Blind Blake is a figure of enormous importance in American music. Not only was he one of the greatest blues guitarists of all-time, Blake seems to have been the primary developer of "finger-style" ragtime on the guitar, the six-string equivalent to playing ragtime on the piano. Blake mastered this form so completely that few, if any, guitarists who have learned to play in this style since Blake have been able to match his quite singular achievements in this realm. Blind Blake was the most frequently recorded blues guitarist in the Paramount Records' race catalog; indeed, Paramount waxed him as often as they could, as he was their best-selling artist. By the time the Paramount label folded in the fall of 1932, Blake had recorded an amazing 79 known sides for them under his own name and had contributed accompaniments to Paramount recordings by other artists such as Gus Cannon, Papa Charlie Jackson, Irene Scruggs, Ma Rainey and Ida Cox to name only a few.
As with many comprehensive pre-1940s blues sets, especially those devoted to artists who recorded on the old Paramount label, the five-CD All the Published Sides set is both a godsend and a study in frustration. Paramount wasn't known for its high-quality pressings when it was in business, and its bankruptcy in the early '30s and the destruction of its masters completed the picture, as far as sound quality. That said, this set is a modest improvement over Document Records' various Blind Blake CD issues of the late '80s, as well as being significantly cheaper; there's still plenty of noise on some of the tracks, and even the third version of "West Coast Blues" -- the best-sounding side on disc one -- contains some minor noise and slight distortion. This pattern is repeated throughout the 110 sides, very clean-sounding 78s juxtaposed with what must be the most abominable condition sources imaginable. Nowhere is this more frustrating than what ought to be a highlight of the entire set, "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 1" and "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It, Pt. 2," pairing the almost primordial bluesman Papa Charlie Jackson with Blake -- yet neither side is in good enough shape to yield more than the most minimally audible playing and vocals; it's just possible to make use of that material, and it is followed by two wonderfully clean-sounding sides featuring Blake and "Chocolate Brown" Irene Scruggs, on which every nuance of his playing can be heard, and then two more that are in wretched shape. Those wildly variable tracks, however, pale next to the dazzling displays of music dexterity that pour out of Blake's fingers and off of his guitar -- he may well have been one of the great virtuoso talents of the 20th century, as you're reminded constantly on these CDs -- and his nearly as impressive vocal skills. The annotation is reasonably thorough if a bit repetitive; there's just not that much known about Blake's life or career -- the producers do appreciate the significance of such matters as his momentary move toward gospel music on "Beulah Land," and provide plenty about his occasional sidemen and collaborators, but basically this set is a lot like his whole legacy, brimming over with talent supported by precious little information.
Tracks Disc A:
01 - Dying Blues
02 - Ashley St. Blues
03 - Early Morning Blues
04 - West Coast Blues
05 - West Coast Blues
06 - West Coast Blues
07 - Early Morning Blues
08 - Early Morning Blues
09 - Too Tight
10 - Blake's Worried Blues
11 - Come On Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around
12 - Come On Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around
13 - Tampa Bound
14 - Skeedle Loo Doo Blues
15 - Skeedle Loo Doo Blues
16 - Stonewall Street Blues
17 - State Street Men Blues
18 - Down The Country
19 - Back Biting Bee Blues
20 - Wilson Dam
21 - Buck-Town Blues
22 - Black Dog Blues
23 - One Time Blues
Tracks Disc B:
01 - Bad Feelin' Blues
02 - Dry Bone Shuffle
03 - Dry Bone Shuffle
04 - Dry Bone Shuffle
05 - That Will Happen No More
06 - Brownskin Mama Blues - (take 1)
07 - Brownskin Mama Blues - (take 2)
08 - Hard Road Blues
09 - Hey Hey Daddy Blues
10 - Sea Board Stomp
11 - You Gonna Quit Me Blues
12 - Steel Mill Blues
13 - Southern Rag
14 - He's In The Jailhouse Now
15 - Wabash Rag
16 - Doggin' Me Mama Blues
17 - C C Pill Blues
18 - Hot Potatoes
19 - Southbound Rag
20 - Pay Day Daddy Blues
21 - Elzadie's Policy Blues
Tracks Disc C:
01 - Good-Bye Mama Moan
02 - Tootie Blues
03 - That Lovin' I Crave
04 - That Lonesome Rave
05 - Terrible Murder Blues
06 - Leavin' Gal Blues
07 - No Dough Blues
08 - Lead Hearted Blues
09 - Let Your Love Come Down
10 - Rumblin' And Ramblin' Boa Constrictor Blues
11 - Bootleg Rum Dum Blues
12 - Detroit Bound Blues
13 - Beulah Land
14 - Panther Squall Blues
15 - Elzadie's Policy Blues
16 - Pay Day Daddy Blues
17 - Walkin' Across The Country
18 - Search Warrant Blues
19 - Rambin' Mama Blues
20 - New Style Of Loving
21 - Back Door Slam Blues
22 - Notoriety Woman Blues
23 - Cold Hearted Mama Blues
24 - Low Down Loving Gal
25 - Sweet Papa Low Down
Tracks Disc D:
01 - Poker Woman Blues
02 - Doing A Stretch
03 - Fightin' The Jug
04 - Hookworm Blues
05 - Slippery Rag
06 - Hastings St.
07 - Diddie Wah Diddie
08 - Diddie Wah Diddie
09 - Too Tight Blues No 2
10 - Chump Man Blues
11 - Ice Man Blues
12 - Police Dog Blues
13 - I Was Afraid Of That Part 2
14 - Georgia Bound
15 - Keep It Home
16 - Keep It Home
17 - Sweet Jivin' Mama
18 - Lonesome Christmas Blues
19 - Third Degree Blues
Tracks Disc E:
01 - Guitar Chimes
02 - Blind Arthur's Breakdown
03 - Baby Lou Blues
04 - Cold Love Blues
05 - Papa Charlie And Blind Blake Talk About It Part 1
06 - Papa Charlie And Blind Blake Talk About It Part 2
07 - Stingaree Man Blues
08 - Itching Heel
09 - You've Got What I Want
10 - Cherry Hill Blues
11 - Diddie Wah Diddie No 2
12 - Hard Pushing Papa
13 - What A Low Down Place The Jailhouse Is
14 - Ain't Gonna Do That No More
15 - Playing Policy Blues
16 - Righteous Blues
17 - Fancy Tricks
18 - Rope Stretchin' Blues Part 2
19 - Rope Stretchin' Blues Part 1
20 - Rope Stretchin' Blues Part 1
21 - Champagne Charlie Is My Name
22 - Depression's Gone From Me Blues
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