Skip James – Devil Got My Woman
This is one of Mississippi-born Delta-blues musician Nehemiah James (Skip) albums recorded in 1968. It’s his 4th studio LP & sadly his final showcase. Skip was a unique country-blues artist who didn’t see much success in his early years. Cutting sides with Paramount Records as early as 1931, Mr. James had a haunting voice & played a minor-tuned acoustic.
Skip (guitar/vocals/piano) was a self-taught guitarist who see-sawed between a strong folkier vocal & often fell back effectively into a possessed falsetto (“Devil Got My Woman”). “Worried Blue,” with its acoustic guitar picking, slow, well-tempered voice, features a little of both vocalizations. The narrative is performed with sincerity if not with a little heat. But the song never percolates; it’s not supposed to.
There are 12 textured blues on the remastered Devil Got My Woman (Drops August 21/Vanguard/Craft Recordings) recorded in NYC in March 1967. It wasn’t recorded in the Delta, the city of big shoulders, Chicago, or a Mississippi backwoods studio, but it’s considered one of the best blues albums made. By an artist at the end of his career, sounding remarkably expressive, sincere & strong. Skip’s voice never fails him & neither does his pristine playing.
Skip’s style was easily embraced by young rock fans who were adopting the blues at this time. Many obscure or forgotten bluesmen were coming out of retirement because their real audience finally found them. Skip was one. His stories had grit (“20-20 Blues” co-written with Robert Johnson). There were expressive words & lots of emotional measure. The blues have to communicate, be imaginative; the voice has to interpret it with authenticity, & Skip James was all that.
Skip adds piano to “Mistreating Child Blues” & “Careless Love” – both are captivating as his guitar. In the first, his piano plays with an earthy saloon tone while his voice is downtrodden & sadder. A nice contrast. The scope changes with the dour “Sickbed Blues” as Skip sings with angst, pain & desperation with a song that’s in falsetto & more bluesy than most modern-day guitar pyrotechnical excursions. It’s Skip’s voice that has the fire as he recounts that he isn’t going to get better anymore. Too weak to rise. A thousand people were at my bedside. Maybe he’s acknowledging that finally he’s getting the recognition he always wanted, but too late.
I’ve argued that true blues isn’t entertainment. That’s why it’s called the blues. Skip James is an example of this. Play upbeat, but the story must be cloistered in a sound that tells a strong, damaged story. Teach something. Give it a bite. This album teaches. 59 years down the road.
Remastered from the Mastering Lab & pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
Highlights – “Good Road Camp Blues,” “Devil Got My Woman,” “Worried Blues,” “20-20 Blues,” “Mistreating Child Blues,” “Sickbed Blues,” & “Careless Love.”
CD @ Bandcamp & Discogs + https://skipjames.bandcamp.com/album/devil-got-my-woman-remastered-2026