Skip James was among the earliest, and was certainly the most influencial Delta blues musician. He was born Nehemiah Curtis James near the banks of the Mississippi in 1902. It was here that he developed his brand of blues. James implements crazy guitar tunings, and eerie falsetto vocals that make your hair stand on end. James first recorded in the 1930s, but later was rediscovered in the 1960s, before passing away in 1969.
This album is of James' 1930s recordings, which are regarded by practically everyone as his best and the most emotional. James was a major influence to the great bluesman Robert Johnson, and James' "Devil Got My Woman" became the basis for Johnson's "Hellhound On My Trail". Another major musician influenced by Skip James was Eric Clapton, who covered James' "I'm So Glad" with his band Cream. Although Skip James lived his life confined to one region, his influence has spanned throughout the music world.
On
The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James, James shows off his skill on both guitar and piano. He is nanchalant at times on the guitar, seeming to pick notes with reckless abandon, but resulting in remarkable music. While many of the songs sound similar, there are a couple songs with different moods where James will add a funky guitar. This has the original version of "I'm So Glad", and it makes Eric Clapton's version sound as poppy as the Beatles.
This album is every song James initially recorded compiled onto one album. Because these songs were originally only on 78s, some of the songs are of low quality due to the quality of the best 78s found for use on the album being low. In my opinion, the surface noise actuallyt gives the album, which is at times sad and bleak, a sort of "warmness" to it. The music is less effected by the quality of the 78s, but James' vocals are greatly effected because the distortion comes on high volume parts of the song, and that is almost strictly limited to his singing.
Notables:
Devil Got My Woman
This song is a focal point in the film
Ghost World, and was an inspiration for the great Robert Johnson. This is also the song that got me into Skip James. It starts with a bluesy guitar lick, but what makes the song so haunting and amazing are the falsetto vocals. The rhythmic stylings on this song are incredible, and the lyrics are interesting. "I'd rather be the devil than be that woman's man". This is probably James most popular song. The only bad part is the recording quality. A couple of points when he really gets into it, his vocals get distorted. The quality does add to the authenticity of it too. This is a song that if you hear it playing somewhere, you are going to take note and listen.
Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues
The high points on this song are the vocals. The guitar licks all begin to sound similar after a few songs, but the emotion in the vocals and the wonderful lyrics make this a track that I make sure to listen to when I am in a mood for Skip.
Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader
This is one of the few seemingly happy songs. The guitar is still bluesy, but the vocals are almost something you would hear in church (yes the title does fit). He sings about how "Jesus is a mighty good leader". This is probably the most poppy song on the album, and it is nowhere near pop still.
How Long Blues
This is one of the songs where James plays piano instead of guitar, and it is his best piano song. The piano part is bluesy, and pauses intermittenly with the vocals "how long? how long?" This truely displays his wide musical talents. This is my favorite track on the album.
I'm So Glad
This is the song Clapton covered, and he chose a pretty good song to cover. The guitar licks display how talented James. His vocals are pretty emotional. The lyrics seem to have a theme to them. He will say "I am ____. Indeed I'm so _____. I am _____. I'm _____." But they way he sings this makes it very catchy :) This is one of the lower quality songs on the album, but they couldn't really leave it out. So if you hear this one, don't worry, they aren't all this bad of quality.
This is a good album for anyone who likes blues guitar or piano. Don't be put off by the recording quality, because the great songs still shine through. This sould be heard by anyone who has an interest in blues, and especially anyone who praises Robert Johnson's works, because Skip James was the master of the genre.
