JIM JACKSON — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 1 • 1927-1928 | DOCD-5114 (1992) RM | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Whew. Any collection that opens up with both sides of "Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues" in its original October 1927 recording (predating RCA's recording of the same number by Jackson by three months) is asking for trouble, because how do you follow up the best double-sided solo blues single this side of Furry Lewis' "Casey Jones, Pts. 1 & 2"? Well, you put on a 1928 rendition of "He's in the Jailhouse Now" that's as soulful as any ever done, and a version of "Old Dog Blue" from January 1928 that could be the earliest blues incarnation of what later became the Bo Diddley beat. And somewhere in there you throw in Jackson's subsequent version of "Kansas City Blues" (the earlier one is better). And the stuff gets better from there on one of the finest solo artist compilations in the Document line, mostly with good sound, too. In contrast to Furry Lewis and almost any other blues great you'd care to name, Jackson's playing on the guitar was pretty basic (check out "Mobile-Central Blues," a great, bitter, topical song about the blues, that benefits from his repetitive playing), but the success of his work is proof that a smooth style matters more than technical skill, if the voice and the words are there. His playing fit his expressive voice, was not too obtrusive, and gave his voice just the little bit of accompaniment it needed, even embellishing the beat (as on "Old Dog Blue") when required. The sound is generally good, and it's hard to complain about the notes being a little sketchy, given the relatively little hard information known about Jackson. Seventy minutes of pure, sweet, golden acoustic blues, highlighted -- with Document's usual thoroughness -- by two different takes each of "I Heard the Voice of a Pork Chop," "Policy Blues," and "The Morning She Was Gone."  Bruce Eder
 
Abridged from this album’s booklet notes. Brought to Chicago from Memphis by J. Mayo Williams, then scouting black talent for Vocalion, Jim Jackson hit big with his very first release, the two-part Kansas City Blues. It sold well, spawned sequel discs, was covered by many singers, and stayed in the blues repertoire for many years. Although Kansas City Blues became closely identified with Jackson, as was no doubt intended (compare the full title of the record), it nevertheless came out of folk tradition; Robert Wilkins claimed Jackson got the song from him, and the Memphis Jug Band recorded their version slightly before Jackson. In later years, the text became more or less fixed, and the song lost its folk character as a vessel to be filled with lyrics; a process which is paralleled in Jackson’s own recording career, during which he made the transition from using traditional material to creating original blues expressly for recording. Jim Jackson usually strummed his guitar, although he had some pretty pattern picks at his disposal as well (compare Old Dog Blue and I Heard The Voice Of A Porkchop); he sang in a strong voice, with a heavy vibrato, one that would carry well in the streets and from the medicine show stage. As Paul Oliver has pointed out, “his total output is one of the richest stores of traditional songs”, often including verses collected by folklorists in the early years of the century; Old Dog Blue, for instance, was collected in 1909. Jim Jackson‘s records also preserve elements of composed songs from the turn of the century that appealed to black audiences: My Monday (Woman) Blues was based on the 1900 coon song “I’ve Got A Gal For Ev’ry Day In The Week”, with lyrics by the Irish-American Pat Rooney, and music by the German-American Harry von Tilzer. Jim Jackson was by no means the only one to record it; nor was he the only one to point out that his “Monday woman” was a prostitute, and give directions to where she could be found. I’m A Bad Bad Man, on the other hand, was partly based on an 1894 song by black composer Gussie Davis, “I’ve Been Hoodooed”, although its acceptance of stereotypes (“Give a colored man a white-handled razor, and a crap game he will find”) is as disturbing as its violence (“He’ll chop enough meat off his head, for to feed all the dogs in town”); strange that this song, and its equally violent flipside, should have appealed to that most amiable of men, John Jackson. In late January 1928, the enterprising Victor company sent a field recording unit to Memphis where, among others, they recorded Jim Jackson. (Kansas City Blues had only been released on 8th December 1927, so Victor wasted little time in stealing Vocalion’s hottest act.) Some of Jackson’s songs were remakes of Vocalion material, and he continued to use traditional and medicine show material like I’m Wild About My Lovin’; but from now on, he was also to record original, thematic songs like the witty Bootlegging Blues, and Policy Blues, with its advice to play “the black man and the trey, and 4 -11- 44”. Jackson returned to Vocalion in 1929 (see DOCD-5115), but all through 1928 he was with Victor. DOCD-5114
Tracklist :
1    Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues - Pt. 1    3:12
2    Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues - Pt. 2    3:17
3    He's In The Jailhouse Now    2:57
4    Old Dog Blue    2:55
5    My Monday Blues    3:00
6    Mobile-Central Blues    3:01
7    Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues - Pt. 3    2:57
8    Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues - Pt. 4    2:58
9    My Monday Blues    2:58
10    I'm A Bad Bad Man    3:05
11    I'm Gonna Start Me A Graveyard Of My Own    2:58
12    My Monday Woman Blues    3:05
13    I Heard The Voice Of A Pork Chop    2:57
14    I Heard The Voice Of A Pork Chop    2:50
15    My Monday Woman Blues    2:50
16    My Mobile Central Blues    2:57
17    Old Dog Blue    3:00
18    Bootlegging Blues    2:58
19    Policy Blues    3:20
20    Policy Blues    3:07
21    I'm Wild About My Lovin'    3:12
22    This Morning She Was Gone    3:11
23    This Morning She Was Gone    3:06