Dmitry Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Bought 2 cds on Document Records tonight - THE EARLIEST BLACK STRING BANDS - Vol.2 - Dan Kildare [1917-1919] and Kid Ory - The Complete Sunshine, Exner, Decca Recordings 1922-1945 & "This is Jazz" Broadcast 1947 I'm not familiar with the Document label, but the songs in their on-line juke-box are cool. The store I bought these from had a bunch of Document cds for 6.99 -8.99. Should I pick up anything else? http://www.document-records.com/ I am largely not familiar with the pre-swing music, but I'm very slowly easing into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAL Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 I satisfy my regular cravings for the music of the early female blues singers via reissues by this label. Victoria Spivey, Alberta Hunter, Mamie Smith, Virginia Liston - you name it, they've got it. They've even a 14 volume series of obscure female blues/vaudeville singers. Then there's all that other jazz, blues and spirituals stuff. Too darn many reissues I say... Sound quality is variable - from atrociously bad to decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted July 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Something tells me Lon will have a couple of words to say about this label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 hm....and why would Lon have something to say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 (edited) Great label, own a few. Most of the ones I might get, I have the material on other labels. I have a few Lizzie Miles Documents though. There, some words. Edited July 22, 2005 by jazzbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 Document is a good source for gathering complete recordings of nearly every pre-WW2 blues artist and many gospel artists also. The sound quality of their issues is variable, and they're one of those labels that seem to taken much of their material from other labels who have done their work for them through previous reissues. If you're looking for completeness, Document is probably the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBop Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 Most of the material I've got on this label is pre-war Blues. For that genre, it's among the best, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Late Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 ... they're one of those labels that seem to have taken much of their material from other labels who have done their work for them through previous reissues. Are there any CDs where Document is the sole reissue label? This label always catches my eye, but my experience has been hit-or-miss, with the misses often winning out due to the sometimes awful sound quality. So, another question: anyone have a Document CD with good sound where they also enjoy the music? I'm particularly interested in some of the more obscure country blues artists (sans piano). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 the sound is variable but Document, at least in its original issues, is a priceless label - their goal was basically to issue all African American recordings, and no one else came near the scope of what they did - HOWEVER - in their second incarnation (they went out of business and than were resuscitated) they started to "improve" the sound, which meant digital distortion and other horrors - so beware the later series of stuff - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Late Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 The sound is variable, but Document, at least in its original issues, is a priceless label ... Are there any titles from this first series that you recommend in particular? Not necessarily the "bigger" names, but other country blues artists that are more obscure but deserving of wider recognition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 wouldn't know where to start - I must own 100 cds from this label - what I love in particular are the early gosepl cds (from the 1920s and 1930s) - a lot of it is, however, hard to get now - for individual country blues singers I would tend to go to Yazoo - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Late Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 ... for individual country blues singers I would tend to go to Yazoo. I do too. I have a fair amount of Yazoo titles already, so I guess I'll just start snooping around in Document-land with a newbie's sense of awe. (That's part of the fun anyway, I guess.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 pick up the Arizon Dranes if you can find it - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jostber Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 Document Records have a lot of great releases with wonderful musc, and a fine catalogue too. Some of my recommendations: Lonnie Johnson http://www.document-records.com/fulldetail...rodID=BDCD-6024 Robert Petway http://www.document-records.com/fulldetail...rodID=DOCD-5671 Big Maceo http://www.document-records.com/fulldetail...rodID=DOCD-5673 Leadbelly http://www.document-records.com/fulldetail...rodID=DOCD-5676 Never Let The Same Bee Sting You Twice http://www.document-records.com/fulldetail...rodID=DOCD-5678 Blind Willie McTell http://www.document-records.com/fulldetail...rodID=DOCD-5677 Henry Thomas http://www.document-records.com/fulldetail...rodID=DOCD-5665 and Arizona Dranes, Little Brother Montgomery, Jimmy Yancey and many more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 beware, as I mentioned: I've stopped buying their new releases as the ones I've purchased have been filled with bad noise reduction, digital distortion, etc - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeline Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 (edited) Most of Document's releases are available on Emusic.com - and at high bitrates. It might be easier just to browse there and purchase tracks you'd like to have, rather than buying actual CDs. Edited May 29, 2008 by seeline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Late Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Most of Document's releases are available on Emusic.com - and at high bitrates. It might be easier just to browse there and purchase tracks you'd like to have, rather than buying actual CDs. Excellent point. I go off and on with emusic. It's a great service, though I tend to cancel my subscription when I can't keep up with the listening. It's also nice that there's no penalty to cancel and then resubscribe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Late Posted November 4, 2021 Report Share Posted November 4, 2021 Document Store Document on Discogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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