Skip

skip

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The cult classic 1972 solo album from Clyde "Skip" Battin, who went from scoring hits as early as 1959 as part of the duo Skip & Flip to being a member of the Byrds, New Riders of the Purple Sage and the Flying Burrito Brothers! He also became a chief collaborator with Kim Fowley (who contributes copious quotes to the notes we've included here), so he definitely ranks as one of the key, behind-the-scenes contributors to the whole L.A. country-rock scene. Speaking of Fowley, his fingerprints are all over this album as a lyricist and quasi-producer, and Byrds Roger McGuinn and Clarence White play on it, too. But Battin's love of old-time rock ‘n' roll and Tom Lehrer-esque satire are what make this record really unusual; throw some Byrds-like country-rock into the recipe and you've got one strange, intoxicating concoction. Includes Undercover Man; Ballad of Dick Clark; Captain Video; Central Park; Four Legs Are Better Than Two; Valentino; Human Being Blues; St. Louis Browns; My Secret Life, and Cobras. A Collectors' Choice Music exclusive!

Skip,Skip Battin,Collector's Choice,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Skip

Average customer rating:

brilliant
Great bluegrass
More stars plz, kthnx.
Buy this CD - you won't be disappointed!
Here on Earth

Skip, Hop & Wobble
Jerry Douglas , Russ Barenberg , and Edgar Meyer
Manufacturer: Sugarhill [Country]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Bluegrass | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Telluride Sessions
Slide Rule
Uncommon Ritual
The Best Kept Secret
Short Trip Home

ASIN: B000000F33
Release Date: 1993-10-26

Tracks:

Big Bug Shuffle
Why Don't You Go Back To The Woods
The Hymn Of Ordinary Motion
From Ankara To Izmir
The Travels Of Mr. Hulot
Big Sciota
Squeezy Pig
Monkey Bay
The Years Between
The Earl Of Hyndford/Open The Present
Here On Earth

Customer Reviews:

brilliant.......2007-04-04

This is a fantastic album. Anyone who enjoyed the Telluride Sessions will love it. It is amazing the variety of feelings these three musicians can create, with rhythm that will have you tapping your feet for days (and no drumkit in sight).

Great bluegrass.......2007-01-11

I just can not stop listening to this cd. I wish these guys made more than just this effort. It is superb musicianship

More stars plz, kthnx........2006-06-20

Plenty of strong reviews, and the disk is worthy of all praise, and more than five stars. My reasoning for this recapitulates another reveiwer's experience:

Was bombing across the Palouse (flatlands of eastern Oregon) recently, heading for the coast, and put this CD in...listened to The Hymn of Ordinary Motion, From Ankara to Izmir, The Travels of Mr. Hulot...and realized that hours into this trip, I wanted nothing more in the world than to be right there, in that moment...hearing these guys play, with my wife and daughter peacefully asleep as we crept across that vastness. I literally had tears of joy.

We are, most of us, most of the time, far removed from any deep appreciation of the moments in which we live. Any music that can bring you closer to that appreciation is to be treasured, and is beyond criticism. (Well, for me anyway.) I've bought three of these CDs (AFTER I downloaded most of the tracks) and I still feel I owe these guys.

Your results may vary, but aside from any potential cosmic results, the virtuosity of the playing and the creativity and humor and raw beauty found variously in these tracks make it one of the best CDs I've ever heard.

Buy this CD - you won't be disappointed!.......2004-05-30

If you've been reading these reviews and still haven't decided to get this CD, just go now to checkout and be done with it! I bought this just recently - I'm sorry I wasted about 10 yrs not having this in my collection. Oh yeah - buy an extra one for a backup in case it gets misplaced (or more likely, borrowed to never return) - it's that good!

Here on Earth.......2003-08-09

Here on Earth is the title of Track 11. I think I'm right in saying it's the loveliest piece of music I've ever heard in my 45 years on this particular planet. Maybe you can find better elsewhere in the galaxy, but I rather doubt it. I used to wonder why a melody so powerful, so magical, was also so fleeting, passing by in a moment and leaving you clawing the walls for more. Then one day I thought about the title again, and realized its woeful shortness is completely appropriate. The excellent sleeve notes say of track 11: "The intention in the title is matter of fact - simply that making music like this is one of the things we do in our life here on earth. It springs from a feeling of acceptance infused with awe and wonder."

