BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON — Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order ★ Volume 1 : 1925-1926 | DOCD-5017 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

90 performances by Blind Lemon Jefferson were reissued in chronological sequence as his "complete recorded works" by the Document label in 1994. The songs were parceled out neatly so that material from each successive year of his short recording career occupied a separate disc, with volume one containing 23 selections recorded between December 1925 and December 1926. Those who feel prepared to shed the shackles of convention and jettison preconceived notions of what the blues or music in general is supposed to sound like should seriously consider obtaining all four volumes, for listening to nearly every record known to have been made by Blind Lemon Jefferson can be a moving and transformationally rewarding experience. Born near the end of the 19th century in the village of Couchman, south of Dallas between Mexia and Corsicana in Freestone County, TX, he came up in a racially segregated environment where blindness lowered his already rock-bottom social status as a member of the African American underclass. The name Lemon, which is believed to have been bestowed upon him at birth, was a reference to the shape of his head. (A few years later, this playful aspect of the culture would cause saxophonist Coleman Hawkins to be dubbed "Bean" by his fellow musicians because they felt that his cranium resembled a haricot bean.) Legend has it that Lemon and the slightly younger Blind Willie Johnson, who grew up in Marlin a few miles southeast of Waco, would sometimes perform publicly on the streets of Marlin at the same time. This would have made for an intriguing if inadvertent near-rupturing of the socially constructed barrier between the sacred and the secular, for Willie sang nothing but spirituals and Lemon, who hung out with gamblers, hooch peddlers, pimps, and prostitutes, was and has since been solidly identified with the hedonistic genre of the blues. Lemon, however, cannot be so easily categorized, and the first record he ever cut was "I Want to Be Like Jesus in My Heart" b/w "All I Want Is That Pure Religion." Although historians usually pronounce these to be puzzling non-sequiturs, the obvious lesson is that Lemon sang exactly the songs that he felt he ought to sing, and that the profoundly spiritual component that exists in the heart and marrows of African-American culture continues to be underestimated and misunderstood by those who seek to evaluate the music from their own points of reference outside of that culture. As for the listening experience itself, bear in mind that these deliciously scratchy, acoustically recorded Paramount platters were meant to be experienced as single playbacks heard on a windup phonograph, not as nearly two dozen consecutive segments on a disc that takes about an hour to play through. What the CD compilation does accomplish, however, is to enable the listener to relax and surrender to what comes to resemble a sort of early 20th century African-American oratorio made up of beautifully honest reflections on what it's like to live in the world. Lemon's guitar and voice are utterly captivating, and an hour spent in his very special company can be positively magical. Those who yearn for "cleaner" audio should go directly to JSP's 94-track four-CD set, issued in 2003. And there's nothing wrong with consulting both sets so as to be able to compare differently remastered takes. arwulf arwulf

