Customer Reviews
PURE BLUES - By: RUEBEN AMOS RUNACRE, 13 Aug 2007 
I have the originals of Skip James &in my opinion his brilliant falsetto vocals & superb accoustic guitar playing have actually improved over the years although the sound quality on this cd is excellent. Big Bill Broonzy once said "you don't just sing the blues, you have to feel them" this is where I feel Skip James rates so highly with the likes of Robert Johnson & Tommy Johnson. You can hear the emotionsin his voice. "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues", "Crow Jane" & "I'm So Glad" are just a few examples of pure blues, however, I can state quite categorically that there is not one bad track on this cd. It was an absolute travesty that Skip James did not benefit more from his brilliance!
A glass half-empty.... - By: jbezzo, 04 May 2007 
Skip James was perhaps the most unremittedly morose performerin all bluesdom, & by the time he recorded this album he was an ailing, bitter old man. Having not recorded for over thirty years since his sessions for Paramount, he viewed his later work with contempt, barely concealing his bitterness that success was coming near the end of his life. Nevertheless, drawing from his canon of superb late twenties recordings, he reels off dazzling guitar showpieces & demonstrates an idiosyncratic piano technique picked from the Memphis brothels where he added pimp & house-pianist to his CV. "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" is a stand-out, perhaps the second greatest depression song ever, & one the finest examples of James's eerie falsetto & cross-tuned guitar. Also featured are "Cherry Ball", "Crow Jane" "Drunken Spree" & of course, "I'm So Glad" a brief, freewheeling song which Cream would later turn into a live staple that would last about as long as the last ice age. A classic acoustic blues album, ideally it should be purchased with "Devil Got my Woman" which is a perfect companion piece
Skip James Today - By: , 15 May 2005 Heard Skip James on a blues prog on BBC 3 & needed to buy an album & was not disappointed.
Just true and simple beauty - By: ingemar.goransson.linghem@telia.com, 18 Nov 2000 This a true classic country-blues album. Recorded & issuedin the mid-sixties by the re-discovered bluesman Skip James. He was an old man at the time (born 1902) & had been away from recording-business for decades. The album is maybe the most,in true sense, beautiful blues-album I ever have heard. James is not as devilish as Robert Johnson or nor as mean as Muddy Waters or Sonny Boy Williamson can be but he's small stories of the black man's lifein southern USA are both touching & exemple of pure poetry. He's guitar-playing is masterful. This album is a milestonein country-blues & should not be missed by anyone with true intrestin blues & R&B.
