Rating: 5/10

Track Amount: 11

Running Time: 56 minutes

Genre: Acoustic Blues

Personnel: Son House

Producer: N/A

Recording Location: Various

Record Label: Sony Music

Art Direction: Lawrence Cohn

Best Tracks: Death Letter Blues

Quick Verdict: A good but too lengthy representation of Acoustic Blues music

The Blues is an underrated, underestimated and often misunderstood genre of music. Son House had one of the most interesting lives that can be read about, and coincidentally, he was a legendary Blues musician. After dealing with various bouts of alcoholism, Edward James House Jr., aka Son House, became both a Blues performer and a Church preacher during his lifetime in the South of the USA. He moved many times and was married a total of five times, which, no doubt, is something worth talking about. Nonetheless, in terms of the development of early Blues Music, Son House, as he is known, is considered a legend in the development of Blues Music and has some memorials and deep respect by Blues musicians to this day for his development of that genre of music. This is a retrospective compilation of some of the music he created during his lifetime. Let’s take a listen to the music of Son House, and we shall see where it takes us.

1. Death Letter Blues begins with some downtuned guitar with some slide applied. It launches into a smooth and melodic tune that sounds very interesting. Son House’s voice is very gravelly and different throughout, as he details this story musically. It is simply enjoyable music that has a great sound to it. Sure, he is neither the most tuneful nor clearly distinguishable singer out there, but Son House delivers simply enjoyable Blues Music that far exceeds his lifetime of influence. A different listen overall that sounds melodically powerful and musically inspired throughout. Reasonably catchy as well, for what this is. The music at hand is inspired by his time as a Christian preacher, and the music is enlightening and different. A good song and music style at hand. This music is pleasant enough and historically important enough to warrant listening. A good song, although it is difficult to decipher Son House’s voice a lot of the time without the attached lyrics. Not bad, however.

2. Pearline begins with some excellent slide guitar work at hand, and quickly launches into a more melodic tune than before. This is a neat piece of music that those of you who love slide guitar Blues Music will dig. The singing and musicianship are good and suspenseful, even for just a simple song at hand. The hummed harmonies and singing certainly sound different in a musical sense. This points back to the tradition of acoustic-based guitar music and what was such a key development in guitar-based music for a long time. Son House has some neat chops on him as well, just delivering a superb and visionary set of acoustic guitar playing and occasional singing on this song. The music is certainly quirky and different. Unlike Robert Johnson or the likes of other Blues legends, this song is much more about the slide guitar work than anything else, really. Some nice, neat harmony-based singing is present, which brightens up things. A good pastiche, although not exactly a lyric-based song in itself. Very different.

3. Louise McGhee is a brighter sounding acoustic tune, with some neat and interesting guitar work. This is a more audibly clear song sung about a lady that Son House has in mind. It is a six-minute-long piece about a lovely lady in mind that Son House sings neatly about whom he has a fanciful desire for. This is good Blues Music with slide guitar galore that tells an African-American story of love and desire throughout. This music is very much an acquired taste, especially for the Blues. A good approach to the traditional music of the Blues, although some will definitely need the lyric sheet to decipher the rather gravelly singing at hand. In any case, this requires one to be in a specific and appreciative mood to listen to as well. The Blues is not something that everyone today will want to hear, but the more intelligent music fans out there who listen to a wide variety of music will dig this. A fine and good song about love from decades ago. The guitar playing is surprisingly different, and there is a mention of the Blues at hand, which was the life of Son House himself. A great listen overall that more should seriously hear, warts and all. A good and extended tune. A good way to spend six minutes of your life listening to the Blues. Magical in its own way.

4. John The Revelator is, of course, heavily about the Bible and the nature of John the Apostle, who wrote the book of John. This is a simple piece of music with singing and handclaps alone. It is a deep and interesting story without guitar playing, and this is closely linked with Son House’s religious beliefs and thoughts on Christianity. This is a bit of an oddity musically, with just singing and no backing music involved. A good listen, but not many people outside of Christian beliefs will value this song. A good and interesting lyrical listen regardless. If you are not religious, then this short piece will not appeal to you at all.

5. Empire State Express is back to the acoustic guitar playing, with descending melodies and launches into a much clearer recording about taking the train at hand. This is about the legendary landmark in New York, the Empire State Building. This is a simple and enjoyable enough song that is a descriptive tale of exploring and journey through the experiences that one has in life. A very interesting listen for this album, and it has some descriptive lyrics about travel and the pursuits that one can experience while travelling. It is an interesting listen at hand, with some good lyrics about having a train with one’s lady on board, and being cautious on the matter. Nonetheless, interesting and deep music to hear. A fine and good song for what this all is. A good and adventurous lyrical Blues song with some neat guitar playing.

6. Preachin’ Blues begins with some nice slide acoustic guitar, and launches into another Christian religious piece of music at hand. This sounds extremely pretty and melodic at hand, and it deals with the story of Son House’s life at hand as a Christian preacher at his church. Be wary that this music is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, as it is about the life of Son House in the Church. Even so, this tune is an interesting and deep musical listen that has some power to it musically. A good listen, even from a non-religious perspective about it all. This is a good song, but obviously, those who do not believe in Jesus will want to skip ahead. An interesting and adventurous tune musically, that has some clearer singing and music at hand. Nonetheless, this Acoustic Blues Music does have its joyous rewards. A deep and lovely tune, although this is directly for a Christian-based listening audience at hand. A different and Jesus-inspired tune for those who value African-American old school Blues Music. This is a refreshingly different listen from most music out there today. Son House’s voice gets gritty towards the end, with some repeated acoustic guitar playing. Not bad. Very different overall.