Not many evenings go by when I don't ask my CD to play at least tracks 1, 3, and 11, and "awe and wonder" sums up my reactions nicely. I have a couple of newgrass discs ('Into the Cauldron' and 'Telluride Sessions') where I feel the musicianship on offer sometimes exceeds the music itself, but the compositions here are all quite wonderful. This is especially true of those written by Russ Barenberg, who is also a guitarist of extraordinary brilliance - six strings of gold and purple, rich and vibrant and majestic. Jerry Douglas is the king of his instrument, while Edgar Meyer plays acoustic bass with his usual gusto, originality, and wit. (And if you're wondering how an instrument that big could ever be described as 'witty', it can only mean you haven't heard Mr Meyer play yet: often he sounds like he's sawing the poor thing up for firewood, not bowing it...)

Their achievement is all the greater because they recorded this dazzling CD while being attacked by a hundred angry bees in the pouring rain. At least, that's what it sounds like. The background hiss varies from irksome to atrocious, and sabotages what ought to be a peerless masterpiece where even the album photos are a source of pleasure. With the world so full of burgers crying out for flipping, it's tragic that the sound engineer's undoubted talents are all going to waste in a recording studio. By calamitous misfortune, 'Here On Earth' is the worst affected track of all - another thousand bees join the party, and the rain turns into a torrential hailstorm. The bee-free version is probably playing on Radio Heaven right this moment.

But such is life, and if you have a lousy hi-fi, or play this in your car, you probably won't notice. Either buy it or have yourself locked up, but forget about any kind of third option. My reason for writing this review is simply to thank every one of the musicians for this astonishing gift to me and everyone else who, due to them, now skips and hops and wobbles.

The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James
Average customer rating:

How could I rate this other that a 5?

awesome!

"I'd rather be dead and six feet in the ground..."

leaves you wanting more....

What can i say....wow!

The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James
Skip James
Manufacturer: Yazoo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
General | Blues | Styles | Music
Traditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
Acoustic Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
Piano | Blues | Styles | Music
General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Delta Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Complete Blind Willie Johnson

Avalon Blues : Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings

Complete Recorded Works of Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers

The Best of Blind Lemon Jefferson

The Complete Studio Recordings Mississippi John Hurt

ASIN: B000000G8L
Release Date: 1994-09-15

Tracks:

Devil Got My Woman
Cypress Grove Blues
Little Cow And Calf Is Gonna Die Blues
Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues
Drunken Spree
Cherry Ball Blues
Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader
Illinois Blues
How Long 'Buck'
4 O'Clock Blues
22-20 Blues
Hard Luck Child
If You Haven't Any Hay Get On Down The Road
Be Ready When He Comes
Yola My Blues Away
I'm So Glad
What Am I To Do Blues
Special Rider Blues

Amazon.com

With an unmistakable falsetto delivery, Skip James created some of history's eeriest blues records. His blues sounds dark and mysterious, using odd tunings, structures, and rhythms, and exploring gloomy lyrical themes. Unlike other bluesmen of the day, James's music was personal and bleak, played for his own emotional release and not for purposes of entertainment. "Devil Got My Woman," "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues," "Hard Luck Child," and "Special Rider Blues" convey sorrow and misery like few others can. Uptempo numbers such as the classic "I'm So Glad" and "Drunken Spree," which resembles the hillbilly traditional "Late Last Night," showcase his forceful guitar picking while rags "Little Cow and Calf" and the jumpy "How Long 'Buck'" feature his unique piano work. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

How could I rate this other that a 5?.......2007-03-27

This is an essential addition to any collection. Don't read reviews. Just get a copy. "I'm so glad" that I did.

awesome!.......2006-10-19

skip james is one of those true masters. there is so much to say about him, the way he sang, his funny tunings, the lyrics he wrote. he was an absolute genius. stay away from early recordings if you have a problem with lo-fi sound, but if you do you're cheating yourself. Amazing!!!

