Acrobatic blues
eurocrank | Ketchikan, Alaska | 11/05/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first reviewer of this CD complains about its sound quality. He doesn't seem to know that blues recordings until the late 1950s often fall far short of current audio standards.
To get perspective on old blues shellac and acetate, beginning listeners should check out the Paramount recordings of Charley Patton and Blind Lemon Jefferson. By all accounts, these are some of the most important blues ever made. Yet the masters, lo-fi to begin with, were horribly mistreated and sound accordingly. Cub Koda (of Brownsville Station) once told me that many were found nailed to a chicken coop to protect it from the weather. Even cleaned up with relatively recent technology, the CDs sound as if Patton and Jefferson are "singing in a windstorm" (Bob Dylan's take on a scratched-up record). People who care about the music accept the audio limitations and focus on the music.
I have some of these early Gatemouth Brown songs on the Drive label's "San Antonio Ballbuster" (CD Drive 3205). It's been criticized for its sound quality as well, but I prefer it somewhat to the Acrobat disc because it's brighter, though some of the songs sound more distorted. Yet I'm not about to criticize either of these discs. I feel lucky that this stuff is even available.
When I listen to Gatemouth Brown, I can't help but hear T-Bone Walker, whom I prefer (especially his perfect 1959 album, "T-Bone Blues"). The difference to me is speed, variety, inflections of notes--Gatemouth's guitar jumps out of the box as if Walker was rapping with Louis Jordan on amphetamines. According to Lonnie Brooks, "That Gate can do more with a guitar than a monkey with a peanut!" Both Frank Zappa and Ted Nugent considered Brown a major influence on their playing.
This Acrobat disc gives you the most bang for the buck. Unfortunately, it may not be in print much longer."
Track Listings (28) - Disc #1