Heroes of the Blues: The Very Best of Son House (CD - 2003)

This is a part of Shout!'s Heroes Of The Blues Series.

Audio Remasterer: Mike Thomas.

Liner Note Author: Mark Humphrey.

Recording information: 1930-1965.

Son House is an undisputed father of the Delta blues, and one of its most fierce practitioners. His jagged, rhythmic guitar lines and booming, gospel-infused vocals sear straight through the grooves of even his oldest 78s. House was also a link between the form's origin in the Mississippi Delta (he often played with Charley Patton), its development through Robert Johnson (another contemporary and cohort), and its transformation into electric blues via Muddy Waters (House was one of Waters's acknowledged mentors). In the 1960s and '70s, House took part in the folk and blues revival, and was touted as a living legend.

HEROES OF THE BLUES: THE VERY BEST OF SON HOUSE is a carefully selected retrospective covering all points of House's career. While the earliest sides here date from 1930 (including the previously unreleased "Walking Blues"), the body of the disc is taken up by sessions cut in 1941 and '42, and the final tracks are from an album he cut in 1965. With one exception ("Grinnin' in Your Face"), all of the songs are House originals, and his singing and playing throughout are mightily impressive. In fact, his aged and ravaged voice on the '65 dates (particularly the harrowing a cappella rendition of "John the Revelator") deepens his usual intensity. minimize