Review:

on 2011-11-16 CharlesMartel Said:

Forget the rather insipid film of the same name, "Black Snake Moan" was one of Blind Lemon Jefferson's early blues songs and is much more impressive and important than any film. Jefferson turned to singing because his condition rendered him unsuitable for farm work and in the deep south of the earliest part of the twentieth century, under the rack of the Jim Crow laws, that was pretty much all a black man could do.

His unique guitar style, which eschewed formal structure in many ways, has proved difficult for successors to either copy or emulate as a consequence. This perhaps contributed to Jefferson's fame and his popularity was such that he became rich (reputedly owning two cars and having as chauffeur to drive them) long before pop stars were invented. This rather crude recording is nevertheless one of the better quality recordings made from the twenties around and demonstrates what made Jefferson such a towering figure among his generation of bluesmen. Along with others like Robert Johnson, Son House and Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson deserves to be on everyone's playlist.
Rating: 8/10