Vanguard Records (April 1969 UK) – featuring Grady Martin, Fred Carter, Pete Drake, Jerry Reed, Vinnie Bell, Hargus 'Pig' Robbins, Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield with Ken Buttrey, David Briggs, Buddy Spicher and Norbert Putnam of Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry (March 2005 UK Ace Records 'Vanguard Masters' Expanded Edition Reissue – 2LPs onto 1CD with Two Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks Recorded Live In Japan – Jeff Zaraya Restoration and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Crumble Into Each Other..."

Against a backdrop of huge escalation in the Vietnam War, the assignations of Dr. Martin Luther King in April and Robert Kennedy in June and racial unrest in major American cities and University campuses – Joan Baez steps into Columbia's studios in Nashville in October 1968 with Producer Maynard Solomon, four members of Area Code 615 and other top session types to make a double-album of Bob Dylan cover versions - some featuring Indian Sitar in their Americana Folk Rock renditions.

Taking its title from lyrics in "I Shall Be Released" – the ambitious "Any Day Now" double-album would quickly see light of day only two months later at the tail end of December 1968 on Vanguard Records and hit Blighty in April 1969. This very cool and gorgeous sounding CD Remaster of 2005 is part of Ace Records 'Vanguard Masters Series' and has had major audio restoration work done – JEFF ZARAYA lifting this completely forgotten early twofer up by the boot straps. And at fewer than seven quid, VMD 79741 even throws in as Bonus Tracks two further BD covers from a Japanese-only tour album that wasn't issued anywhere else (unavailable too on digital until now). Let's get down with the Baz and Bob show…

UK released 26 March 2005 (8 February 2005 in the USA) - "Any Day Now" by JOAN BAEZ on Ace Records/Vanguard Masters VMD 79741 (Barcode 029667008426) offers the entire 1968 2LP set of Bob Dylan Cover versions Remastered onto 1CD with Two Bonus Tracks (Previously Unreleased outside of Japan) and plays out as follows (75:32 minutes):

1. Love Minus Zero/No Limit [Side 1]

2. North Country Blues

3. You Ain't Going Nowhere

4. Drifter's Escape

5. I Pity The Poor Immigrant

6. Tears Of Rage [Side 2]

7. Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands

8. Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word [Side 3]

9. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine

10. The Walls Of Redwing

11. Dear Landlord

12. One Too Many Mornings

13. I Shall Be Released [Side 4]

14. Boots Of Spanish Leather

15. Restless Farewell

Tracks 1 to 15 are her tenth album - the double studio-set "Any Day Now" - released December 1968 in the USA on Vanguard VSD 79306/7 and April 1969 in the UK on Vanguard SVRL 19037/8 (reissued 1970 on Vanguard VSD 79306/7).

BONUS TRACKS:

16. Blowin' In The Wind (Live)

17. It Ain't Me Babe (Live)

Tracks 16 and 17 recorded Live in Japan in 1967 and only released there – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED anywhere else

The 12-page booklet is a pleasingly in-depth affair – ARTHUR LEVY going deep into social, commercial and personal reasons behind her recordings of the era. There are those pencil drawings that featured on the original artwork but mostly its just text – and a bloody good read it makes too. Engineered for release from original tapes by JEFF ZARAYA – sonic solutions and 20-bit digital audio was used and bass restored. This is a rather lovely sounding CD – giving it that analogue Folk shimmer that I love. Great transfer…

Dylan fans of the day would have scrutinized the track list and noticed that a few of the entries were not the usual fodder. Several tracks had been circulating on Basement Tapes bootlegs (“Too Much Of Nothing” and "You Ain't Going Nowhere" for instance) and two were only just heard on The Band "Music From Big Pink" July 1968 debut album - "Tears Of Rage" (a co-write with Richard Manuel) and Dylan's anthemic "I Shall Be Released".

