PAPA CHARLIE JACKSON — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 3 ∙ 1928-1934 | DOCD-5089 (1991) RM | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Papa Charlie Jackson's last 25 recordings, dating from September of 1928 through November of 1934, and doing more proper blues here than on either previous volume. By the time of the release of the material here, Jackson was one of the most seasoned of studio bluesmen, with nearly half a decade recording experience behind him -- his vocal presence on all of these records is extraordinary, and he knows how to get the most out of his instrument, guitar or banjo. "Ma and Pa Poorhouse Blues" and "Big Feeling Blues," both duets with Ma Rainey, present him at his most mature and naturally expressive vocally, in sharp contrast to the almost perfunctory vocals on volume one of this set. The Hattie McDaniels duets, two halves of "Dentist Chair Blues," are also extremely worthwhile as far more than novelty numbers. In addition to some priceless topical songs, such as "You Got That Wrong," there are some notable re-recordings here, including a killer 1934 remake of Jackson's earlier hit "Skoodle-Um-Skoo" (which by then had entered the repertory of Big Bill Broonzy, who was taught guitar by Jackson), and his last follow-up to "Shake That Thing," "What's That Thing She's Shakin'." The delightfully risqué-sounding "You Put It In, I'll Take It Out" closes this collection. The only drawback to any of this is that, despite the fact that it consists of material recorded much later than anything on volumes one or two, the sound quality on this disc is far lower, with lots of distracting surface noise on many of the sources used for individual songs -- the most disappointing of these are the two sides that Jackson cut with Blind (Arthur) Blake, who was very much an influence on Jackson; two of the greatest blues/ragtime guitarists and songsters of the early blues era together on record, and the scratchiness is nearly maddening. Only the four final 1934 sides really come up to the level one would wish on this stuff.  Bruce Eder

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. Paramount seem still to have regarded Papa Charlie Jackson as one of their stars, for his next release found him teamed with the great Ma Rainey (albeit with second billing). These two songs have been described as comic duets, but in fact they give serious treatment to the serious topics of poverty and love. Ma And Pa Poorhouse Blues uses the T. B. Blues tune that Victoria Spivey had made a hit in 1927. The boastful Good Doing Papa Blues reflects a frequent side of Papa Charlie’s recorded persona, that of the ladies’ man, effortlessly detaching women from their sweethearts. Similarly boastful, though in more fantastic vein, was the Blind Blake-influenced Jungle Man Blues. Corn Liquor Blues supplied a slow, rather lacklustre flipside, with Jackson sounding unimpressed by his own lyrics, which advertise his bootleg liquor. Don’t Break Down One Me is a gentle piece of hokum, using ingenious baseball metaphors, and a tune popular among medicine show entertainers; Hambone Willie Newbern used it for Nobody Knows What The Good Deacon Does, for instance. Baby Please Loan Me Your Heart is a sentimental little piece, with a simple, strummed accompaniment. It was as Dentist Jackson that Charlie next recorded, in duet with the first black person, and so far the only blues singer, to win an Oscar – Hattie McDaniel, later to find fame as Mammy in “Gone With The Wind”. Hot Papa Blues No. 2 and Take Me Back Blues No. 2 were both remakes of titles which had been issued back-to-back in 1925, although in 1929 they were issued separately. Hot Papa was accompanimentally quite different, replacing high speed banjo flatpicking with a chordal, and very Blind Blakeish, guitar accompaniment. Jackson continues to play guitar on We Can’t Buy It No More, which takes close notice of the incipient hokum craze; records by The Hokum Boys, which disguised a variety of lineups, were beginning to appear in early 1929, when this song was waxed, and evidently Papa Charlie Jackson was aware of their hit potential. Also topical in its reference to unemployment was Tailor Made Lover, by La Moore (sic), though it swiftly turns to sexual boasting. Like Take Me Back Blues No. 2, this song has guitar accompaniment; as