Various Artists – The Rough Guide To Railroad Blues
Various Artists – The Rough Guide To Railroad Blues
Format: CD
Label: World Music Network/Rough Guides
Release: 2023
Release date: January 27, 2023
Since the very birth of the blues, the train has been a source of great inspiration for musicians. From the steam engine imitation tunes of pioneering harmonica players to wonderful variations on classic folk songs, this collection highlights how the railroad helped shape the blues.
In the early days of recorded blues, references to trains are frequent, reflecting the performers affinity with the railroad as a way of roaming around the South – a method of travel favoured by just about every itinerant musician. One of the most timeless, as well as poignant, examples is ‘Midnight Special’, most famously recorded by Leadbelly in 1934. Running past Sugar Land Prison, where Leadbelly had served time, the light of the Midnight Special represents the light of salvation, the train which could take the inmates away from the prison walls. Bukka White was another pioneering bluesman who spent time behind bars, and whose opener ‘Special Stream Line’ is a tour de force in bottleneck slide playing, which sees him introduce each train motif played on his guitar with verbal cues.
When it comes to imitating the sound of a train, the harmonica reigns supreme. Early players such as DeFord Bailey, Noah Lewis and Eddie Mapp recorded seminal unaccompanied train-inspired pieces which mesmerise to this day. Producing driving, rhythmic chords and imitating the hissing steam and train whistles, they were able to create the feeling of crossing the vast expanses of countryside, a musical idea otherwise difficult to convey through a formalized song structure.
From a life on the railways came a whole tradition of railroad songs; arguably the most famous was ‘John Henry’, the story of a steel driver who became a folk hero to his people. There are many versions of the song, which essentially tells the story of a man who hammered himself to death attempting to beat a mechanised steel drill. Mississippi John Hurt’s ‘Spike Driver Blues’ differs however, in that the sombre lyrics and melody don’t dramatically glorify John Henry but explain the narrator’s decision to walk out on a deadly job and not die in vain. Likewise, Furry Lewis’ ‘Kassie Jones’ is another wonderful take on a traditional American folk song about a railroad engineer’s death at the controls of a locomotive.
Cow Cow Davenport was a pioneering blues pianist who acquired his nickname from his ground-breaking boogie woogie piece in which his piano imitated a train. This featured version of ‘Cow Cow Blues’ was recorded in 1925 and features the powerful singing of Dora Carr. Similarly, the heartfelt vocals of legendary divas Memphis Minnie and Lucille Bogan give expression to railroad-inspired lyrics about the parting of ways when love goes wrong in their respective ‘Chickasaw Train Blues’ and ‘I Hate That Train Called The M & O’. Blues culture from the start has been energized by possessive romantic passion and the concept of the railway has always provided a great source of lyrical potential for separation and loss.
Website: https://worldmusic.net/blogs/guide-to-world-music
Tracks:
01. Bukka White – Special Stream Line
02. Henry Thomas – Railroadin’ Some
03. Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell – How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone
04. Eddie Mapp – Riding The Blinds
05. Leadbelly – Midnight Special
06. Lucille Bogan – I Hate That Train Called The M & O
07. Charlie McCoy – That Lonesome Train Took My Baby Away
08. Mississippi John Hurt – Spike Driver Blues
09. Memphis Jug Band – K.C. Moan
10. Freeman Stowers – Railroad Blues
11. Furry Lewis – Kassie Jones Part 1
12. Furry Lewis – Kassie Jones Part 2
13. Tampa Red – Through Train Blues
14. Blind Willie McTell – B & O Blues No. 2
15. DeFord Bailey – Dixie Flyer Blues
16. Robert Wilkins – Long Train Blues
17. Dora Carr with Cow Cow Davenport – Cow Cow Blues
18. Sam McGee – Railroad Blues
19. Memphis Minnie – Chickasaw Train Blues
20. Texas Alexander – ‘Frisco Train Blues
21. Noah Lewis – Chickasaw Special
22. Big Bill Broonzy – Too Too Train Blues
23. Ed Bell – Mean Conductor Blues
24. Blind Lemon Jefferson – Sunshine Special
25. Cliifford Gibson – Railroad Man Blues
26. Will Bennett – Railroad Bill