In December 1968 - when the double was issued Stateside – impact-wise the lyrical powerhouse "I Shall Be Released" had a meaning that encompassed worlds. But it wasn’t only about his amazing lyrics - she stretched interpretations too. Baez gives "Tears Of Rage" a stunning Acapella rendition perfectly setting up her version of the Side 4 monster on 1966's "Blonde On Blonde" double - the eleven-minute "Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" - her soft voice giving it a much more lovelorn Folky feel. There are four from the then recently issued "John Wesley Harding" album - "Drifter's Escape", a hurting "I Pity The Poor Immigrant", a softly sinister "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" and a pure man-on-the-street hatred in "Dear Landlord".

The new song to everyone was the lilting "Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word" that opened Side 3. For me it's one of the prettiest on the whole project. In fact when the double-album troubled the US Billboard LP charts in late January 1969, Vanguard figured its unique presence here might even make a collector's hit and issued the song as a US 45 in March 1969 (Vanguard VRS-35088) with the opening song on its flipside - "Love Minus Zero/No Limit". That combo made No. 86 on the singles chart but no more. The long-player fared way better - with a 20-week chart run, the 2LP set peaked at an impressive No. 30 and was nominated for a Folk Grammy.

Her band featuring several instruments prominently – Fred Carter and Grady Martin on guitars, blind session-man Hargus 'Pig' Robbins on piano - Vinnie Bell on Indian Sitar and somewhere in there is Stephen Stills - with Buffalo Springfield at the time. 

"We’re both just one too many mornings and a thousand miles behind…" – Baez sang back in the day, knowing all too well what her relationship with Dylan was and how far both had travelled since 1962.

I suppose you could accuse "Any Day Now" of being an inevitable vanity project (given their famous pairing on so many tumultuous Sixties occasions). But it doesn't feel like that. Instead I'm moved again. Like it's time we went back 52 years and revisited the hugely influential Zim and his equally feisty activist New York Lady. Because both were, and are still - a class act. Check it out…

"The Complete Vanguard Recordings" by BUDDY GUY – Including The Albums "A Man And The Blues" (1968), "This Is Buddy Guy!" (1968), and "Hold That Plane!" (1972, 1970 Recordings) and more (October 2000 UK Ace/Vanguard Masters 3CD Compilation with Bonuses – Jeff Zaraya Remasters)

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*****

"...Let Me Play My Axe...."

A truly wicked set of CD Remasters from 2000 gathering together his much-loved trio of albums for America's Vanguard Label in the late 60ts and early 70ts – two studio sets and one incendiary live show. Time to go uptown and get lowdown with a '57 Stratocaster strapped around a genius (who's still giving it the Blues at the age of 79)...

UK released 31 October 2000 (November 2000 in the USA) - "The Complete Vanguard Recordings" by BUDDY GUY on Ace/Vanguard Masters 3VCD 178 (Barcode 090204991761) is a 3CD Compilation containing three albums and Bonuses and breaks downs as follows:

Disc 1 (46:22 minutes):

1. A Man And The Blues

2. I Can't Quite The Blues

3. Money (That's What I Want)

4. One Room Country Shack

5. Mary Had A Little Lamb

6. Just Playing My Axe [Side 2]

7. Sweet Little Angel

8. Worry, Worry

9. Jam On A Monday Morning

Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "A Man And The Blues" – released 1968 in the USA on Vanguard VSD-79272 and in the UK on Vanguard SVRL 19002 (both in Stereo)

 

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Poison Ivy

11. You've Got A Hole In Your Soul

Disc 2 (58:40 minutes):

1. Watermelon Man [Live]

2. I Got My Eyes On You [Live]

3. The Things I Used To Do [Live]

4. (You Give Me) Fever [Live]

5. Slow Blues [Live]

6. Knock On Wood [Live]

7. Crazy 'Bout You [Live]

8. I Had A Dream Last Night [Live]

9. 24 Hours Of The Day [Live]

10. You Were Wrong [Live]

11. I'm Not The Best [Live]

Tracks 2, 3, 4 and 6 are Side 1 with tracks 8 to 11 being Side 2 of the 'live' album "This Is Buddy Guy!" – released 1968 in the USA on Vanguard VSD 79290 and in the UK on Vanguard SVRL 19008 (both in Stereo)

BONUS TRACKS:

