Editorial Reviews

Though Detroit may never have had the instant blues recognition of a city like Chicago, it too experienced, housed, and influenced its fair share of important musicians, not the least of whom was Robert Johnson associate Calvin Frazier and, of course, John Lee Hooker. But Detroit Blues: Blues from the Motor City 1938-1954 does its best to show that the scene consisted of more than these two stars. Though the first two discs (of four!) are dedicated to Frazier and Sampson Pittman and then Hooker, respectively, the second two, and especially the last, explore the work of musicians like the prolific Baby Boy Warren, who never found much recognition beyond Hastings Street, Playboy Fuller (aka Louisiana Red), Big Maceo Merriweather, Sam Kelly, Eddie Burns, and even Joe Van Battle, a local entrepreneur and label owner, and a man who recorded a lot of the artists included here (because of the relative dearth of major studios, Detroit bluesmen weren't given as much exposure as their Windy City counterparts). The discs are not ordered chronologically, which can be a bit of an annoyance, but the detailed liner notes, which fully explain the simple, gritty, urban-industrial blues brought up from Southern workers to the factories of the North, more than make up for this. Moving from Alan Lomax field recordings and professional studio work, Detroit Blues: Blues from the Motor City 1938-1954 is a great explanation of what was happening in the city during that time period, as blues began to migrate north and become influenced by its new surroundings, as well as a great jumping-off point for an exploration of the artists who made up the lifeblood of Detroit blues. Marisa Brown, All Music Guide

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