7. Grinnin’ In Your Face is a shorter piece of solo singing and handclapping. This is another song about the troubles and suffering that people will have in their lifetime. This sounds gorgeously melodic and has some different singing at hand, which is about the social isolation and difficulties of making true friends on this planet. A good and simple song with some reasonable singing and handclaps. This is not going to be for everyone out there, but it does have its merits overall. A good and simple piece of music with sweet singing at hand.

8. Sundown is another long piece with some odd slide guitar playing at the start of it all. The music and sounds are definitely different overall. This music maintains its simple and melodic appeal throughout, but it is still very much an acquired taste. Son House sings nicely on this song, in a typically Blues Music styled way. This is super simple music that has its appeal for some, but isn’t the most popular and, in many ways, consistent Blues Music out there. This music is melodic and different from the Blues, but its simplicity will not be for everyone out there. Even so, it is not terrible, but its appeal will not be for everyone. This is a good listen for what it is, however. A good melodic and simple listen at hand. The music present is particularly good for young Christians who want to listen to something different, and it sounds deep and moving in a Blues based way. This goes on for a bit longer than it should really. Regardless, one can appreciate the effort and music at hand that is here. This sounds weird with its acoustic guitar slide playing. For all its simplicity, this is very good to hear. It does go on for a while, over six minutes in fact, so be patient with this tune. A warped-sounding listen that could be shorter. It ends with some interesting slide guitar playing.

9. Levee Camp Moan is a nine-minute-long piece with slide guitar and harmonica throughout. It definitely sounds different as a result, and it’s nice to hear some additional instrumentation on this song. This tune is different and classy in its own way. This tune is a typical old school Acoustic Blues tune that is simple and melodic in its own way. A very good listen about women and troubles at hand. Lyrics about a lady on pay day standing around and crying about love-based issues, this is a storytelling sort of tune at hand. A good tune about the troubles that lovemaking can give one. An adventurous and spirited tune that has melodicism and beauty about it, this is a unique song that has some wonderful character about it. This music is tremendously wonderful and interesting lyrically, painting the picture of a broken rural life about it all. Son House articulates the Blues very, very well overall. This extended jam is an interesting one lyrically, although musically it is very much the same as before. A steady and sturdy tune that has some good guitar chops and simple performances about it all. The music is simple and enjoyable enough to be loved if you have a taste for Acoustic Blues Music. This is simple and enjoyable music overall that has some unique music properties throughout it all. A good tune at hand, this music is very solidly impressive for its simplicity. The sounds and playing are very solidly good to hear. This is very lengthy, however, which is a disappointment for most music fans. A bit of a drag towards the end of it all, this sounds particularly needlessly long. All in all, a good song that needs to be shorter overall. Lively and lovely music, however, for what it is.

10. Pony Blues begins with some weird slide guitar and launches into a good and mellow piece of music, if you are still with us. In any case, this is a very weird listen that is simply warped Blues vocals over odd slide guitar at hand. A good tune, even though this is five minutes of warped Blues singing and unusual slide guitar at hand. One gets the feeling that this could have been shortened as such. This does sound really warped as such, however, and is a sweet and nicely delivered tune at hand. This music does have an appeal, but unfortunately, it is relatively dumbed down overall to listen to. The music is sweet and different overall in its appeal, although that appeal is fairly limited. Sure, Blues musicians and the like will dig this album, but for the average listener, this will be very unsatisfying for many. It does have its own tunefulness, but even so, this is fairly tasteless listening at this point in time. It is a good song, but really, it should have been much shorter overall. Not the greatest slide guitar playing is present, either. Even so, this warped Blues has a good appeal, if not fairly minor in its overall appeal. It ends with some okay singing and warped acoustic guitar playing at hand.

11. Downhearted Blues is the final song on this album and sounds brighter and more upbeat overall. It has some neat slide guitar playing and sounds that are sweet overall. This does go on for six minutes and again, is a bit more bitten off than it can chew in terms of time overall. This is a better song than before, despite the fact that it goes on for ages. Nonetheless, this does sound sweet and awesome overall for what it is. This is the sort of music aspiring guitarists need to hear and play around the campfire acoustically, and singing along with some friends. This is like drinking a pint of strong but bitter beer; it does work despite its taste. The music and playing are better than before, even though the album is nearly done by this point. A good set of lyrics about love lost overall, but it has its own musical appeal throughout. Again, this is fairly long and likely too long for its own good. This goes on nicely in the second half with a piece of lyricism about how love is just a word as such, and not something to be trusted in its own right. A good and sturdy piece of eclectic and interesting lyrics set to a tune that is too long to be enjoyed overall to the nth degree. This is a better tune, having said that. A very sweet and solidly good listen, for all its length-based flaws. It finishes the album with some Blues slaying and acoustic guitar playing that thankfully ends well.

This is barely okay as music to listen to. It is not particularly well-structured, nor is the music particularly interesting to listen to. The talent is barely there by Son House, and the songs are long, repetitive and unstructured to listen to. Sadly, this does not go down as well as it should, given this musical context. To put into comparison, Robert Johnson was much better overall musically and didn’t have long five-minute-plus running times for his own Acoustic Blues Music, which was similar in style. Therefore, this album falls flat. Should you listen to this album? Unless you are a hardcore fan of any form of Blues Music, the answer is a clear no.

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