Broke, Black & Blue delivers multiple surprises within its 100 songs of prewar blues. Arranged chronologically by Joop Visser, the set admirably covers the first 22 years of recorded blues, 1924 to 1946, from vaudeville and Delta to boogie-woogie and jump blues. It's a swell gift for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of blues. But old-timers will be pleased, too, as special attention has been paid to culling rare and idiosyncratic tracks by the well-known and the obscure. The first three discs present single tracks by artists as diverse as the Memphis Jug Band, De Ford Bailey, Tommy Johnson, Son House, Skip James, Peetie Wheatstraw, Lonnie Johnson, and Bukka White, alongside unknowns such as Isaiah "The Mississippi Moaner" Nelson, Barbecue Bob and Laughing Charley, Ed Andrews, Chicken Wilson, and Bumble Bee Slim. On the fourth disc, this convention is jettisoned to luxuriate in a series of very rare sides of lovely, oddly subdued boogie-woogie and jump blues by Jimmie Gordon, Johnny Temple, and Lee Brown.

This four-disc, 100-track box set differs from most blues compendiums on a number of fronts. For openers, it focuses on the first 20 years of blues recordings, from 1924's "Barrelhouse Blues" by Ed Andrews to 1946's "Rhythm Mama" by Johnny Temple. Second, even though there are entries from artists like Blind Blake, Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Skip James, Big Joe Williams, Bukka White, and Lonnie Johnson, the box is not overloaded with big-name artists. Instead, the set leans toward more obscure names, like Big Boy Cleveland, Kid Brown, Chicken Wilson, Skeeter Hinton, "Mooch" Richardson, and Isaiah Nettles, "the Mississippi Moaner." Also noteworthy is the inclusion of some of the rarest of all country-blues titles, by everyone from Tommy Johnson to Rube Lacy. Covering all the bases - from vaudeville to barrelhouse, boogie to Delta blues - this is an oddball set, for sure, but one loaded with great music, solid annotation, and an interesting perspective. Well worth picking up.



Tracklist:

CD1 - Volume One - Up Country Blues (01:16:18)

01. Edward Andrews - Barrel House Blues (2:52)
02. Tom Delaney - Georgia Stockade Blues (3:27)
03. Memphis Jug Band - Sun Brimmers Blues (3:26)
04. Big Boy Cleveland - Goin' to Leave You Blues (2:52)
05. Blind Blake - Dry Bone Shuffle (2:41)
06. DeFord Bailey - Up Country Blues (3:16)
07. Sippie Wallace - Dead Drunk Blues (3:14)
08. Little Harvey Hull - Original Stack O'Lee Blues (2:41)
09. Barbecue Bob - Easy Rider Don't You Deny My Name (2:59)
10. Kid Brown & His Blues Band - Bo-Lita (2:42)
11. William & Versey Smith - Everybody Help the Boys Come Home (2:25)
12. Luke Jordan - Church Bells Blues (3:17)
13. Emery Glen - Two Ways to Texas (3:03)
14. Barbecue Bob - It Won't Be Long Now (3:25)
15. Weaver & Beasley - Bottleneck Blues (2:55)
16. Lewis Black - Rock Island Blues (3:01)
17. Gary Moore - Midnight Blues (2:45)
18. Head, Johnnie - Fare Thee Blues (2:33)
19. Jim Jackson - My Monday Blues (3:04)
20. Frank Stokes - What's the Matter Blues (3:01)
21. Rosie Mae Moore - School Girl Blues (3:16)
22. Tommy Johnson - Cool Drink of Water Blues (3:26)
23. Ishman Bracey - Left Alone Blues (3:21)
24. Mooch Richardson - T and T Blues (3:13)
25. Mooch Richardson - T.C. Johnson Blues (3:23)

CD2 - Volume Two - Broke And Hungry Blues (01:17:10)

