Skip James – Today!
Mississippi-born Skip James (1902-1969) unlike many of his contemporaries didn’t possess a harsh aggressive bluesy voice. Instead, his country blues had a haunting falsetto/tenor that emitted not a sweet vocal but a possessed one. With curious acoustic guitar tuning James could conjure absorbing moods through his music. Instead of being angry or down in the heart, he sings with a diverse angst-ridden pleading that’s authoritative. He doesn’t sing from a weak perspective despite his tone.
He sounds like a man who characterizes his vocals through juvenile competency. He sounds young. Articulates with a desperate but not intuitively scared. This is quite a different approach to the blues than say John Lee Hooker or Muddy Waters. Skip may even be closer to Robert Johnson than they are.
His voice has a demanding “listen to me” character. Many songs are finger-picked in a minor key. His importance in the blues genre is undeniable. The reissue of this 1966 Vanguard Recording Today! (Reissue drops June 7/Bluesville Records/Craft Recordings/Concord) includes 12 seminal tracks including “I’m So Glad,” which had been picked up in 1966 by Eric Clapton & Cream.
Not everything Skip recorded was exciting. He depended more on delicacy (as guitarist John Fahey often did) & projecting the atmospherics of the tune. No shouting was necessary since James filled many of his tales with a dignified distilled rootsy blues narrative. “Drunken Spree,” has a blues presence & not as repetitive as many typical blues lyrics are. With “Cherryball,” Skip sounds like he’s singing personally in a whisper to himself late at night & not wanting to disturb the rest of the house.
The LP Today! is Skip James revisiting his 1931 singles in a spare set having been rediscovered in the ‘60s after working in obscurity at various jobs. On the tunes “How Long” & “All Night Long,” Skip moves to the piano for an entirely different feel. More of an entertainer.
The songs are not scorchers with electrifying lead guitar solos or fiery runs. The songs are the seeds of what would be adopted by a generation of young musicians. Every flower starts from a seed. Every explosion begins with a fuse.
What I always wondered about. What were these songwriters thinking when they worked these melodies & lyrics out in their heads. In kitchens late at night with a mason jar of hooch or in a barn during a thunderstorm, in a basement beside a noisy furnace. I guess I’ll never know. But the music is here all these years later, still mystifying & each has its absorbing moment. RIP Skip.
Highlights – “Hard Times Killing Floor Blues,” “Crow Jane,” “Special Rider Blues,” “Drunken Spree,” “Cherryball,” “How Long,” “All Night Long,” “I’m So Glad.”
Musicians – Skip James (vocals/guitar/piano) & Russ Savakus (bass on “How Long”).
B&W image courtesy original publication David Gahr from Newport Folk Festival 1964 – original unknown. CD @ Amazon & https://craftrecordings.com/products/today-180-gram-lp-bluesville