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. Pianist Sammy Price is credited with bringing Jefferson to the attention of Mayo Williams of Paramount Records, who were looking for other male blues artists to follow up their initial success with Papa Charlie Jackson. Curiously, these were two old spirituals which were later issued under the pseudonym ‘Deacon L. J. Bates‘. Perhaps the idea was to test the market for this unusual-sounding performer, however the recordings were held back for release until the following autumn. Certainly they lack the impact of Lemon’s blues performances. A more passionate version of Pure Religion was recorded by Blind Gussie Nesbit in 1930 (Columbia 14576-D) while the 1927 recording of I Want To Be Like Jesus In My Heart by Mississippi blues singer Sam Collins (Gennett 6291), with slide guitar accompaniment, offers a useful comparison with Lemon’s recording. Early in 1926 Blind Lemon Jefferson was recalled to the studio to record some blues. The four sides from this session were used for his first two records. Booster Blues and Dry Southern Blues were issued around the beginning of April and sales were obviously good as Paramount quickly issued Got the Blues and Long Lonesome Blues. This second record was phenomenally successful, tapping a market thirsty for Southern-styled blues. Within a few weeks Got The Blues and Long Lonesome Blues were remade at the Marsh Laboratories and these new recordings were used for later pressings of Paramount 12354. Lines and verses from Jefferson’s songs crop up in many later blues recordings. Robert Johnson adapted v.2 and v. 3 of Dry Southern Blues for his Love In Vain Blues and Walking Blues. The tremendous success of Lemon’s Black Horse Blues probably inspired Tommy Johnson‘s Black Mare Blues and Charlie Patton to record his Pony Blues. Jefferson himself drew on the blues tradition extensively. Corinna Blues uses the tune and first verse of See See Rider, while Jack O’Diamonds is a straight version of an old gambling ballad, with Lemon playing knife-style slide guitar in an open tuning, for the only time on record. Another old-time number he recorded was Beggin’ Back, a variant of the piece recorded by Frank Stokes as Take Me Back (Victor V-38531) in 1928, but composed as far back as 1898 by B. McMahon. In Old Rounders Blues, a celebration of dissolute living which opens with an ear-splitting cowboy yell, Lemon sings “ain’t goin’ to marry, ain’t gonna settle down”. However, he did have a wife down in Texas, Roberta, and one wonders what she made of lines like “I got a girl for Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday too” (in Chock House Blues) as Blind Lemon Jefferson spent more and more time up north in Chicago. (Furry Lewis and Jim Jackson also made use of the “girl for every day in the week” idea on record.) Perhaps he was thinking of her when he sang (in Stocking Feet Blues) the striking verse “Somebody just keeps on followin’ me, she got hair like a mermaid on the sea”. That Black Snake Moan, with its strong sexual imagery, was a pre-Christmas hit, giving Lemon 6 successful releases in 1926. Victoria Spivey always claimed, with some justification, that Jefferson based his song on her Black Snake Blues (OKeh 8338). However, Lemon’s song stands on its own merits and its popularity was such that he made no less than three later versions of the theme. Blind Lemon’s first 1927 release coupled Wartime Blues, composed of floating verses but with a title verse that harked back to World War 1, and Booger Rooger Blues, which mentions various Dallas neighborhoods where he had lady friends. In March Paramount released Bad Luck Blues and Broke And Hungry, which probably inspired Sleepy John Estes‘ first Victor recording, Broken-Hearted, Ragged And Dirty Too, in September, 1929. In April Paramount put out the first Blind Lemon Jefferson record that bore the slogan “electrically recorded”. Rabbit Foot Blues, which opens with the immortal line, “blues jumped a rabbit, run him one solid mile”, and Shuckin’ Sugar Blues, with its attractive melody and catchy title refrain. Jefferson’s uncompromising approach and consistently high standard of performance ensured that his records continued to sell in large quantities until the end of the decade. DOCD-5017
Tracklist :
1    Deacon L. J. Bates–    I Want To Be Like Jesus In My Heart 3:02
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
2    Deacon L. J. Bates–    All I Want Is That Pure Religion 3:11
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
3    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Got The Blues 2:50
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
4    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Long Lonesome Blues 2:54
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
5    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Booster Blues 2:47
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
6    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Dry Southern Blues 2:48
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
7    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Black Horse Blues 2:54
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
8    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Corinna Blues (Take 2) 3:05
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
9    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Got The Blues 3:02
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
10    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Long Lonesome Blues 3:08
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
11    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Jack O' Diamond Blues (Take 1) 2:30
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
12    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Jack O' Diamond Blues (Take 2) 2:45
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
13    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Chock House Blues 2:37
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
14    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Beggin' Back 2:50
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
15    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Old Rounders Blues 2:43
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
16    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Stocking Feet Blues (Take 1) 3:04
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
17    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    That Black Snake Moan (Take 2) 3:04
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
18    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Wartime Blues 3:00
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
19    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Broke And Hungry (Take 2) 2:58
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
20    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Shuckin' Sugar Blues (Take 2) 3:02
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
21    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Booger Rooger Blues 2:47
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
22    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Rabbit Foot Blues 2:55
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
23    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Bad Luck Blues 2:49
Guitar, Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
Credits :
Blind Lemon Jefferson (as by Deacon L. J. Bates), Vocal / Guitar
Blind Lemon Jefferson, Vocal / Guitar

BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON — Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order ★ Volume 2 : 1927 | DOCD-5018 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Volume two of Document's near-complete recorded works of Blind Lemon Jefferson presents 22 sides waxed for Okeh and Paramount during a seven month period between March and October 1927. On tracks six, nine, and ten he is accompanied by pianist George Perkins, and this adds another dimension to an artist who was almost always heard by his lonesome. Lemon's adept handling of the guitar and his disarmingly expressive voice account for the fact that some folks fall in love with his distinctive sound after hearing him sing two or three tunes. For this reason, truly devoted listeners will regard three decidedly different versions of the "Match Box Blues" as a burst of good fortune rather than something esoteric intended only for musicologists. True to Lemon's multifaceted personality, this collection is packed with colorful images and subject matter drawn from all walks of life. He sings about what happens when the Mississippi River overflows its banks, of sexuality and infatuation, of locomotives, loose change, and bed linen infested with parasites, of Jesus rising from the dead, and, most famously, about his own grave, which he asks be kept clean. The upbeat "Hot Dogs" features Lemon knocking out rhythm with his feet and dexterously picking away at the guitar while keeping up a steady stream of friendly banter. Although this excellent disc and its three adjacent volumes on Document are highly recommended, JSP's four-CD Blind Lemon Jefferson set has since proven to be the best way to acquire and absorb this wonderful artist's complete works, not least because of the "cleaned up" audio. On the other hand, there is something to be said for hearing these records through varying degrees of authentic 78 rpm surface noise. For this reason those who really love their Lemon will not flinch at the prospect of owning both sets. arwulf arwulf

Abridged from this albums original booklet notes. 1927 was the peak year of the decade for record sales (before radio and, later, the Depression began to seriously affect the record industry), with well over 100 million discs sold in America, “race records” accounting for at least 5 million of these and Blind Lemon Jefferson being one of the hottest properties in that field, having had a string of successful Paramount record releases in 1926. In March, 1927 Lemon was lured away from Paramount by Polk C. Brockman of OKeh Records.

Jefferson recorded eight titles for them, including a remake of his Black Snake Moan hit. This was released together with a new song, Match Box Blues, and the record was an instant hit. The following month Lemon was in Chicago to remake Easy Rider Blues and Match Box Blues for Paramount.

The resulting record must have been a phenomenal success as he remade Match Box Blues again a few weeks later, which suggests that the earlier master was wearing out, perhaps implying six-figures sales. Matchbox Blues was also popular with white country singers such as Larry Hensley, who recorded it in 1934, successfully reproducing Lemon’s ‘busy’ guitar style and also offering a fair approximation of his vocal style. Two decades later, in 1957, rockabilly singer Carl Perkins recorded his Matchbox for Sun Records and in 1964 a version by the Beatles featured on a million-selling EP. Rising High Water Blues concerns the disastrous Mississippi River floods in the early months of 1927, and was recorded in the wake of Bessie Smith‘s very popular Backwater Blues (Columbia 14195-D). Instead of Jefferson’s guitar, the instrumental accompaniment is provided by pianist George Perkins whose restrained playing is very suitable. Perkins also plays on Teddy Bear Blues, receiving approbation from the master: “whup that piano, Mister Piano Whupper”, and the very Freudian Black Snake Dream Blues. The last verse of Teddy Bear Blues— “… let me be your teddy bear, tie a string on my neck and I’ll follow you anywhere” — was echoed, thirty years on, in Elvis Presley‘s No. 1 hit Teddy Bear: “let me be your… teddy bear, put a chain around my neck and lead me anywhere”. Weary Dogs Blues concerns Lemon’s “worried dogs” (his feet!); Hot Dogs is basically an instrumental with Lemon telling us more about his pedal extremities (now hot from doing the Black Bottom), which can be heard tapping away in the studio, behind his irresistible guitar playing. Interestingly, Lemon must have been aware that these recordings were to be coupled together as he comments at the end of Hot Dogs “All right, folks, turn the record over, let me tell you all about these worried dogs of mine”. In January, 1928 Blind Lemon Jefferson had his second religious record (Paramount 12585) issued.
Blind Lemon Jefferson He Arose From The Dead
He Arose From the Dead, a version of which can be found in White’s ‘Fisk Jubilee Songs’ (1872), and Where Shall I Be? are characteristically “cool” performances. Although in his youth Lemon had learned to play many spirituals, as a man he only seemed to come alive musically when performing blues. Significantly, See That My Grave’s Kept Clean, on which Jefferson sings with greater conviction, is really a secular song, although it was issued under the Deacon L. J. Bates pseudonym, along with He Arose From The Dead, on an alternative issue of 12585. Jefferson’s 1927 blues recordings are consistently excellent — Chinch Bug Blues, with its humorous references to pests like bedbugs and chinches, the “brown cross town” who’s “tall as a sycamore tree” in Deceitful Brownskin Woman Blues, Rambler Blues and Sunshine Special with their railroad references — but two stand out. One Dime Blues is a masterpiece with incredible interplay between voice and guitar.

