Yonder Come the Blues has a duel life: it serves as a companion disc to the book of the same name and as a thoughtful guide to the birth of the genre now called the blues. Complier Paul Oliver has carefully chosen the tracks. This disc moves briskly from the early syncopations of fife player Othar Turner to the adoption of blues by the North Carolina Ramblers to the waxings of African-American bluesman Blind Willie Johnson. This collection does a better job than most of introducing acoustic blues because of its inclusion of earlier forms of the genre. The first two tracks, "Agbekor" and "Ring Dance," were recorded in Ghana and represent the propulsive rhythms that African slaves brought to America. Thyam Sy Griots plays a halam five-string chordophone on "Halam Improvisation," which sounds sort of like George Harrison playing the blues on a sitar. As the disc moves into its second stage, the listener is treated to Tom Darby and Jimmie Tarlton's "Sweet Sara Blues" and interestingly, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys' "Brain Cloudy Blues." Finally, selections by Blind Lemon Jefferson and Big Bill Broonzy show the blues settling into a more recognizable form, while Pinetop Burks offers an early version of boogie-woogie. In time, acoustic guitars and pianos replaced fiddles and fifes, and many forgot that there were, indeed, other ways to play the blues. Yonder Come the Blues educates the listener by offering a generous and enjoyable collection that effectively traces the roots of a genre. by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Allmusictrax:
1. Agbekor - Ladzekpo & Ewe Drum Orchestra 2. Ring Dance - Mamprusi Tribesmen 3. Fife And Drum Piece - Othar Turner 4. Praise Song - Kunaal & Sosira 5. Forty Four Blues - Butch Cage & Willie Thomas 6. Halam duo - Thyam Sy Griots 7. Wild About My Loving - Lonnie Coleman 8. Coon From Tennessee - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers 9. Don't Think I'm Santa Claus - Lil McClintock 10. Sweet Sarah Blues - Tom Darby & Jimmie Tarlton 11. Charleston Contest - 2 - Too Tight Henry 12. Decatur Street 81 - The Georgia Browns 13. Jug Rag - The Prairie Ramblers 14. Caught Us Doing It - The Hokum Boys 15. Brain Cloudy Blues - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys 16. Kid Man Blues - Bertha Chippie Hill 17. Rabbit Foot Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson 18. Blue Bloomer Blues - Whistlin' Alex Moore 19. Death's Black Train Is A-Comin' - Rev. J. M. Gates 20. When The War Was On - Blind Willie Johnson 21. New Stockyard Blues - Robert Wilkins 22. Detroit Special - Big Bill Broonzy 23. Press My Button - Lil Johnson 24. Fannie Mae Blues - Pinetop Burks
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