Music That Inspired Dylan
10/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Here they are, voices from the past. These are the songs and artists who inspired Dylan. Many of the songs, or pieces of them, are found in Dylans' early albums and the two early 90's albums, "Good As I've Been To You" and " World Gone Wrong." The collection of 20 songs runs the full range of human emotions; love found and lost, hearts broken, desperate plea for another chance at love, jealousy and rage; all the elements that make the blues what they are, raw emotion put to the tune of a guitar. These recordings are very old. On some you can hear the distinctive hiss and crackle of vinyl. There are 14 musicians on this CD. I especially enjoyed hearing Blind Willie McTell and Leadbelly. This is the music that touched Dylan. He, in turn, touched the rest of us. This is a great collection for both Dylan and blues enthusiasts."
Eh...
Laurence Upton | 08/15/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I'm taking one star off, because the concept is lame - using Dylan's name as bait for a collection of old blues music. But the CD itself is a good listen."
Early Blues Roots
Laurence Upton | Wilts, UK | 10/26/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"As well as being the dominant singer-songwriter in popular culture of the twentieth century, Bob Dylan was also a student of the indigenous music of that century - country, country blues, folk ballads, traditional songs, Americana generally. Many of these styles were reflected in Love And Theft, his synthesis of American music history, but he also regularly performed and recorded the originals as well, notably on his first few albums, and later, during his writer's block, on Good As I've Been To You and World Gone Wrong.
Some of the best examples of this source material can be found on this Catfish collection, including some rarities, which concentrates on the early country blues of the twenties and thirties and contains an explanatory booklet written by Robert Tilling, including mentions of some songs Dylan covered which are not included in the anthology.
Missing from the track listing are any details of the dates of the recordings so those I have managed to track down are listed here:
1. Broken Hearted, Ragged and Dirty Too - Sleepy John Estes (1929)
2. I've Got Blood in My Eyes for You - Mississippi Sheiks (1931)
3. Broke Down Engine - Blind Willie McTell (1930)
4. Stack O' Lee Blues - Mississippi John Hurt (1928)
5. Will the Circle Be Unbroken - Rev J.C. Burnett (1928)
6. Frankie and Albert - Mississippi John Hurt (1928)
7. Sitting on Top of the World - Mississippi Sheiks (1930)
8. Step It up and Go - Blind Boy Fuller (1940)
9. Corrina Corrina - Bo Carter (1930s)
10. Honey, Won't You Allow Me One More Chance? - Henry Thomas (1927)
11. Fixin' to Die Blues - Bukka White (1940)
12. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean - Blind Lemon Jefferson (1928)
13. Railroad Bill - Will Bennett (1929)
14. Motherless Children - Blind Willie Johnson (1927)
15. Grasshoppers in My Pillow - Leadbelly (1944)(aka Leavin' Blues)
16. Po' Lazarus - Booker T. Sapps (1930s ?)
17. Match Box Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson (1927)
18. Candy Man Blues - Mississippi John Hurt (1928)
19. Po' Boy - Bukka White (1939)
20. Jesus Make up My Dying Bed - Blind Willie Johnson (1927)"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1