The AAAB lyric structure relates it to the earliest blues and the traditional East St. Louis Blues sometimes includes a “one dime” verse. Versions of One Dime were still being recorded in the immediate post-war decades. Gone Dead On You Blues has a more coherent theme than earlier pieces like Got The Blues and this began to be a characteristic of Blind Lemon Jefferson‘s later recordings. DOCD-5018
Tracklist :
1    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Black Snake Moan 3:03
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
2    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Match Box Blues 2:55
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
3    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Easy Rider Blues 2:57
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
4    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Match Box Blues 2:12
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
5    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Match Box Blues 3:03
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
6    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Rising High Water Blues 2:30
Piano – George Perkins
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
7    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Weary Dogs Blues 3:00
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
8    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Right Of Way Blues 2:55
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
9    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Teddy Bear Blues 2:35
Piano – George Perkins
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
10    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Black Snake Dream Blues 2:40
Piano – George Perkins
Vocals – Blind Lemon Jefferson
11    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Hot Dogs 2:58
Speech, Guitar, Tap Dance – Blind Lemon Jefferson
12    Deacon L. J. Bates–    He Arose From The Dead 2:47
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
13    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Struck Sorrow Blues 2:15
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
14    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Rambler Blues 3:48
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
15    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Chinch Bug Blues 2:50
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
16    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Deceitful Brownskin Blues 3:00
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
17    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Sunshine Special 2:46
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
18    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Gone Dead On You Blues 2:46
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
19    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Where Shall I Be? 2:34
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
20    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    See That My Grave's Kept Clean 2:42
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
21    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    One Dime Blues 2:48
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson
22    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Lonesome House Blues 2:25
Vocals, Guitar – Blind Lemon Jefferson

BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON — Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order ★ Volume 3 : 1928 | DOCD-5019 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The third volume in Document's Complete Recorded Works series of Blind Lemon Jefferson collections features 21 songs, all recorded during 1928. Though the period included one stone-cold classic ("See That My Grave Is Kept Clean") and a few intriguing novelties ("Balky Mule Blues," "Piney Woods Money Mama"), most blues fans won't need to hear these tracks. Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 (1928) remains an interesting curiosity for completists and academics, exactingly sequenced but not as listenable as the more popular collections available. Thom Owens

