BUMBLE BEE SLIM — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Volume 1 · 1931-1934 | DOCD-5261 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The first of nine releases devoted to Slim's music. As with many Document releases, the sound is pretty uneven. But considering that "Rough Rugged Road Blues," and recorded in October of 1931, was one of the last sides ever issued by Paramount, and that no copies were known to exist until 1992, one has to live with the considerable surface noise on that number, and on "Honey Bee Blues," and the even worse sound on "Stumbling Block Blues" and "Yo Yo String Blues" (on which one can barely tell that a song is there beneath the scratchiness). "Chain Gang Bound," by comparison, sounds almost like a modern recording, despite dating from exactly the same era. The six Paramount sides here are the only recordings here on which Slim played his own guitar, and his style is clean and engaging, with some very deft slide playing in evidence. The other cuts, mostly for Vocalion, generally sound considerably better and were recorded with piano accompaniment, or a band with piano and guitars, and they have a more sophisticated urban sound, anticipating R&B more than they resemble Slim's earlier rural-style songs. His vocals are also considerably more expressive and show a far greater range. Slim's Vocalion debut, "Greasy Greens" and "I'm Waiting On You," cut in New York, are remarkable performances for 1932. His subsequent sides were all cut in Chicago, and are more readily identifiable with that city's then-burgeoning blues tradition -- none of the Chicago sides are quite as unexpected as the four New York sides, but they're all eminently listenable. The eight sides cut by Bumble Bee Slim & His Three Sharks -- a pretty fair band featuring piano, guitar, and mandolin -- features "Someday Things Will Be Breaking My Way," a song more familiar to modern listeners as "Sitting On Top of the World" and immortalized by Albert King and Cream. "Runnin' Drunk Blues" is a delightful, sprightly rag; and on the latest songs on this volume, the guitar returns to the fore, most notably on "Dead and Gone Mother," which features three guitars. Bruce Eder
Tracklist :
1.    Bumble Bee Slim–    Rough Rugged Road Blues 3:11
Vocals, Guitar – Bumble Bee Slim
2.    Bumble Bee Slim–    No Woman No Nickel 3:27
Vocals, Guitar – Bumble Bee Slim
3.    Bumble Bee Slim–    Stumbling Block Blues 2:43
Vocals, Guitar – Bumble Bee Slim
4.    Bumble Bee Slim–    Chain Gang Bound 3:33
Vocals, Guitar – Bumble Bee Slim
5.    Bumble Bee Slim–    Yo Yo String Blues 3:24
Vocals, Guitar – Bumble Bee Slim
6.    Bumble Bee Slim–    Honey Bee Blues 3:18
Vocals, Guitar – Bumble Bee Slim
7.    Bumble Bee Slim–    Greasy Greens 2:54
Guitar – Willie B. James
Piano – Myrtle Jenkins
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
Vocals [Male] – Unknown Artist
8.    Bumble Bee Slim–    I'm Waitin' On You 2:58
Guitar – Willie B. James
Piano – Myrtle Jenkins
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
9.    Bumble Bee Slim–    B And O Blues 3:01
Guitar – Willie B. James
Piano – Myrtle Jenkins
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
10.    Bumble Bee Slim–    Queen Bee Blues 3:15
Guitar – Willie B. James
Piano – Myrtle Jenkins
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
11.    Amos Easton–    M And O Blues - Part I 3:03
Piano [Prob.] – Georgia Tom Dorsey
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
12.    Amos Easton–    M And O Blues - Part II 2:31
Piano [Prob.] – Georgia Tom Dorsey
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
13.    Bumble Bee Slim And His Three Sharks–    Someday Things Will Be Breaking My Way 3:09
Guitar [Poss.] – Ted Bogan
Mandolin [Prob.] – Howard Armstrong
Piano [Poss.] – Jimmie Gordon
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
14.    Bumble Bee Slim And His Three Sharks–    Baby So Long 2:55
Guitar [Poss.] – Ted Bogan
Mandolin [Prob.] – Howard Armstrong
Piano [Poss.] – Jimmie Gordon
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
15.    Bumble Bee Slim And His Three Sharks–    Lost Confidence Blues 3:20
Guitar [Poss.] – Ted Bogan
Mandolin [Prob.] – Howard Armstrong
Piano [Poss.] – Jimmie Gordon
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
16.    Bumble Bee Slim And His Three Sharks–    The New B And O Blues 3:18
Guitar [Poss.] – Ted Bogan
Mandolin [Prob.] – Howard Armstrong
Piano [Poss.] – Jimmie Gordon
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
17.    Bumble Bee Slim And His Three Sharks–    Wrecked Life Blues 2:57
Guitar [Poss.] – Ted Bogan
Mandolin [Prob.] – Howard Armstrong
Piano [Poss.] – Jimmie Gordon
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
18.    Bumble Bee Slim And His Three Sharks–    Runnin' Drunk Blues 3:10
Guitar [Poss.] – Ted Bogan
Mandolin [Prob.] – Howard Armstrong
Piano [Poss.] – Jimmie Gordon
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
19.    Bumble Bee Slim And His Three Sharks–    East St. Louis Blues 3:09
Clarinet – Unknown Artist
Guitar [Poss.] – Ted Bogan
Mandolin [Prob.] – Howard Armstrong
Piano [Poss.] – Jimmie Gordon
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
20.    Bumble Bee Slim And His Three Sharks–    Busy Devil 3:12
Clarinet – Unknown Artist
Guitar [Poss.] – Ted Bogan
Mandolin [Prob.] – Howard Armstrong
Piano [Poss.] – Jimmie Gordon
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
21.    Amos–    Squalling Panther Blues 3:21
Guitar – Unknown Artist, Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
22.    Amos–    Sail On, Little Girl, Sail On 3:17
Guitar – Unknown Artist, Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
23    Amos–    Dead And Gone Mother 2:59
Guitar – Unknown Artist, Unknown Artist, Unknown Artist
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim