saregapadanisa
209 posts
Jun 01, 2010
7:18 PM
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Well, I know I'm calling for controversy to say the least, but I have to pass my nerves.
Few days ago, a friend of mine gave me "History of the Blues Harmonica Concert" as a present, after taking the trouble to order it specially for me. The friend called me this evening, and I've been in the embarassing situation to tell him how good the CD is, and how pleased I was.
To say the truth the CD (and there's actually 2 of them) is awful.
Here is the blurb : "Imagine a concert where you could experience blues harmonica playing and it’s most important players from its earliest recorded inception all the way up to today’s innovative harp blowers... the History of the Blues Harmonica Concert did just that!".
Basically, the result is a clumsy lecture alternating spoken intros (mainly pointless anecdotes at best ; the inability of musicians to speak Music is beyond me) and re-playing of blues classics in a way that make you fear that a severe pandemic of Bharathism has struck.
Thanks god, there's still Joe Filisko and Denis Gruenling on the board, which refrained me from throwing it in the bin.
I've learned nothing, I've listenend to nothing interesting (almost), the whole is delivered in the most irritating way, and I have a hard time thinking of a more pointless undertaking.
The only good point : I ran for the original recordings to refresh my ears, and that was great.
Thanks for reading the rant ; I feel better now.
And now that I have begun that thread full of negative thinking and bad vibes, feel free to add your own "most boring blues hap CD ever"...
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nacoran
1975 posts
Jun 01, 2010
7:27 PM
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I feel that way about the Beatles Anthologies, except the music is at least original. I occasionally like music in the lectures I listen to, but I'm not a big fan of lectures in my music.
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Nate
Facebook
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MP
384 posts
Jun 01, 2010
11:16 PM
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wheeew!!! that's a relief! i thought you might have found an old CD of mine.
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Ant138
449 posts
Jun 02, 2010
12:05 AM
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I was listening to the sample tracks the other day and thought it sounded quiet good.(20 sec samples) i thought it might be a good learning tool,having everything from train rhythms to chicargo stuff on. its not available here in the uk yet on cd and at$27 plus shipping from the states i think i might wait a while.
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saregapadanisa
210 posts
Jun 02, 2010
4:04 AM
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@ MP, yes yes yes, I'm in the mood to review yours :-)
@ Ant138, of course, the music is not that bad. I think that by ripping the CD and erasing the spoken parts, it will make something listenable.
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captainbliss
113 posts
Jun 02, 2010
4:24 AM
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@saregapadanisa:
If it's a concert recording, I wonder both who the audience was and about the context in which it was recorded? A concert for students, perhaps? Dunno...
/I have a hard time thinking of a more pointless undertaking/
How about using lots of harmonicas to construct a mini Stonehenge and dancing round them pretending to be a giant blues druid?
xxx
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Blown Out Reed
157 posts
Jun 02, 2010
11:37 AM
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It's A History Concert! For Blues Harmonica!
Of Course These Are Not The Original Recordings
But The Performers Are Also Some Of Today's Best Harmonica Teachers
I Enjoyed The Cd's
If You Buy The Set And You're Not Interested In The History Dialog Tracks That Precede Each Song Then Burn A Backup Disk Without The Intro Tracks
Simple
Thanks for reading the rant ; I feel better now
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Joe_L
314 posts
Jun 02, 2010
2:47 PM
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I was recently given a copy of this CD. I haven't listened to it yet. When people buy this sort of CD, I always ask myself a question, why not just start digging into the history of the music. It's all there and darn near everything is available.
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Blown Out Reed
159 posts
Jun 02, 2010
3:46 PM
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And this set is a good guide
For example Joe's pre-war and country blues set was informative and great to listen to
I'm now interested in checking out some of these pre-war and country blues artist and know where to start
I think that may have been the point
.
Last Edited by on Jun 03, 2010 9:11 AM
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jodanchudan
69 posts
Jun 02, 2010
5:21 PM
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@Ant138: you can download it here:
http://www.cdbaby.com/Search/SGlzdG9yeSBvZiB0aGUgQmx1ZXMgSGFybW9uaWNhIENvbmNlcnQ%3d/0
It's all good stuff. As Blown Out Reed said, informative and a useful starting point. I think it was a concert played as part of the Harmonica Masterclass event, though I could be wrong. Anyway, it matters that it was conceived as a concert for people interested in the harp, not as a blues harp CD - being at the concert and buying it as an album are very different experiences. I don't see any problem with the spoken bits in the context of a concert. It's especially interesting to hear clear versions of tunes that were obviously constrained by the recording technology of the time.
Not boring at all.
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rpoe
162 posts
Jun 02, 2010
6:07 PM
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Thanks! Downloading the CD set now. Very cool.
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Rob
Rob's Tube
Last Edited by on Jun 02, 2010 7:37 PM
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Ev630
530 posts
Jun 02, 2010
11:45 PM
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"I was recently given a copy of this CD. I haven't listened to it yet. When people buy this sort of CD, I always ask myself a question, why not just start digging into the history of the music. It's all there and darn near everything is available."