Track 5 "Slow Blues" [Live] is a Bonus; Track 7 "Crazy 'Bout You" [Live] is Previously Unreleased and Track 1 "Watermelon Man" is a Previously Unreleased Live Version – all three are previously unreleased from the live concert recording for the album "This Is Buddy Guy!" recorded at New Orleans House, Berkley, California, USA. Ace Records of the UK have reissued the album on a straightforward 8-track CD remaster in 2005 on Ace/Vanguard Masters VMD-79290

Disc 3 (39:03 minutes):

1. Watermelon Man

2. Hold That Plane

3. I'm Ready

4. My Time After Awhile

5. You Don't Love Me

6. Come See About Me

7. Hello San Francisco

Tracks 1 to 7 are the album "Hold That Plane!" (Recorded in 1970) – released 1972 in the USA on Vanguard VSD.79323 and in the UK on Vanguard VNP 5315.

The 8-page inlay with new liner notes by BOB MERLIS of The Blues Foundation are good if not disappointingly slight. There's a history on the albums, some photos and very basic albums credits. You wish there was more. The Remasters from original master tapes have been carried out by JEFF ZARAYA using the Sonic Solutions system and sound great throughout - plenty of muscle and presence. TOM VICKERS produced the Reissue.

The opening album reunited Buddy with his Chess partner OTIS SPANN on Piano and the Chicago label's veteran drummer FRED BELOW. It's a superb Blues album and hardly surprising it gets reissued so much. "A Man And The Blues" and the misery-pace of "One Room Country Shack" are perfect examples of the superb Stereo palette – Buddy playing beautifully while Otis Spann compliments every lick with tasty piano fills. Guy even makes the downright silly "Mary Had A Little Lamb" work (a Stevie Ray Vaughan favourite). The slow lurching Blues of "Sweet Little Angel" has some of his tastiest playing and at 5:40 minutes is a perfect ten. The album ends on the Funky Stax/Volt feel of "Jam On A Monday Morning" – a cool bopping instrumental with brass puncuations that makes you feel like it's a backing track to a Wilson Pickett groover and once again you're reminded of where SRV got those Funky Blues moments from. His first great album on Vanguard leads to another...

He roars "Listen To Me!" several times to the audience at the beginning of his slinky cover of Little Willie John's "Fever" – a genius tune that seems impossible to do injustice to (surely in the top ten of truly great songs). He then launches into a balcony-rattling version of Eddie Floyd's "Knock On Wood" that has the crowd whooping like crazy. Side 2 opens with my fave on the album – his own "I Had A Dream Last Night" – a slow shuffling cymbal is tapped as he solos - soon to be joined by the boys on the horns – A.C. Reed and Bobby Fields on Tenor Saxophone, Leslie Crawford on Baritone Sax with Normal Spiller and George Alexander lending a hand on their Trumpets. By the time he gets half way through – Guy is letting rip with some truly inspired playing and equally impassioned vocals (the boys in the rhythm section picking up on the excitement and responding in kind). Buddy then gets Stax funky with "24 Hours Of The Day" which is followed with "You Were Wrong" where he "...gets back to the blues..." The raucous "I'm Not The Best" sounds like he's trying to be Otis Redding bringing the crowd and the gig to boiling point.

The second studio album on here "Hold That Plane!" was recorded in 1970 but had to wait until 1972 to see the light of day and it's a forgotten gem that effortlessly straddles pure Blues and Funk-Blues. The sessions included Jazz Pianist Junior Mance as well as the Alto Sax of Gary Bartz. Hardly surprising then that it opens with a 5:18 minute Funky Instrumental cover of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" which sounds more like Albert King at Stax than Buddy Guy at Vanguard. Having said that – it's an absolute Funky Blues barnstormer - and is surely going to turn up on some uber-cool Funk-Blues CD compilation (pointing out nuggets you missed) some time in the near Kent-Soul future. Back to Blues business with a superb "Hold That Plane" – Guy in blistering string bending form – vocals a-growling – complimented by sweet Junior Mance piano rolls. He revisits Willie Dixon (writer) and Muddy Waters with "I'm Ready" – but although all the players are great – to me it's the weakest track on an otherwise top album (there's just something slightly lacking in his delivery, even uncomfortable).

