The Yazoo Label

[John B]

Two quick questions:

Do any of you have a recent experience ordering from Yazoo directly? I'm ready to buy a few discs and their direct prices aren't bad at all right now. (Buy 4 get 1 free)

How does the sound on the Charlie Patton discs compare to the JSP box?

Thanks!

[J.A.W.]

How does the sound on the Charlie Patton discs compare to the JSP box?

I prefer the Patton Yazoo CDs to the JSP set, they have the best sound of all Patton releases. JSP allegedly took their masterings from the Revenant box and EQed them a bit.

[J.A.W.]

These are the two Patton Yazoo CDs I was referring to:

The Best of Charley Patton - Yazoo 2069

Primeval Blues, Rags and Gospel Songs - Yazoo 2074

[Late]

I have some duplicates of artists on Yazoo and JSP (e.g. Patton, Jefferson), and the Yazoo titles sound better to my ears. I've had good luck in the past ordering Yazoo discs from Alldirect — who charge $10.68 per disc, I believe. They almost always have Yazoo titles in stock (or at least they used to).

Perhaps my very favorite single artist compilation on Yazoo is the Ma Rainey disc. Not only are the tracks great musically, but the programming seems especially effective. If I were putting together a compilation of Rainey tunes, I'd probably follow the order of that disc exactly. The music won't be to the liking of all ears, that's for sure, but once you're hooked ... it's love.

[BruceH]

I love this record:

Indeed, this is a good one.

[tatifan]

Perhaps my very favorite single artist compilation on Yazoo is the Ma Rainey disc. Not only are the tracks great musically, but the programming seems especially effective. If I were putting together a compilation of Rainey tunes, I'd probably follow the order of that disc exactly. The music won't be to the liking of all ears, that's for sure, but once you're hooked ... it's love.

Seconded! After suffering through several awful sounding Documents releases, this was a pleasure to discover.

Back in the LP era, the Yazoo Joe Venuti compilation turned me on to that era of "New York" jazz, in general. It's still a good start for a bennining collector.

[BruceH]

Had to post the cover —

So far, this is an excellent compilation!

Man that cover is classic Crumb! For my money, as good as any of the Weirdo or early American Splendor covers. Anybody have his Yazoo jazz trading cards?

[BruceH]

BTW, speaking of "rural" old music, anyone here ever heard the RCA CD compilation called "Ragged But Right," a single-disc of "Great Country String Bands Of the 1930's"? It's been a favorite of mine for many years; was part of the RCA Heritage Series. (Probably out of print now.)

[Neal Pomea]

Who's on Ragged but Right? Skillet Lickers?

[J.A.W.]

BTW, speaking of "rural" old music, anyone here ever heard the RCA CD compilation called "Ragged But Right," a single-disc of "Great Country String Bands Of the 1930's"? It's been a favorite of mine for many years; was part of the RCA Heritage Series. (Probably out of print now.)

The RCA "Heritage Series" came out in the late 1980s (I think it was 1988) and went out of print almost immediately.

[Late]

Haven't heard that RCA comp, but those trading cards are dead-cool. (I don't own any, but I've seen them online.)

"I'll trade you my Blind Blake and Blind Boy Fuller for your Blind Lemon Jefferson — puh-leeze?"

[paul secor]

Had to post the cover —

So far, this is an excellent compilation!

Man that cover is classic Crumb! For my money, as good as any of the Weirdo or early American Splendor covers. Anybody have his Yazoo jazz trading cards?

I have all three sets - Blues, Jazz, & Country. It's fun to get them out occasionally and just enjoy the drawings and the commentary on the back of the cards. I especially dig some of the names of the country bands - Da Costa Woltz's Southern Broadcasters, Mumford Bean and his Itawambians, Hoyt Ming and his Pep Steppers, just to list a few.

The Crumb comic strip on record collecting in the CD booklet is a classic too. I saw more of myself in it than I wanted to.

[paul secor]

Do any of you have a recent experience ordering from Yazoo directly? I'm ready to buy a few discs and their direct prices aren't bad at all right now. (Buy 4 get 1 free)

Thanks!

I've ordered directly from Yazoo, and have always had good service - orders have consistently arrived within a week.

edited for spelling.

Edited April 14, 2006 by paul secor

[BruceH]

Who's on Ragged but Right? Skillet Lickers?

Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, to be precise. Also the Prairie Ramblers, J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, Riley Puckett, Ted Hawkins, and more. After all these years, the title track (which is track #1) is still my favorite.

[BruceH]

Had to post the cover —

So far, this is an excellent compilation!

Man that cover is classic Crumb! For my money, as good as any of the Weirdo or early American Splendor covers. Anybody have his Yazoo jazz trading cards?