Joe, the point is that a lot of people don't. That's clear from comments that are posted here every day. A lot of new (and old) harp players can only name one or two blues players at MOST. While you and I know where to go, many don't seem to be inclined and need to be spoon fed a little history and respect. Frankly I think that this CD set is excellent for that purpose. For me, someone who is only interested in the myriad players who followed from the works of John Lee Williamson, the Filisko stuff was eye opening. So I'm not so arrogant to not admit I learned something from the set.
Having said that, I did joke to someone I emailed on this set that, just once, I'd like to hear Dave Barrett yell out, "Alright! Do you wanna rock? Lemme here you say YEAH!" I also thought the mawkish testament to Butterfield was nauseating and a litle unbalanced in contrast to the tone of other presenters, and I think it's a shame James Cotton wasn't mentioned at all since a lot of Barrett's later phrasing came straight from the genius of Mr.Cotton.
Gruenling was superb, as ever.
So, I enjoyed it.
cheers
EV
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MP
390 posts
Jun 03, 2010
1:25 AM
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@saregapadanisa,
no,no,please! waterboard me. blow me up. anything but that!
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saregapadanisa
212 posts
Jun 03, 2010
3:54 AM
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@ MP, sorry guy, it's too late. I am in a very good mood today, and I've even begun to find qualities in that CD. What a shame.
Next time I'm really pissed off, I'll reconsider your request. ;-)
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Tin Lizzie
78 posts
Jun 03, 2010
8:28 AM
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song list and keys from the cd
Joe Filisko starts the evening performing for and educating the audience about Pre-War and Country Blues Harmonica (~1920-1950). Performance includes: Train Imitation Medley [Key of F, Low-F Harp in 1st Po] - 1st Position Medley [Key of G, G Harp in 1st Po] - Lost John/Fox Chase Medley [Key of D, G Harp in 2nd Po] - Sonny Terry Medley [Key of E, A Harp in 2nd Po] - Mean Low Blues (Blues Birdhead) [Key of G, G Harp in 1st Po] - Stove Pipe Blues (Daddy Stovepipe) [Key of C, C Harp in 1st Po/Key of F, C Harp in 12th Po] - Sugar Mama Blues (John Lee Williamson) [Key of F, B-flat Harp in 2nd Po] - Bye Bye Bird (Rice Miller) [Key of G, Low C Harp in 2nd Po]
David Barrett then performs the Post-War era of blues harmonica (~1950-1970), again speaking about the importance of each player and the historical importance of each song. Performance includes: - Evan's Shuffle (Little Walter) [Key of E, A Harp in 2nd Po] - Juke (Little Walter) [Key of E, A Harp in 2nd Po] - Blue Light (Little Walter, by Joe Filisko) [Key of D, C Chro in 3rd Po/G Harp in 2nd Po] - Roller Coaster (Little Walter) [Key of E, A Harp in 2nd Po] - Just Whaling (Louis Myers) [Key of F, B-flat Harp in 2nd Po] - Easy (Big Walter Horton) [Key of F, B-flat Harp in 2nd Po] - Walter's Boogie (Little Walter) [Key of E, A Harp in 2nd Po] - Sharp Harp (George Harmonica Smith) [Key of F, B-flat Harp in 2nd Po] - Steady (Jerry McCain) [Key of F, B-flat Harp in 2nd Po] - Chitlin Con Carne (Junior Wells) [Key of A, D Harp in 2nd Po] - Juicy Harmonica (George Harmonica Smith) [Key of F, B-flat Harp in 2nd Po] - Matchstick (David Barrett) [Key of E, A Harp in 2nd Po]
Paul Butterfield expert Kinya Pollard performs a tribute to Paul Butterfield. Performance includes: - Everything's Gonna Be Alright [Key of F, B-flat Harp in 2nd Po] - Work Song [Key of Fm, B-flat Harp in 2nd Po]
Dennis Gruenling finishes the evening, symbolizing the future of blues harmonica. Performance includes: - Flying Home [Key of E-flat, A-flat Harp in 2nd Po] - Bluesmith (Tribute to George Harmonica Smith) [Key of D, C Chro in 3rd Po/G Harp in 2nd Po] - House Party [Key of C, Low-F Harp in 2nd Po/B-flat Harp in 3rd]
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Tin Lizzie
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Joe_L
319 posts
Jun 03, 2010
9:03 AM
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@EV - I agree. It takes work to do some digging and a little bit of effort. You also have to know where to start. Hell, I am still digging and learning.
I hadn't listened to that CD because it was given to me this past weekend along with a stack of others. One of them was Billy Boy Arnold's tribute CD to Sonny Boy Williamson. I've been wanting to hear that one for a while.
I've seen David perform quite a few times, so I have a feel for what the History of the Blues Harmonica CD set is going to be about. Honestly, I expect it to be more educational than entertaining. I view all of those guys as teachers.
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