A million times better is a cover that actually suits his voice and the band’s supreme playing – "My Time After Awhile" by Texas Bluesman Robert Geddins. It's one of those "...my baby been out all night and she's just walked in..." tales of woe – where if things don't change I believe our Buddy gotta moves on down the line (no offense sweetheart). A cool bopping version of Bo Diddley's "You Don't Love Me" follows – the boys on the horns giving it a wicked dancefloor shuffle. Back to hard-hitting Blues with the lengthy slow instrumental "Come See About Me" penned by Buddy and his brother Phil Guy – a one-time sidekick in Koko Taylor's band (Phil plays Rhythm Guitar on tracks 1, 4, 5 and 7 on CD3). This is what Buddy Guy fans love – 8:41 minutes of attacking solo work – complimented by musicians who are all feel and no nonsense (ably assisted this time on Piano by Mark Jordan - his only appearance on the album).Another fab Robert Geddins tune finishes the album - "Hello San Francisco" – a minor local hit for Sugar Pie DeSanto on Jasman Records (also in 1972). In Buddy's take our hero ups and leaves Chicago in 1968 and heads for the beaches and whatever else the Sunshine State has to offer (though I'm not sure its a tan he's ultimately after)...

The Bonus material is something of a bonanza actually – most being better than they had any divine right to be. The two previously unissued cuts on the first album (Disc 1) were recorded at the original sessions in Universal Studios, Chicago – "Poison Ivy" is not a cover of the Coasters Atlantic Records hit but his own composition - while "You Got A Hole In Your Soul" is a workmanlike cover version of a Joe South tune originally on his "Games People Play" album in 1969 on Capitol as "Hole In Your Soul". The three live cuts are fabulous – especially "Slow Blues" where he lets rip for almost seven minutes – sloppy notes and all (the crowd dig it big time). His 5:20-minute live take on Herbie Hancock’s classic "Watermelon Man" was probably too brass-orientated for a live Blues album and was subsequently left off (still a great inclusion though) - while the heavy slow Blues of "Crazy 'Bout You" runs to a pleasing 6:33 minutes. All in all - very good indeed.

So there you have it – three genuinely wicked albums with varying Blues styles (all of which work) – a cluster of extras actually worth calling bonus tracks – and all of it in tippity-toppity sound quality.

Damn right Buddy Guy's got the Blues...and on this exemplary evidence...you need some in your Stereo too...

"The Complete Studio Recordings" by MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT (2000 Ace/Vanguard 3CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Coffeehouse Blues In Beulah Land..." 

You could argue that Mississippi John Hurt isn't a Blues Artist at all - but a Folk Singer like Josh White who happened to be a black entertainer. But that's to downplay or even dismiss the quiet majesty and magic that exudes from these 1966 recordings of just a man and his guitar (literally). There's a sweetness to his fingerpicking delivery of songs about wanderlust men ("Talking Casey"), frisky gals with their daddies gone out on Saturday night ("Richland Woman Blues") and murder in small town America ("First Shot Missed Him") - a sort of calming effect as his nimble fingers roll over the frets and the stories unfold. Here are the burdens laid down...

UK released 31 October 2000 (November 2000 in the USA) – "The Complete Studio Recordings" by MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT on Ace Records/Vanguard Masters 3VCD 181 (Barcode 090204991754) is a 3CD set and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 – "Today!" – 43:50 minutes:
1. Pay Day
2. I'm Satisfied
3. Candy Man
4. Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor
5. Talking Casey
6. Corinna, Corinna
7. Coffee Blues [Side 2]
8. Louis Collins
9. Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight
10. If You Don't Want Me Baby
11. Spike Driver Blues
12. Beulah Land
Tracks 1 to 12 are the album "Today!" – released 1966 in the USA on Vanguard VSD-79220

Disc 2 – "The Immortal Mississippi John Hurt" – 37:48 minutes:
1. Since I've Laid My Burden Down
2. Moaning The Blues
3. Stocktime (Buck Dance)
4. Lazy Blues
5. Richland Woman Blues
6. Wise And Foolish Virgins (Tender Virgins)
7. Hop Joint
8. Monday Morning Blues [Side 2]
9. I've Got The Blues And I Can’t Be Satisfied
10. Keep On Knocking
11. Chicken
12. Stagolee
13. Nearer My God To Thee
Tracks 1 to 13 are the album "The Immortal Mississippi John Hurt" – released in 1967 in the USA on Vanguard VSD-79248. He died in his sleep November 1966 aged 73.