"I'd rather be dead and six feet in the ground...".......2006-07-02

Wow!!! This is history on CD!! One of the darkest, eeriest , blues recordings I've ever heard. Pop this in the player and you feel like you're out in a lonely bayou in the dead of night. "Devil Got My Woman Blues", "Cypress Grove Blues" are probably my favs on here. And while it is a shame that the sound quality of the recordings are subpar, after a few listens you don't even seem to notice. It gives it an earthy quality that if absence could probably take away the powerfullness of the songs.

leaves you wanting more...........2005-09-24

Skip James is wonderfully quirky in his interpretation of delta blues. These recordings comprise his entire output before the delta blues revivial in the early 60's, and as such, are priceless as a musical document. Too bad that the recording they obtained have deteriorated so badly. I have heard better versions on other collections. The piano work was cool, though.

What can i say....wow!.......2005-09-09

Yes, when i heard "Devil got my woman" while watching the movie "Ghost world" i was instantly mesmerised with that tune.

i feel very strongly for this album, this album has soul, it has a depth,it has such passion, and it hits me on an emotional level, it goes straight to my heart. very hypnotic, and ALL the tracks are masterpieces, i mean it.

plus, skip james voice is just incredible, can be compared to blind lemon jefferson's voice, but better, in my non-expert opinion.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding
Incredible..Worth 30 stars
Superb singing matched with superb arrangements
Beautiful music
Beautiful Music, Yet There Is No There Here

Blue Wheat
Stephen Foster , John , American Traditional , Spiritual Traditional , and Dale Warland Singers
Manufacturer: American Choral
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Harvest Home
Christmas With the Dale Warland Singers
Cathedral Classics
December Stillness
Christmas Echoes, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000003M4T
Release Date: 1996-06-18

Tracks:

Oh, Shenandoah (Traditional)
He's Goin' Away (Traditional)
Skip To My Lou (Traditional)
Steal Away (Spiritual)
Wayfarin' Stranger (Traditional)
Soldier, Soldier Won't You Marry Me? (Traditional)
Pretty Saro (Traditional)
Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier
Black Is The Color (Traditional)
Red River Valley 9 (Traditional)
Nelly Bly (Stephen Foster)
My Lord, What A Mornin' (Spiritual)
Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair (Stephen Foster)
Hard Times Come Again No More (Stephen Foster)
Single Girl (Traditional)
Deep River (Spiritual)
Buffalo Gals (Cool White [John Hodges])
The Water is Wide (Traditional)
Black Sheep (African-American lullaby)

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding.......2007-06-06

Robert De Cormier's remarkable arrangement and Marie Spar Dymit's and Lynette Johnson's pure vocals of "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" are well worth the price of the entire CD.

Incredible..Worth 30 stars.......2007-05-16

The Dale Warland Singers are my benchmark by which I judge all other choirs. The uniformity of sound, blend, and precise entrances, uniformity are incredible - almost inhuman. Excluding the all male Chanticleer from the roster, this was the finest choir in America. Now that they have broken up, buy all of their CD's you won't be disappointed!

Superb singing matched with superb arrangements.......2004-07-03

A project like this one inevitably highlights the skill of arrangers, and Dale Warland has selected some of the most talented anywhere. Most of these selections will be familiar to listeners, but I doubt most people have heard, for example, "Red River Valley" in Carol Barnett's haunting version here, and ditto for her magnificent "Deep River."

The disc opens with a spectacular, panoramic "Shenandoah" that takes maximum advantage of the Dale Warland Singers' refined sound, and things only get better (if that's possible). Other favorites are a cheery, fizzing "Nelly Bly" and Mark Keller's strong reworking of Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More."

Throughout the recording, the freshness of the arrangements is matched by the irresistible singing. This group is known for its outstanding performances and recordings, but this must be counted as one of their all-time best. The sound quality is terrific, capturing the gorgeous blend and precision of the group in a natural-sounding acoustic. Just stunning.