Abridged from the   original booklet notes. January, 1928 marked the mid-point of Blind Lemon Jefferson‘s recording career. Behind him were no less than fourteen records released through 1926 and 1927, including several major hits: he was the hottest property on the Paramount label and his records continued to sell consistently well through 1928. His first release of the year, Gone Dead On You Blues / One Dime Blues (both credited to ‘Lemon Jefferson‘), had been recorded the previous autumn. In February, 1928 Lemon was back in the recording studio to record his Penitentiary Blues, with its warning “don’t be bad” because “they got walls at the state penitentiary you can’t jump, man, they high as the sky”. Continuing the prison theme he next recorded the sombre Electric Chair Blues, which was later ‘covered’ by William Harris for Gennett (6752). This is one of his most atmospheric pieces with its evocation of the prisoner “sittin’ in the electrocutin’ room and cryin”. Bessie Smith had recorded Send Me To The’ Lectric Chair the previous year and, while the songs are quite different, this might explain the female standpoint adopted by Jefferson in the last verse. Lemon had recorded See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, his version of the traditional Dig My Grave With A Silver Spade, in October, 1927, and this was issued the following January under the ‘Deacon L.J. Bates‘ pseudonym. It was obviously a speedy seller as a re-recording made in February, 1928 was issued in April, this time without the pseudonym, and this seems to have been one of Lemon’s really big hits. Lemon’s songs had, by 1928, become more lyrically consistent and it has even been suggested, on poor evidence, that they were composed for him by Paramount staff writers. Jefferson’s lines are too quirky and idiosyncratic to be the product of another song writer (e.g. “I left my meal-ticket rider barefooted, my partner’s slippin’ for a new pair of shoes” from Lemon’s Worried Blues!). A criticism leveled at Lemon’s later recordings that does have some substance is that they are melodically very similar, this is redeemed by the varied lyrics and immaculate performances. Some of Jefferson’s songs are quite strange and relate to a racy life-style that may or may not reflect the reality of Jefferson’s private life, with constant references to “drinkin’ all night”, competition for “wild women” (who are often “cunning as a squirrel”) and dealing with “desperados” (as in the remarkable Fence Breakin’ Yellen Blues). A number of his verses were used by later blues singers, e.g. the “Elgin Movements” verse from Change My Luck Blues that Robert Johnson utilized for his 1936 Walking Blues. Piney Woods Money Mama includes some interesting social references, mentioning that she had “hair like an Indian squaw”, reflecting the extensive intermarriage between black and native Americans, and pointing up the subservient role of black domestics: “cook’s in the kitchen, pickin’ and fussin’ over turnip greens, white folks in the parlour playin’ cards and the children ate cake and cream”. Low Down Mojo Blues, the ‘B’ side, probably inspired Blind Boy Fuller‘s 1937 Mojo Hidin’ Woman (Vocalion 03499). Blind Lemon Jefferson was at the height of his powers in the summer of 1928 and Prison Cell Blues, with its holler-like AB verse structure, is certainly one of his finest performances, an almost Dickensian scenario with its despairing lyrics. Equally good are Lockstep Blues, another jailhouse epic, and the chilling Hangman’s Blues, with its gripping finale: “Well, I’m almost dyin’, gaspin’ for my breath, and that triflin’ woman is singin’ to celebrate my death”. (Both of these numbers also exist in alternative versions, the latter without the spoken introduction.) Lemon’s only straight cover of another artist’s record was his rather anaemic version of Leroy Carr’s 1928 hit How Long, How Long Blues, probably made at the prompting of his record company. A few weeks later Lemon was back to his usual form recording Maltese Cat Blues which, two decades on, provided the inspiration for Sleepy John Estes‘ moving Rats In My Kitchen, and the lively D. B. Blues which celebrates his acquisition of a new Ford sedan. Although recorded in mid-summer Lemon, always the thorough professional, successfully created the illusion of winter on Christmas Eve Blues (“look how it’s snowing”) and the joyous Happy New Year Blues, which were issued back-to-back early in December, 1928 as a potential seasonal hit. Fortunately another 22 Blind Lemon Jefferson blues were added in 1929 to complete the recorded legacy of the greatest of all the Texas blues singers. DOCD-5019
Tracklist :
1        Blind Lemon's Penitentiary Blues 2:45
Composed By – Jefferson
2        'Lectric Chair Blues 2:30
– Traditional
Arranged By – Jefferson
3        See That My Grave Is Kept Clean 2:50
Composed By – Jefferson
4        Lemon's Worried Blues 2:58
Composed By – Jefferson
5        Mean Jumper Blues 2:36
Composed By – Jefferson
6        Balky Mule Blues 2:42
Composed By – Jefferson
7        Change My Luck Blues 2:25
Composed By – Jefferson
8        Prison Cell Blues 2:44
Composed By – Jefferson
9        Lemon's Cannon Ball Moan 2:42
Composed By – Jefferson
10        Long Lastin' Lovin' 2:49
Composed By – Jefferson
11        Piney Woods Money Mama 2:56
Composed By – Jefferson
12        Low Down Mojo Blues 2:47
Composed By – Jefferson
13        Competition Bed Blues 2:49
Composed By – Unknown Artist
14        Lock Step Blues 3:17
Composed By – Jefferson
15        Hangman's Blues 3:22
Composed By – Jefferson
16        Sad News Blues 2:40
Composed By – Unknown Artist
17        How Long How Long 2:44
Composed By – Jefferson
Piano – Unknown Artist
18        Christmas Eve Blues 2:55
Composed By – Unknown Artist
19        Happy New Year Blues 2:53
Composed By – Jefferson
20        Maltese Cat Blues 3:01
Composed By – Jefferson
21        D B Blues 2:43
Composed By – Jefferson
Credits :
Blind Lemon Jefferson - Vocal, Guitar; Unknown, Piano

BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON — The Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order ★ Volume 4 : 1929 | DOCD-5020 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Document's Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 4 (1929) is the final volume in a series of Blind Lemon Jefferson collections, reissuing the last 23 tracks he recorded before his tragic death in December. Despite a raft of great performances (including "Long Distance Moan" and "Black Snake Moan No. 2"), the lengthy running time and poor fidelity make it of only marginal interest to the great majority of blues fans.  Thom Owens

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. Blind Lemon Jefferson started 1929 with a very strong pair of recordings: Eagle Eyed Mama repeats the title phrase in every verse, reinforcing the imagery like a pop song, while Dynamite Blues offers a violent solution to his woman trouble (“blow her up late at night”!) in a cathartic fantasy. Peach Orchard Mama, the first of a block of seven masters made at his next session and the only one to feature a short guitar solo, was probably Jefferson’s last major hit. It was re-recorded in the summer, along with its ‘B’ aide Big Night Blues, but not released until September. Big Joe Williams successfully revived Peach Orchard Mama in 1941(Bluebird B-8774). The session ended with That Black Snake Moan No. 2, a comparatively lifeless reworking of his massive 1926 / 7 hit and the fourth time he had utilized the theme on record. Two notable titles sandwiched between the extremes were Oil Well Blues (complete with spoken introduction), its imagery most appropriate to a Texas-born blues singer, and Tin Cup Blues which evokes the hard time when Blind Lemon Jefferson entertained on street corners for small change in his home state before he became a star recording artist. Jefferson’s last recording session was held in the Gennett studios in Richmond, Indiana in September, 1929 and produced an unprecedented twelve masters. Lemon’s voice sounds thicker on these recordings and one could speculate that this was a result of declining health, perhaps due to heavy drinking, but there is no real evidence of this and it may only be the result of the different studio sound. The singing was still ear, catching, the guitar playing fluid and the songs imaginative. Bed Spring Blues provided the source for Rich Trice’s 1937 “Trembling Bed Springs Blues” (Decca 7701). Cat Man Blues ultimately derives from the traditional folk song “Our Goodman” (a 1960s UK pop hit as “Seven Drunken Nights”) about the cuckolded husband but Lemon’s persona is more astute and threatens: “Catman, he’s got nine lives, he gonna need them when I gets through”. Three verses from the Jefferson recording reappear (in adapted form) in Blind Boy Fuller’s 1936 “Cat Man Blues” (Vocalion 03134), Bakershop Blues and Long Distance Moan were coupled together for a November release that was probably the last in his lifetime. That Crawlin’ Baby Blues is a remarkable piece in which infidelity is revealed by as infant. Having graphically described his problems with bed bugs and chinches in earlier blues, Lemon’s brilliant Mosquito Moan recounts his persecution by those troublesome biting insects. Characteristically, on his last recording, Bootin’ Me ‘Bout, Blind Lemon Jefferson is still chasing browns and getting into trouble:

He (her father) must think his girl is made of purest gold. Don’t want her to go near no man, pretty soon she’ll be too old. DOCD-5020
Tracklist :
1        Eagle Eyed Mama    2:40
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
2        Dynamite Blues    2:52
3        Disgusted Blues    2:48
4        Competition Bed Blues    2:44
5        Sad News Blues    2:52
6        Peach Orchard Mama    3:01
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
7        Oil Well Blues    2:44
 LaMarquis Jefferson
8        Tin Cup Blues    2:43
9        Big Night Blues (21199)    2:52
 Johnny Parth
10        Empty House Blues    2:56
11        Saturday Night Spender Blues    2:59
12        That Black Snake Moan No. 2    2:48
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
13        Bed Spring Blues    3:03
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
14        Yo Yo Blues    2:34
15        Mosquito Moan    3:05
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
16        Southern Woman Blues    3:05
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
17        Bakershop Blues    3:10
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
18        Pneumonia Blues    3:20
19        Long Distance Moan    3:26
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
20        That Crawlin' Baby Blues    2:39
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
21        Fence Breakin' Yellin' Blues    3:00
 Blind Lemon Jefferson
22        Cat Man Blues    3:12
23        The Cheaters Spell    3:17
24        Bootin' Me 'Bout    3:09
Credits :
Blind Lemon Jefferson - Vocal, Guitar