Disc 3 – "Last Sessions" – 46:51 minutes:
1. Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home
2. Boys You're Welcome
3. Joe Turner Blues
4. First Shot Missed Him
5. Farther Along
6. Funky Butt
7. Spider, Spider
8. Waiting For You
9. Shortnin' Bread
10. Trouble, I've Had It All My Days
11. Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me
12. Good Morning, Carrie
13. Nobody Cares For Me
14. All Night Long
15. Hey, Honey, Right Away
16. You've Got To Die
17. Goodnight Irene
Tracks 1 to 17 are the album "Last Sessions" which feature February 1966 sessions finally released 1972 in the USA on Vanguard VSD-79327.

TOM VICKERS produced the reissue and the 8-page inlay has liner notes by JOHN MILWARD who has contributed articles to the New York Times and Rolling Stone. He talks of John Hurt's extraordinary life – born into Carroll County in Mississippi – recording his first sides in 1928 for Okeh Records – then disappearing into varying work for the next 38 years. Then at the sprightly age of 71 – he’s rediscovered by collectors to be still living in Avalon – records these sides and after the debut album release in 1966 – gets a second chance – picked up upon by an adoring American public who have gone gaga for both Folk and Blues music. Legendarily he recorded the music on this 3CD set in only three days – just him and his guitar. The first album came out in 1966, the second in 1967 (after he'd sadly passed away in November 1966) and the third set showed up posthumously in 1972. The 3CD compilation was engineered for release by JEFF ZARAYA using the original analogue tape and remastered to 20-bit digital using the Sonic Solutions process. The Audio is lovely – just him and his Acoustic – small amounts of hiss – but nothing that detracts too much.

It opens with "Pay Day" which establishes his fingerpicking style – a soft rolling rhythm he uses on almost every song (those expecting slashing slide and bottleneck should turn away). Favourites of mine are "Coffee Blues" where he sings the praise of Maxwell House and the chipper upbeat rollick of "Hot Time In Old Town Tonight". His huge personal warmth comes out in "If You Don't Want Me Baby" where he recounts "...I tried my best to do my father's will..." and the simple but touching "Spike Driver Blues" where "...John Henry was a steel-driving man..." The album ends with another Americana picker called "Beulah Land" where his 'mother is way beyond the sky'...

The 2nd LP offers more of the same – but in my book has the better tunes. It opens with the load-off song "Since I Lay My Burden Down" and the superb dual guitars of "Moaning The Blues". He slaps the guitar frame on "Stocktime (Buck Dance)" with his fingertips while the short but cool "Lazy Blues" is 1:30 minutes of acoustic magic. His lyrics on "Wise And Foolish Virgins (Tender Virgins)" could have been pervy but end up being so obtuse that you don't know what Buddah was doing (probably best that way). Another nice doubling-up of guitars comes with "Monday Morning Blues" – a sweet lollygagging tune that ambles in and wins your heart. For me the "Last Sessions” record is the worst of the three - feeling like stuff that was tried but not deemed good enough. "Joe Turner Blues" is uncharacteristically bitter (Big Joe dipping his toes into bedrooms he should stay out of) but the delightfully titled "Funky Butt" has that charm and wit that served him so well on the first two albums.

It's not all genius as some claim and after a while the same song and style can wear – but sometimes like Springsteen's "Nebraska" or Muddy's "Folk Singer" – it's that very sparseness that you crave. And as he sings "Nearer My God To Thee" (only a few months later, he would be) – it's hard not to be just a little in love with this gentle and humble troubadour.

The lonesome train rattles down the tracks in the midday sun and old Mississippi John Hurt is riding it...heading to that great gig in the sky...a smile on his lived-in face...with his trusty acoustic guitar in hand...going home...

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