01. Rube Lacy - Ham Hound Crave (2:55)
02. Alger 'Texas' Alexander - No More Women Blues (3:02)
03. Willie Jackson - How Long, How Long Blues (2:58)
04. Tarter and Gay - Unknown Blues (3:06)
05. Chicken Wilson & Skeeter Hinton - Chicken Wilson Blues (3:09)
06. Mississippi John Hurt - Stack O'Lee Blues (2:58)
07. Peg Leg Howell - Broke and Hungry Blues (3:22)
08. Victoria Spivey - Funny Feathers (3:17)
09. Will Ezell - Pitchin' Boogie (3:04)
10. Jed Davenport - Mr Devil Blues (3:09)
11. Kid Bailey - Mississippi Bottom Blues (2:49)
12. James 'Boodle It' Wiggins - Weary Heart Blues (2:43)
13. Henry Townsend - Poor Man Blues (2:59)
14. Eli Framer - Framer's Blues (3:08)
15. Aaron Walker - Trinity River Blues (3:11)
16. Charley Taylor - Heavy Suitcase Blues (3:09)
17. Joe Callicott - Traveling Mama Blues (3:15)
18. Garfield Akers - Jumpin' and Shoutin' Blues (3:08)
19. Jim Thompkins - Bedside Blues (3:06)
20. Son House - Walking Blues (2:59)
21. Willie Brown - Future Blues (3:01)
22. Louise Johnson - Long Ways From Home (3:29)
23. Bayless Rose - Frisco Blues (3:07)
24. Arthur Pettis - Good Boy Blues (3:12)
25. Little Brother Montgomery - No Special Rider Blues (2:54)

CD3 - Volume Three - Good Whiskey Blues (01:15:04)

01. Blind Wille Reynolds - Married Man Blues (3:18)
02. Willie Walker - Dupree Blues (3:31)
03. Skip James - 22-20 Blues (2:51)
04. Sam Collins - Lonesome Road Blues (3:05)
05. Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell - Midnight Hour Blues (3:08)
06. Jacob Williams - Fat Mama Blues (3:16)
07. Georgia Boyd - Never Mind Blues (3:14)
08. Kokomo Arnold - Twelves, The (Dirty Dozen) (3:13)
09. Big Joe Williams - Little Leg Woman (3:05)
10. Bessie Jackson - That's What My Baby Likes (3:01)
11. Peetie Wheatstraw - Good Whiskey Blues (3:09)
12. Cripple Clarence Lofton - Strut That Thing (2:58)
13. Louie Lasky - Teasin' Brown Blues (2:46)
14. Bumble Bee Slim - Cold Blooded Murder, No.2 (3:01)
15. Blind Boy Fuller - Baby, You Gotta Change Your Mind (3:15)
16. Walter Davis - Ashes In My Whiskey (2:37)
17. Mississippi Moaner, The (Isaiah Nettles) - It's Cold In China Blues (2:49)
18. Jazz Gillum - Jockey Blues (2:50)
19. George Clarke - Prisoner Blues (3:10)
20. Casey Bill Weldon - Back Door Blues (3:10)
21. Buddy Woods - Don't Sell It (Don't Give It Away) (2:33)
22. Washboard Sam - Booker T Blues (2:39)
23. Litlle Buddy Doyle - Hard Scufflin' Blues (2:40)
24. Lonnie Johnson - Jersey Belle Blues (2:59)
25. Tommy McLennan - Baby, Please Don't Tell On Me (2:46)

CD4 - Volume Four - Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame (01:10:46)

01. Faber Smith & Jimmy Yancey - East St Louis Blues (2:52)
02. Bukka White - Bukka's Jitterbug Swing (2:39)
03. Big Maceo - Can't You Read (3:09)
04. Memphis Slim - Life is Like That (2:56)
05. Forest City Joe - Memory of Sonny Boy (3:20)
06. Lee Brown - Horse Shoe Boogie (2:56)
07. Lee Brown - Ruby Moore Blues (2:58)
08. Lee Brown - Low Land Blues (2:50)
09. Lee Brown - Round the World Boogie (2:57)
10. Jimmie Gordon - Rock That Boogie (2:43)
11. Jimmie Gordon - Fast Life (2:57)
12. Jimmie Gordon - Mistreated Blues (2:32)
13. Jimmie Gordon - I Ain't Like That No More (2:51)
14. Johnny Temple - Chain Gang Blues (2:51)
15. Johnny Temple - Yum, Yum, Yum (2:38)
16. Jimmie Gordon - My Baby's Acting Funny (2:45)
17. Jimmie Gordon - It's Time to Go (2:44)
18. Jimmie Gordon - That Woman's a Pearl Diver (2:52)
19. Jimmie Gordon - Jumpin' at the Club Blue Flame (2:38)
20. Johnny Temple - I Believe I'll Go Downtown Again (2:54)
21. Johnny Temple - Something in the Moon That Gives Me a Thrill (2:45)
22. Johnny Temple - Dixie Flyer (2:51)
23. Johnny Temple - Believe My Sins Have Found Me Out (2:45)
24. Johnny Temple - Rhythm Mama (2:46)
25. Lee Brown - New Little Girl, Little Girl (2:39)