Tampa Red – Complete Recorded Work – Vol 4. -1930-1931
Document DOCD 5076
You rascal you no. 2 – You rascal you no. 1 – Have you ever been worried in mind – part 1 – Have you ever been worried in mind – part 2 – You baby cant get enough - Keep your yes maam clean – You rascal you (- She can love so good – Bear cats kitten - Unhappy blues - Jealous hearted mama blues - They call it boogie woogie - Toogaloo blues - Jinx doctor blues - Boogie woogie dance - Bumble bee blues - New strangers blues - Georgia hound blues - Thingsbout coming my way – Cotton seed blues – Stop and listen blues – Down in spirit blues – Sad news blues – Depression blues
This CD is the fourth volume (out of 15) of this eries gathering the complete recorded work of Tampa Red. It compiles recordings made in Chicago between July 1930 and October 1931.
Most of the tracks (16 in total) feature Georgia Tom (Thomas Dorsey), Red’s longtime collaborator, on piano and sometimes vocals, completing Red’s agile and effortless slide guitar.
The tracks recorded by the duo alternate between hokum, dance tunes (including They Call It The Boogie Woogie, which, despite its name, is not a boogie-woogie but is in the same vein of It’s Tight Like That), and pure blues numbers such as Sad New Blues, Depression Blues (both barely audible), and Things Bout Coming My Way, a variation on Sittin’ On The Top Of The World.
It also includes three different versions of his classic You Rascal You, with slight variations in the lyrics. The first two versions are by Tampa Red and Georgia Tom, but the best is the one recorded under the moniker Tampa Red and his Hokum Jug Band, featuring Carl Reid of Philipp’s Louisville Jug Band on jug and Frankie “Half-Pint” Jaxon on vocals.
A few guitar solos (Boogie Woogie Dance, Bumble Bee Blues) are here to remind us why he was nicknamed the guitar wizard.
Four sides (3 to 6) sung by Sweet Papa Tadpole (Walter Coleman) round out the selection.
With a few exceptions, these sides have been well preserved, and the overall sound quality is very good.
Available here.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
