Various artists - The George Mitchell Collection Volumes 1-45

Easy-to-find reissue of rare country-blues vinyl collection

Originally issued last winter as a voluminous limited edition vinyl set, a big chunk of the material collected by country blues-zealot George Mitchell now is available as a 6-CD package (with a fat, fact-packed booklet), along with an added seventh bonus disc.

Catching the blues bug early and inspired by Sam Charter’s groundbreaking The Country Blues book, a teenage Mitchell spent his Christmas school break in Memphis in 1961 and, beginning with Memphis Jug Band leader Will Shade, began a 20-year odyssey recording and photographing a treasure trove of one-time stars, local legends and retired heroes of the strictly acoustic and vividly elemental idiom. It’s a hypnotic and constantly spellbinding music, especially in the hands of such exemplars of the genre as Buddy Moss, Big Joe Williams, Sleepy John Estes, Fred McDowell and Furry Lewis, to cite only a few of the more well known musicians represented here. Some of Mitchell’s discoveries, such as Jessie Mae Hemphill, RL Burnside and Othar Turner, even went on to have successful careers. It goes without saying that it’s priceless to have these great-sounding recordings in circulation rather than gathering dust in some curator’s catalogue. The music is that extraordinary.

Fat Possum | FP 11142 (7-CD)

Reviewed by Gary von Tersch
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