Beautiful music.......2003-07-03

I bought this CD after hearing a few of the recordings on our local NPR radio station. I was not disappointed in any of the selections. Very beautiful.

Beautiful Music, Yet There Is No There Here.......2003-01-13

The Dale Warland Singers (DWS) are among the relatively few musical professionals, who by their aesthetic standards and demonstrated artistry, have taken the less traveled and narrow road to exemplary artistic excellence.

The sound quality and acoustics are excellently engineered in this 20-bit original recording. The most delicately blend and inflection of the singers' voice can be heard. This sheaf of choral works has once existed in real space and time in the kaleidoscopic folklife of past generations. In recording the "Blue Wheat", the 40-member DWS, the creme de la creme of professional choral ensembles, has elevated the common oral tradition of American folk music into a rarified choral art form a capella "in the style of the chapel."

If the soul of the DWS is a capella singing, then Warland and the arrangers are the wings of the same soul. Among the kapellmeisters whose arrangements have graced this folksong anthology are the late Norman Luboff and Roger Wagner. Also included in this album are contemporary arrangements by other esteemed composers: John Rutter (conductor of The Cambridge Singers), Carol Barnett (the DWS resident composer from 1992 to 2001), and Stephen Paulus.

Gertrude Stein is famous for saying of her childhood home, Oakland, California, "When you get there, there's no there there." Purportedly, Stein opined this city by the San Francisco Bay lacked a defining sense of place. Bel canto notwithstanding, the folk melodies of "Blue Wheat" invoke a longing for something no longer possible. The abyss between the America today and the its past is impossible to bridge. Already, we have yielded to the abstractness of political correctness. Our past is either neglected, actively destroyed, or selectively museumed. We do not live in an understood land and culture. There is no there here in the presence of this music. It is only the poignancy of the moment that these beautifully rendered tunes live in our mind. We have to accept this reality as part and parcel of our rootlessness.

Tracks:

Little Hands
Cripple Creek
Diana
Margaret-Tiger Rug
Weighted Down (The Prison Song)
War In Peace
Broken Heart
All Come To Meet Her
Books Of Moses
Dixie Peach Promenade (Yin For Yang)
Lawrence Of Euphoria
Grey/Afro
This Time He Has Come
It's The Best Thing For You
Keep Everything Under Your Hat
Furry Heroine (Halo Of Gold)
Givin' Up Things
If I'm Good
You Know
Doodle
Fountain
I Think You And I

Amazon.com

The only solo album from this former Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape cult hero is something of a legend. Cut in four days all by himself, it bombed upon its release in 1969. Nevertheless, Spence's legend has led to devotion from such fans as Tom Waits, Robert Plant, Beck, and R.E.M.. Oar features quiet, stark folk; odd turns of phrase; old-timey shuffles; playful swing; and pretty melodies croaked out from Spence's hoarse voice. Generally, the mood is blissed out, with the occasional apocalyptic dread ("Cripple Creek," "Books of Moses") and dissociated narratives ("Margaret-Tiger Rug," "Lawrence of Euphoria") that came naturally to the poor soul who spent time in psychiatric institutions prior to his death at age 52. This Sundazed reissue includes new liner notes, plus 10 additional tracks, including five previously unissued recordings. --Jason Gross

Album Description

Digitally remastered reissue of the now-legendary 1969 solo debut by this member of Moby Grape. Features 10 bonus tracks, all recorded during the last days of the heady and historic album sessions ('This Time He Has Come', 'It's The Best Thing For You', 'Keep Everything Under Your Hat', 'Furry Heroine (Halo Of Gold)', 'Givin' Up Things', 'If I'm Good', 'You Know', 'Doodle', 'Fountain' and 'I Think You And I'). 22 tracks total. 1999 release.

Customer Reviews:

Strange and beautiful........2007-07-09

Alexander "Skip" Spence was one of the great unheralded architcts of the 60s music scene. He was an exceptionally talented drummer, guitarist, and songwriter, whose compositions and performances combined the hippest modern sounds of the day with authentic elements of American roots music to create an earthy, original, and incredibly influential sound. As a founding member of three of the West Coast's most important groups (The Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, and Moby Grape, in that order), Spence was one of the key players in the San Fransisco-based psychedelic scene.

