Skip James CD recommendations

[romualdo]

Have there been any decent CD remasterings (especially Paramount) of Skip's material in recent years

I only have his material on LP (the 2 Vanguards & Matchbox - Complete Paramount)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - I read a few years back that the Vanguard CDs are not too good sonically (that's why I kept the vinyl)

BTW, Wolfgang's Vault has his live performance at the Hampton Jazz Festival 1968 (1 track with The Staple Singers) available as a free download today for subscribers

[J.A.W.]

The best Skip James disc with pre-war material is the Yazoo CD Hard Time Killin' Floor; with the complete 1930 sessions. The CD has 22 tracks, including 4 by Son House.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Time-Killin-Floor-James/dp/B0009F2EGE/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1392248327&sr=1-1&keywords=skip+james+hard+time

Edited February 12, 2014 by J.A.W.

[paul secor]

Years after the first two Vanguard LPs (and later CDs) were issued, Vanguard released a third volume of Skip James recordings, Rare and Unreleased. It's worth getting if you're a Skip James fan.

And an even more important release (at least imo) is Skip's Piano Blues on Genes - twelve tracks of Skip James playing piano and singing.

[J.A.W.]

Here's a link for Skip's Piano Blues:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Skips-Piano-Blues-Skip-James/dp/B000024M94/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1392257827&sr=1-1&keywords=skip's+piano+blues

Another important post-war Skip James CD is She Lyin', also on Genes:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000003TL0/ref=dm_ws_ps_cdp?ie=UTF8&qid=1392257676&s=music&sr=1-1-catcorr

Edited February 13, 2014 by J.A.W.

[jlhoots]

The best Skip James disc with pre-war material is the Yazoo CD Hard Time Killin' Floor; with the complete 1930 sessions. The CD has 22 tracks, including 4 by Son House.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Time-Killin-Floor-James/dp/B0009F2EGE/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1392248327&sr=1-1&keywords=skip+james+hard+time

Scary cover!!

[mjzee]

I have this on Yazoo. Sounds pretty good; less noisy than Hard Time Killin' Floor (based on the Amazon sample):

[Hot Ptah]

"Hard Time Killin' Floor" is noisy. "The Complete Early Recordings 1930" has noise reduction but is not cracklin' and poppin' like "Hard Time Killin' Floor". I keep them both.

I remember that when "She Lyin'" was released, an interview was published with the man responsible for releasing it, in which he said something to the effect that he was sitting on a lucrative commercial gold mine with his treasure trove of unreleased Skip James recordings, and that "She Lyin'" was the first release which would make him very wealthy. I am paraphrasing but it was something like that.

[medjuck]

If you're interested in latter day Skip James, Wolfgang's Vault has a 1968 concert.

[paul secor]

Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (Shout! Factory) is a reissue of a Biograph CD. The recordings are from Skip James first rediscovery sessions in late 1964 (except for a live gig at the Newport Folk Festival some months previously). His voice is hauntingly lonely, which more than makes up for a some loss of facility heard in his guitar work on his early recordings. Well worth picking up.

http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Time-Killing-Floor-Blues/dp/B00009ZYD8/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1392326486&sr=1-1&keywords=skip+james

Edited February 13, 2014 by paul secor

[blind-blake]

Just ran across this - unreleased material from the Vanguard sessions. Anyone heard it? Intriguing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Studio-Sessions-Unreleased-Skip-James/dp/B00008KG98/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_11

Never mind. Just sampled it on Spotify. Not essential stuff at all

Edited February 14, 2014 by blind-blake

[Joe]

JSP also reissued James' 1930s recordings in a big, budget-priced box back in the early aughts... also included are sides by Son House, Bukka White, Tommy Johson and Ishman Bracey. Looks like Amazon still stocks this, and at an affordable price (5 discs for about $30 USD).

My recollection is that the transfers for this set were done by John R. T. Davies, but I cannot confirm that... perhaps another board member can?

In any event, you can listen to samples via Allmusic.

[J.A.W.]

JSP also reissued James' 1930s recordings in a big, budget-priced box back in the early aughts... also included are sides by Son House, Bukka White, Tommy Johson and Ishman Bracey. Looks like Amazon still stocks this, and at an affordable price (5 discs for about $30 USD).

My recollection is that the transfers for this set were done by John R. T. Davies, but I cannot confirm that... perhaps another board member can?

In any event, you can listen to samples via Allmusic.

You are probably referring to the 5CD JSP set Legends of Country Blues. John R.T. Davies had nothing to do with it.

