Son House & Bukka White - Masters of the Country Blues (2000)

hand of god

just watching the right hand of son house moving up and down chilled me to the bone. that's the only reason i want to own this dvd. to cheer me up when i'm blue. October 7, 2008

The Masters At Work and Play

I have reviewed the music of country blues legend Son House elsewhere in this space and expected to review this documentary solely on the basis of a comment there. I mentioned there that in 1963 Son House, Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt performed at the Newport Folk Festival, a historic Delta blues occasion. One of the vivid cinematic scenes from that event was Son House flailing his National steel guitar, trancelike, on the classic Dead Letter Blues. I assumed that I was going to see that performance here. That is not the case. However, with solid introductions to both performers by blues legend Taj Mahal we are treated to a little different look at Son House and a new look at Bukka White.

The Son House segments here concentrate on the lifelong tension between a career in preaching, Baptist style of course, and `doin' the devil's work' of singing the blues (and along the way doing a little whiskey drinking, womanizing and hell-raising). House is interviewed here trying to lay out his philosophy, his theology and his acknowledgement that the whiskey and women mainly got the best of him. The actual musical presentation is rather short and religiously oriented- Dead Letter Blues, John The Revelator and the like. If you want Son House at his most musical you will have to look elsewhere, mainly to his CD's. If you want to know the man behind the music a little this is for you.

Enough of Son House here though. The real story of this documentary is that the lesser known (at least to me and others that I know who follow the blues) Bukka White steals the show in his segments. Not only is he a better and more versatile guitar player than Son House but he jumps with his musical compositions here. Just listen to Aberdeen Mississippi Blues or Gibson Hill. Wow. Let us leave it, for now, that if you want to get introduced to Brother White then this is a very good way to start. I might add that in a segment of The Howlin' Wolf Story that I am also currently in the process of reviewing that White also steals the show with his guitar playing from the legendary Wolf. That said, the reader can expect that Brother White will shortly be getting an individual entry in this space. Yes, indeed, he will.

September 21, 2008

Son House, 1 of a few seminal seeds planted

Bukka White needs a whole review on his own great merit.. SON HOUSE, only the great Charlie Patton should be mentioned in the same sentence regarding known recorded music. His performance on this DVD is other worldly. This is not jive, take note of the atmosphere that will take over the room your playing this DVD, there is no question he is in full controll of his guitar which seems only a conduit to Son House's controlled thrashings. Take note steel body guitar players.. if your new to steel body type O, start with this DVD, you will see what may sound like "how'd he do that?" is actually in many cases just how it happened that time. Son was always torn between being a preacher and a bluesman, the poor soul felt terrible guilt believing he had chosen the devils music over the preachings of GODS words. Between tunes, i swear i feel as if i smoked a bone, he starts talking about GOD and the blues., at one point he places down his well worn guitar with the softness one would handle a baby and sings with no guitar "JOHN THE REVALATOR" The most modern blues i hear/perform is Elmore James.. if you are a flat pickin blues performer that does modern blues, go back to the well, watch and listen to this man recorded by John Lomax for the Library of Congress, the man that taught MUDDY WATERS his craft, the man who Robert Johnson spent hours watching, it is truely ashame that Charlie Patton abused his body and died at and early age, had he been filmed, the comlpete well of recorded music would be seen/heard.. and Bukka White... This is a 10 star DVD, may take you aback at first but thats just your emotions reacting to the heart wrenching blues when people of color vented there emotions through song. February 24, 2008

Original Blues History

They don't make this music anymore... Gutwrenching blues. Son House's throaty vocals and Bukka White's guitar are great examples of this uniquely American musical genre. House's original "John the Revelator" is the star of his set, and is later reintroduced to popular audiences in Blues Brothers 2000. None of Bukka White's songs stand out on their own - it's a virtuoso continuation from one to the next.

This is a great viewing and listening for any Blues afficianado. (& Perhaps a lesson for students of Country and Rock 'n Roll too) January 13, 2008

It is what it says it is!

Ok, I bought this specifically to see Son House. He plays a couple songs, sings and claps a couple of songs and talks some about odd things. I love Son House.
The rest is Bukka White. I'm not particularly a fan of Bukka White, his music is too busy, has no rests at all between notes. BUT it's exactly what it is advertised as, and Bukka White fans will love it even more than I. July 23, 2007

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