The Roots Of It All - Acoustic Blues Vol. 2

Second volume in this series of four 2CD digipac sets. Covering the story of acoustic blues from 1941 to 1959. Pre-war and post-war recordings, a total of 55 tracks, carefully re-mastered from the original sources. 124-page booklet with rare photos and in-depth liner notes and bios. Blues greats like Big Joe Williams, Brownie McGhee, McKinley Morganfield, John Lee Hooker, and Big Bill Broonzy alongside lesser know pickers like William Brown, Alabama Slim, Manny Nichols, a.m.o. Our second volume in this series commences at just about the time that amplification was beginning to permanently alter the definition of the blues guitar. Texan T-Bone Walker was at the vanguard of the new electrified approach. He inspired an army of daring young disciples who picked out dazzling single-string solos that fit right into the urban jump blues phenomenon sweeping the country during the immediate postwar era. Yet there was still a market for downhome acoustic blues guitar. Indie labels introduced a new batch of guitarists who stubbornly refused to amplify their instruments. Most of them were solidly rooted in pre-war tradition. A few such as Nat Terry, Willie Lane, Julius King, and Johnny Beck made one or two now-prized 78s and were never heard from again. This collection includes splendid selections by a few of the giants from the pre-war days that we heard from last time Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Willie McTell, Josh White, Big Joe Williams who were still actively creating and recording classic sides, but it's largely devoted to the new crop of acoustic blues guitarists. You'll find key early performances by Muddy Waters, Brownie McGhee, Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, and Lightnin' Hopkins, all of whom would soon go electric to keep up with the times and quickly rise to the top of the blues field. But the acoustic bluesmen populating this volume were still in dogged search of commercial success the old-fashioned way: singles sales and jukebox play. Their artistry remains timeless.