[Hot Ptah]

Just ran across this - unreleased material from the Vanguard sessions. Anyone heard it? Intriguing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Studio-Sessions-Unreleased-Skip-James/dp/B00008KG98/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_11

Never mind. Just sampled it on Spotify. Not essential stuff at all

In Stephen Kalt's biography of Skip James, "I'd Rather Be the Devil", kalt writes that for the Vanguard album "Devil Got My Woman", James was unable to complete a good take of any song, so the producer spliced together parts of different takes to come up with every track that was released. So it is not surprising that unreleased material from that session might not be compelling.

Kalt's biography of Skip James is one of the most unrelentingly grim, haunting books I have ever read.

[J.A.W.]

In Stephen Kalt's biography of Skip James, "I'd Rather Be the Devil", kalt writes that for the Vanguard album "Devil Got My Woman", James was unable to complete a good take of any song, so the producer spliced together parts of different takes to come up with every track that was released. So it is not surprising that unreleased material from that session might not be compelling.

Kalt's biography of Skip James is one of the most unrelentingly grim, haunting books I have ever read.

You probably mean Stephen Calt: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Id-Rather-Be-Devil-James/dp/1556527462/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392401240&sr=1-1&keywords=stephen+calt+I%27d+Rather+Be+the+Devil

Edited February 14, 2014 by J.A.W.

[Hot Ptah]

In Stephen Kalt's biography of Skip James, "I'd Rather Be the Devil", kalt writes that for the Vanguard album "Devil Got My Woman", James was unable to complete a good take of any song, so the producer spliced together parts of different takes to come up with every track that was released. So it is not surprising that unreleased material from that session might not be compelling.

Kalt's biography of Skip James is one of the most unrelentingly grim, haunting books I have ever read.

You probably mean Stephen Calt: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Id-Rather-Be-Devil-James/dp/1556527462/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392401240&sr=1-1&keywords=stephen+calt+I%27d+Rather+Be+the+Devil

Yes.

[blind-blake]

Just ran across this - unreleased material from the Vanguard sessions. Anyone heard it? Intriguing.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Studio-Sessions-Unreleased-Skip-James/dp/B00008KG98/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_11

Never mind. Just sampled it on Spotify. Not essential stuff at all

In Stephen Kalt's biography of Skip James, "I'd Rather Be the Devil", kalt writes that for the Vanguard album "Devil Got My Woman", James was unable to complete a good take of any song, so the producer spliced together parts of different takes to come up with every track that was released. So it is not surprising that unreleased material from that session might not be compelling.

Kalt's biography of Skip James is one of the most unrelentingly grim, haunting books I have ever read.

I love Skip James -- the weird falsetto, the strange minor key guitar tunings, the sparse but so-right guitar and piano accompaniments -- but songs like 22-20 Blues and some of the stories I've heard make me wonder about the man. I'm a huge fan and have been playing some of his stuff myself for 40 years, but I've never gotten around to reading his bio. Will have to change that. Thanks for pointing it out.

[Joe]

JSP also reissued James' 1930s recordings in a big, budget-priced box back in the early aughts... also included are sides by Son House, Bukka White, Tommy Johson and Ishman Bracey. Looks like Amazon still stocks this, and at an affordable price (5 discs for about $30 USD).

My recollection is that the transfers for this set were done by John R. T. Davies, but I cannot confirm that... perhaps another board member can?

In any event, you can listen to samples via Allmusic.

You are probably referring to the 5CD JSP set Legends of Country Blues. John R.T. Davies had nothing to do with it.

Thanks. Do you have any other information of the sources used for this set?

[J.A.W.]

JSP also reissued James' 1930s recordings in a big, budget-priced box back in the early aughts... also included are sides by Son House, Bukka White, Tommy Johson and Ishman Bracey. Looks like Amazon still stocks this, and at an affordable price (5 discs for about $30 USD).

My recollection is that the transfers for this set were done by John R. T. Davies, but I cannot confirm that... perhaps another board member can?

In any event, you can listen to samples via Allmusic.

You are probably referring to the 5CD JSP set Legends of Country Blues. John R.T. Davies had nothing to do with it.

Thanks. Do you have any other information of the sources used for this set?

No, I don't. When this set came out in 2003 John R.T. Davies hadn't been involved with JSP for years. He died in 2004.

[paul secor]

In Stephen Kalt's biography of Skip James, "I'd Rather Be the Devil", kalt writes that for the Vanguard album "Devil Got My Woman", James was unable to complete a good take of any song, so the producer spliced together parts of different takes to come up with every track that was released. So it is not surprising that unreleased material from that session might not be compelling.

Kalt's biography of Skip James is one of the most unrelentingly grim, haunting books I have ever read.

You probably mean Stephen Calt: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Id-Rather-Be-Devil-James/dp/1556527462/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392401240&sr=1-1&keywords=stephen+calt+I%27d+Rather+Be+the+Devil

Yes.