had happened before, Paramount gave incorrect information on the label. As he had done on Jackson’s Blues (see DOCD-5087), Charlie plays a guitar boogie, remarkably prefiguring Leadbelly at one point. Tain’t What You Do But How You Do It starts off in apparently serious vein, but soon becomes a typically light-hearted piece, with Papa Charlie scatting his way through the verses. The Blind Blake influence was once again in evidence on the more downhearted Forgotten Blues, which features a couple of spectacular bass string slides. Also bass- orientated is Papa Do Do Do Blues, which neatly updates an old line: “I can get more women, than a passenger Zeppelin can haul.” I’ll Be Gone Babe has a sombre lyric, but Jackson’s natural exuberance works effectively against its tone, and once again he hits a flashy bass lick. On his next record, Jackson got to work with the man who seems to have been his musical hero for a while, Blind Blake. The meeting was one of musical equals, though; Jackson plays in a higher register than usual to prevent Blake’s guitar overwhelming his banjo, and it is he who plays the bugle call on which the two of them improvise, briefly but dazzlingly, in the first part of Papa Charlie And Blind Blake Talk About It. The two men sound thoroughly relaxed, and one has the sense of eavesdropping on a genuine jam session, not of an event staged by Paramount. This was to be Jackson’s penultimate record for Paramount. You Got That Wrong and Self Experience are both guitar-accompanied, the former an uncharacteristically sour attack on a girlfriend, the latter a truly remarkable, and surely autobiographical song, whose cryptic title conceals an account of a brush with the police and the courts. Jackson didn’t record again until late 1934 and early 1935, when he made four solo sides for Okeh, which were issued, and three with his friend Big Bill Broonzy, which weren’t. Skoodle-Um-Skoo was a remake of his 1927 recording (see DOCD-5088), played and sung with undiminished enthusiasm; the other three were double entendre pieces, and despite the ingenuity of You Put It In, I’ll Take It Out, which turns out to be about M-O-N-E-Y, one feels that Papa Charlie Jackson was a voice from the past. As he himself admits on What’s That Thing She’s Shaking? it was “years ago” that he had written Shake That Thing. DOCD-5089
Tracklist :
1    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Good Doing Papa Blues    3:03
2    Ma Rainey And Papa Charlie Jackson–    Ma And Pa Poorhouse Blues    3:07
3    Ma Rainey And Papa Charlie Jackson–    Big Feeling Blues    2:46
4    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Jungle Man Blues    3:03
5    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Corn Liquor Blues    3:15
6    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Don’t Break Down On Me    2:53
7    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Baby Please Loan Me Your Heart    2:58
8    Hattie McDaniels  And Dentist Jackson–    Dentist Chair Blues - Part 1    2:50
9    Hattie McDaniels And Dentist Jackson–    Dentist Chair Blues - Part 2    2:54
10    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Hot Papa Blues - No. 2    3:11
11    Papa Charlie Jackson–    We Can’t Buy It No More    2:40
12    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Tailor Made Lover    3:12
13    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Take Me Back Blues No. 2    3:07
14    Papa Charlie Jackson–    ‘Tain’t What You Do But How You Do It    2:48
15    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Forgotten Blues    2:49
16    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Papa Do Do Do Blues    2:48
17    Papa Charlie Jackson–    I’ll Be Gone Babe    2:50
18    Papa Charlie Jackson And Blind Blake–    Papa Charlie And Blind Blake Talk About It - Part I    3:14
19    Papa Charlie Jackson And Blind Blake–    Papa Charlie And Blind Blake Talk About It - Part II    3:16
20    Papa Charlie Jackson–    You Got That Wrong    2:36
21    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Self Experience    3:00
22    Papa Charlie Jackson–    Skoodle-Um-Skoo    3:12
23    Papa Charlie Jackson–    If I Got What You Want    3:24
24    Papa Charlie Jackson–    What’s That Thing She’s Shaking?    3:05
25    Papa Charlie Jackson–    You Put It In, I’ll Take It Out    3:08