I have all three sets - Blues, Jazz, & Country. It's fun to get them out occasionally and just enjoy the drawings and the commentary on the back of the cards. I especially dig some of the names of the country bands - Da Costa Woltz's Southern Broadcasters, Mumford Bean and his Itawambians, Hoyt Ming and his Pep Steppers, just to list a few.

The Crumb comic strip on record collecting in the CD booklet is a classic too. I saw more of myself in it than I wanted to.

I have all three sets too. After seeing them at places like Newbury Comics and Discovery over and over I finally couldn't resist getting them all (this was more years ago than I'd care to think about.) I also saw more of myself in that strip on record collecting than I'd care to admit. Glad I'm not the only one.

[Late]

I wish Yazoo had a Peg Leg Howell release. In the meantime, where's the best place to look for his collected recordings?

[Late]

This one came out in 2005. I just picked it up yesterday, and all I have to say is .

Rather than being just another Patton compilation, Richard Nevins went back to his (and others') 78s, and created new remasters for all of the tracks — some, significantly, with pitch correction. (And, there's even one unissued tune — an alternate of "Elder Green Blues.")

This is the best sounding Patton disc I've heard. Highly recommended for Delta Blues enthusiasts.

[J.A.W.]

This one came out in 2005. I just picked it up yesterday, and all I have to say is .

Rather than being just another Patton compilation, Richard Nevins went back to his (and others') 78s, and created new remasters for all of the tracks — some, significantly, with pitch correction. (And, there's even one unissued tune — an alternate of "Elder Green Blues.")

This is the best sounding Patton disc I've heard. Highly recommended for Delta Blues enthusiasts.

Don't forget this one:

The Best of Charley Patton - Yazoo 2069

[Christiern]

Without Nick Perls, there would not have been a Yazoo label. He really loved this music and he had an odd fondness for surface noise, too.

Here he is (far left) at a 1976 party thrown by Larry Adler's daughter for Elton John.

Edited October 28, 2006 by Christiern

[Alexander]

I got "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" when it came out, and I love it. It ranks up there with the Harry Smith "Anthology," the "Goodbye Babylon" box set from Dust-to-Digital, and the Bussard "Down in the Basement" collection. I'm a big fan of old-time blues and country myself, and this set is full of gems. I'm a little miffed about the lack of discographical data, however. The Crumb art (and the strip included in the booklet) is wonderful. I love Crumb's work (I recently reread a wonderful collection of his collaborations with Harvey Pekar). I reviewed the Yazoo set, along with the Bussard collection, for All About Jazz a few months back. Here's a link. The title was not my idea.

Edited October 28, 2006 by Alexander

[chris]

I was just listening to the Best of Blind Blake and the Best of Blind Lemon Jefferson, both of which are outstanding

[paul secor]

Without Nick Perls, there would not have been a Yazoo label. He really loved this music and he had an odd fondness for surface noise, too.

Here he is (far left) at a 1976 party thrown by Larry Adler's daughter for Elton John.

As far as I know, Nick Perls' Yazoo label was the first label to put out very good sounding pre-war blues LPs. Before Nick, listening to that music was somewhat dire - at least as far as the sound went. Nick Perls kept a lot of the surface noise (he was dealing with 78s as source material), but the music was always in the forefront. Blues fans owe him a great deal.

[Late]

I haven't run into a single clinker on Yazoo, and I would recommend nearly every title I have under the label. While some discs I like more than others (I'm not big on hokum, for example — Bo Carter, etc.), they all have some historical significance. Besides the most obvious candidates (Patton, Jefferson, Rainey, Blake), I'd give a to these artists' compilations on Yazoo:

1. Barbecue Bob (one of my favorites)

2. Blind Willie Johnson (haunting and beautiful)

3. Frank Stokes

3. Furry Lewis

4. Robert Wilkins

5. Blind Boy Fuller

6. Big Bill Broonzy

The list goes on!

Oh yeah — don't forget the Dave Tarras on Yazoo if you're a Klezmer fan. GREAT klez comp.

[Late]

Picked up the Los Jardineros comp on Yazoo yesterday. Wow — much better than I expected! Los Jardineros were a Puerto Rican "string ensemble" (often with clarinet), and these recordings come from 1929-1932. If you're thinking mariachi or some such, you're in for a surprise. Surprising, in fact, might be the best word for this set. Great sound, too, for such old music — which is practically the norm with Yazoo.

[jostber]

These gospel collections are great too!

The half ain't never been told:

http://www.yazoorecords.com/2049.htm

http://www.yazoorecords.com/2050.htm

How can I keep from singing:

http://www.yazoorecords.com/2020.htm

http://www.yazoorecords.com/2021.htm

Gives those Sundays a special groove.

- Jostein