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Definitive Leadbelly

Artist: Leadbelly
Label: Catfish
Availability: In stock
Item #: 21648051

List Price: $39.98
Member Price: $35.98

You Save: $4.00

Review

Although he has often been labeled a blues artist, Leadbelly had a much wider palette than that, and routinely sang spirituals, work songs, folk ballads, and children's pieces, and he had an amazing affinity for material that would later find its way into the pop world. Songs like "Goodnight Irene," "Midnight Special," "Gallows Pole," "Rock Island Line," "Where Did You Sleep Last Night," and "Black Betty," whether he actually wrote them or simply adapted them (which is probably the case), have all had an enduring musical impact, to say nothing of his driving 12-string guitar style, which wasn't exactly pretty but sure was effective. This three-disc set from Britain's Catfish Records is a wonderful introduction to Leadbelly's legacy. It doesn't include his later Folkways recordings, but does have a wide sampling of his ARC tracks and several live cuts from various concerts along with multiple takes of "Midnight Special" and "Rock Island Line" plus fine performances of "Grasshopper in My Pillow," "Alberta," "Fannin' Street," "Bourgeois Blues," and "Ain't Going Down to the Well No More." The liner notes are more artistic than revealing and there is virtually no information about when and where the various tracks were recorded, but the music is the thing, and there is simply no better mid-price set of Leadbelly currently on the market. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Tracks + Soundclips

Definitive Leadbelly
1. Grasshoppers in My Pillow	2:47
2. Tight Like That	3:11
3. C.C. Rider	2:58
4. Well You Know I Had to Do It	2:54
5. Alberta	3:07
6. Sweet Mary Blues	2:57
7. New Orleans	3:15
8. New York City	3:02
9. Baby, Don't You Love Me No More?	2:53
10. Thirty Days in the Work House	2:32
11. You Cain' Loose-A-Me Cholly	2:59
12. Midnight Special	2:04
13. I'm Leavin' on the Midnight Train	4:18
14. Fannin' Street	3:26
15. Goodnight Irene	1:53
16. Pick a Bale of Cotton	1:45
17. Black Girl	2:09
18. Turn Yo' Radio On	2:12
19. Children's Blues	2:27
20. John Henry	4:01
21. Corn Bread Rough	2:07
22. Can't You Line 'Em	2:56
23. Ella Speed	2:45
24. Tell Me Baby	2:56
25. Go Down, Old Hannah	4:59
26. Somebody's Diggin' My Potatoes	3:59
27. Dancing With Tears in My Heart	2:45
28. Salty Dog	3:01
29. Whoa Back Up	2:12
30. Sukey Jump	1:06
31. How Long	4:33
32. Eagle Rock Rag	2:46
33. Laura	1:40
34. Big Fat Woman	1:11
35. My Friend Blind Lemon	3:05
36. Easy Mr Tom	2:04
37. New Black Snake	3:11
38. Matchbox Blues	3:03
39. Death Letter Blues, Pt. 1	3:00
40. Death Letter Blues, Pt. 2	3:00
41. Bourgeois Blues	5:36
42. We're in the Same Boat, Brother	2:20
43. Jean Harlow	2:28
44. Howard Hughes	3:02
45. Cow Cow Yicky Yicky Yea	1:33
46. When I Was a Cowboy	2:15
47. T B Blues	3:09
48. Alabama Bound	3:05
49. Shout On (Honey I'm All Out and Down)	2:11
50. He Never Said a Mumbling Word	2:50
51. It Was Early One Morning	2:25
52. Good Morning Blues	2:53
53. Tom Hughes Town	3:04
54. Bull Cow	2:44
55. Looky Look Yonder	2:59
56. Blood Done Sign My Name	2:20
57. Tell Me Baby, What Was Wrong With You	3:16
58. Birmingham Jail (Down in the Valley)	1:50
59. Red Cross Store Blues	3:07
60. Sail on, Little Girl, Sail On	3:16
61. Roberta	2:59
62. Jim Crow Blues	2:25
63. Gray Goose	1:57
64. I'm on My Last Go-Round	3:12
65. Stewball	2:25
66. Spring Time in the Rockies	3:04
67. Ain't Going Down to the Well No More	1:06
68. Take This Hammer	2:15
69. Rock Island Line	2:36
70. Midnight Special	3:05
71. Sylvie	0:59
72. I'll Be Down on the Last Bread Wagon	3:21
73. Chinatown	1:07
74. I'm Alone Because I Love You	2:53
75. Leaving Blues	3:34