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Rev. Gary Davis & Peers

Title: Lifting the Veil - the first bluesmen

Label: Arbiter

Cat No:ARBITER2008
Format:CD

Our price £ 10.99 Free UK Delivery
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Discovery Records
specialist music - mail order

• “Lifting The Veil: The First Bluesmen” is a truly remarkable collection of acoustic blues, all with new sound restoration, featuring unpublished performances by Rev. Gary Davis and Leadbelly; important material by blues legends Charlie Patton, Blind Blake and Big Bill Broonzy; and excellent rare tracks by lesser-known artists including Ramblin’ Thomas, Rube Lacy, William Moore, Edward Thopmson and Buddy Boy Hawkins

• There is also a superb 28-page booklet with rare photos, the full song lyrics and fascinating extracts from a long-lost interview with Gary Davis from 1951, by Alan Lomax’s wife Elizabeth Lyttleton Harold, a psychologist-anthropologist. She gained Davis' complete confidence and he talked to her without reserve or inhibitions.

• Rare and noisy shellacs were restored from Harry Smith's record archive to illustrate the origins of the blues and its first artists, ranging from folk songs, ballads, marches and improvisations to the rich language of regional blues styles. Private tapes and Paramount 78 rpm discs were restored with Arbiter's ‘Sonic Depth Technology’.

• Over two years were spent in deciphering the lyrics, seeking to overcome poor sound, archaic idioms and dialect inflections. Except for a couple of words, all was clarified (six people were involved).

• This project follows the previous 2005 Arbiter release: Rev. Gary Davis. “The Sun of our Lives”. ARBITER2005, which is still available.

Track Listing for Lifting the Veil - the first bluesmen
Leadbelly
1. Sermon on Pancakes
2. The Blood’s Done Signed Your Name

Rev. Gary Davis
3. Come Down To See Me Sometime
4. Lost John
5. Soldier’s Drill

Leadbelly
6. Gallows Pole
7. Leaving Blues
8. Rev. Gary Davis: Slow Blues In E
9. Big bill Broonzy: Starvation Blues
10. Leola B. Wilson & Blind Blake: Black Biting Bee Blues
11. Mountain Jack
12. I Didn’t Want To Join The Band
13. Buddy Boy Hawkins: A Rag

William Moore
14. Raggin’ The Blues
15. Old Country Rock
16. Gus Cannon & Blind Blake: Poor Boy
17. Ramblin’ Thomas: Poor Boy

Charley Patton
18. Mississippi Bo Weevil Blues
19. Screamin’ and Hollerin’ The Blues

Rube Lacy
20. Mississippi Jail House Groan
21. Ham Hound Crave
22. Edward Thompson: Seven Sisters Blues

Ramblin’ Thomas:
23. Hard Dallas Blues
24. Back Gnawing Blues
25. Going Crazy

Discovery catalogue available for
Rev. Gary Davis & Peers

Lifting the Veil - the first bluesmen