I read Calt's Skip James biography and learned some things about Mr. James. Unfortunately, I learned a lot more about Stephen Calt, who has a poor writing style and an obnoxious personality (at least as it comes through on the pages of this book). Anyone who's read Calt's liner notes for Yazoo LPs will know that the man can't write worth a lick and that he's obsessed with guitar playing in the blues at the expense of all else, including vocals and lyrics. My advice would be to listen to Skip James' recordings and "skip" Calt's book.

[J.A.W.]

In Stephen Kalt's biography of Skip James, "I'd Rather Be the Devil", kalt writes that for the Vanguard album "Devil Got My Woman", James was unable to complete a good take of any song, so the producer spliced together parts of different takes to come up with every track that was released. So it is not surprising that unreleased material from that session might not be compelling.

Kalt's biography of Skip James is one of the most unrelentingly grim, haunting books I have ever read.

You probably mean Stephen Calt: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Id-Rather-Be-Devil-James/dp/1556527462/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392401240&sr=1-1&keywords=stephen+calt+I%27d+Rather+Be+the+Devil

Yes.

I read Calt's Skip James biography and learned some things about Mr. James. Unfortunately, I learned a lot more about Stephen Calt, who has a poor writing style and an obnoxious personality (at least as it comes through on the pages of this book). Anyone who's read Calt's liner notes for Yazoo LPs will know that the man can't write worth a lick and that he's obsessed with guitar playing in the blues at the expense of all else, including vocals and lyrics. My advice would be to listen to Skip James' recordings and "skip" Calt's book.

Couldn't agree more. Calt's liner notes for Yazoo albums are among the worst I've read. By the way, he died in 2010.

[paul secor]

Just ran across this - unreleased material from the Vanguard sessions. Anyone heard it? Intriguing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Studio-Sessions-Unreleased-Skip-James/dp/B00008KG98/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_11

Never mind. Just sampled it on Spotify. Not essential stuff at all

I love Skip James music and like Rare and Unreleased. The music on it isn't as polished as that on the first two Vanguard recordings, but R and U shows another side of Skip James, doing songs that weren't part of his usual repertoire. If you're a Skip James fan and have the essential recordings - say, one of the Yazoos with his early recordings, the first two Vanguards, and the Biograph - this one, along with the two Genes, is well worth having and listening to.

Edited February 16, 2014 by paul secor

[romualdo]

thanks for the info & advice

[paul secor]

thanks for the info & advice

Hope you pick up at least some of the music and find yourself enjoying it.

[Hot Ptah]

Just ran across this - unreleased material from the Vanguard sessions. Anyone heard it? Intriguing.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Studio-Sessions-Unreleased-Skip-James/dp/B00008KG98/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_11

Never mind. Just sampled it on Spotify. Not essential stuff at all

In Stephen Kalt's biography of Skip James, "I'd Rather Be the Devil", kalt writes that for the Vanguard album "Devil Got My Woman", James was unable to complete a good take of any song, so the producer spliced together parts of different takes to come up with every track that was released. So it is not surprising that unreleased material from that session might not be compelling.

Kalt's biography of Skip James is one of the most unrelentingly grim, haunting books I have ever read.

I love Skip James -- the weird falsetto, the strange minor key guitar tunings, the sparse but so-right guitar and piano accompaniments -- but songs like 22-20 Blues and some of the stories I've heard make me wonder about the man. I'm a huge fan and have been playing some of his stuff myself for 40 years, but I've never gotten around to reading his bio. Will have to change that. Thanks for pointing it out.

I think that I disagree with those who have said that one should skip Calt's biography of Skip James. It is an unusual book. It is not a balanced, scholarly tome. Calt says that he was there when James played his first Newport festival and was rediscovered, and that he spoke to James at that festival and after that. He has some first hand information about James and his contemporaries in the 1960s acoustic blues and folk revival.

Calt has a writing style of his own, that is for sure. It is not a style that one would use for instructional purposes in a school writing class. But it is interesting. If you approach the book as a subjective work of a somewhat eccentric author, it will work better for you, I think.

The book does provide a different perspective on the folk and blues revival of the 1960s than the conventional wisdom. It is a more dark, negative view than what one typically reads about it. But I found that interesting. I took the book with a grain of salt, as entertainment of a particular kind. It is one of those books which I have always vividly remembered.

[jeffcrom]

This will probably be of no help to anybody, but my favorite latter-day Skip James is from this never-reissued Verve Folkways LP, Living Legends. Mr. James does "I'm So Glad" and "Devil Got My Woman" in 1966 at the Cafe-Au-Go-Go. To my ears, his performance is on another level from those by his record-mates Son House, Bukka White, and Big Joe Williams.