Various Artists - Blues Masters, Volume 8: Mississippi Delta Blues (1993)

This blues compilation is Volume 8 in an extensive blues series of releases from Rhino which is slowly finding its way to my collection. Most of the influential 20th century Delta Blues musician are represented and the familiar characteristics are heard as well: sparse instrumentation (often just a guitarist accompanying himself singing), call-and-response between the guitar and the singer, 12-bar blues forms, and lyrics about hardship and heartbreak: "I asked her for water, she gave me gasoline." Great primer with just enough variety to hold interest throughout.

Excellent, detailed liner notes by writer and music critic Robert Palmer, author of Deep Blues.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

	Song	Artist	Year
1	Big Road Blues	Tommy Johnson	1928
2	Cool Drink Of Water Blues	Tommy Johnson	1928
3	Rattlesnake Blues	Charley Patton	1930
4	Future Blues	Willie Brown	1931
5	On the Wall	Louise Johnson	1930
6	Mississippi Jail House Groan	Rube Lacy	1928
7	Preachin' The Blues, Pts. I & II	Son House	1930
8	Cross Road Blues	Robert Johnson	1937
9	Catfish Blues	Robert Petway	1941
10	I Feel Like Going Home	Muddy Waters	1948
11	Dark Road	Floyd Jones	1952
12	Eyesight To The Blind	Sonny Boy Williamson	1951
13	Sitting On Top Of The World	Howlin' Wolf	1958
14	Goin' Down To Eli's (AKA I'm Gonna Murder My Baby)	Robert Nighthawk	1964
15	I Believe	Elmore James	1952
16	Something Inside Me	Elmore James	1960
17	Sweet Little Angel	B.B. King	1964
18	Crosscut Saw	Albert King	1966

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I was born in Panola County, Mississippi and lived there the first six months of my life (I'm told). For many years, I mistakenly thought that area of the state was considered part of the Delta. But a closer look revealed to me that Panola County is considered to be part of the North Mississippi Hill Country, which has its own distinct brand of blues. That don't mean I can't enjoy this good stuff though.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Blues Masters Sampler (1993)