Spence also had his share of personal prolems- perhaps the most serious of these was his schizophrenia. In 1968 (after reportedly attempting to break into one of his fellow Grape members' hotel room with an axe), he was sent to the criminal ward at Bellvue Hospital in New York. When he got out six months later, he had little more than hospital-issue pyjamas and a notebook full of songs. Wanting to be alone with his music, Spence decided not to return to California, and instead rode down to Nashville, where he recorded what he'd written in Bellvue. The recording process was an incredibly solitary affair- Spence sang, played all of the instruments, and produced. The resultng album was Oar. After its release in 1969, Spence rode off on a motorcycle (don't ask me where he got it) and never recorded again.

With that in mind, it really is hard to see Oar as anything other than a glimpse into the mind of a doomed visionary. And really, that's what it is. The songs are stark and uncompromising, written and performed without the slightest concession to commerciality or accessibility. Listening to them, one gets the feeling that Spence was trying to create the most emotionally honest music he possibly could, to create a body of work that captured exactly who he was and how he felt at a given point in time. This doesn't make for an instantly accessable experience- that probably explains why the album sold so badly on initial release- but repeated listenings reveal a set of tense, poetic, and often beautiful songs, the work of a brilliant but deeply disturbed young man who was hanging somewhere on the edge of sanity.

The first thing you should know about the sound of Oar is that it's not really a psychedelic album- the songs are certainly unusual, full of strange rhythms, odd melodies, obscure lyrics, and other experimental flourashes, but these touches aren't the heart of Oar's concept. Instead, Spence takes most of his cues from folk, blues, country, gospel, and occasionally jazz, folding these various influences into a unique sound under the auspicies of his off-kilter approach to songwriting. The songs are quiet, performed mostly with accoustic guiars, gentle drums, and softly intoned vocals. They're also incredibly dense, with melodies hiding in the heavy production, with Spence's lyrical insights drifting among disjointed guitar chords and softly beating drums. "Margaret-Tiger Rug" is based on an inside-out vaudville melody and a bit of whispering, ponderous percussion which combines with Spence's eerily dark lyrics to form a genuinly unsettling song. The incredible "Books of Moses" is an apocalyptic accoustic blues, which matches a creeping, gospel-tinged guitar riff with Spence's hoarse, menacing vocal performance. "Broken Heart," "Dixie Peach Promenade," and "Weighted Down (The Prison Song)" are dark, atmospheric country numbers that seem to channel the dark ghost of Hank Williams. "Cripple Creek" is a heavy, halucinatory folk song with surreal, evocative lyrics, and "Little Hands" is a genuinly catchy almost-anthem for outcasts and wayward dreamers. "Diana" is an oddly gorgeous ballad that sees Spence painting pictures with the sheer sound of his voice while a guitar mumbles beneath. "War in Peace" is about as close as this album gets to psychedelia, with its siren song vocals and atmospheric electric guitar. "All Come to Meet Her" is a dreamy song that features some gently rolling rhythms and lilting guitars. "Lawrence From Euphoria" is a mean, oddly funny number that cleans the pallate and sets the stage for the album's incredible closer, the epic "Grey/Afro." Building itself up from a tense, omnious vocal melody to a full-n instrumental showcase, "Grey/Afro" is a stormy, atmospheric classic that shows off Spence's unique powers as a drummer.

This reissue of the album tacks on ten bonus tracks from the Oar sessions and includes some excellent exapanded liner notes (including two essays, Greil Marcus' review, and the record's original sleeve notes) makeing it the definitive edition of this lost classic. If you want to hear some truly original, unusual (or just plain good) music, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Oar. If its songs repel you at first, give it time; it really is a great album.

Eccentric nugget preserved from extinction.......2007-01-11

Alexander "Skip" Spence, according to the liner notes in Oar, recorded the entire album himself in short sessions after checking out of a sanitarium. With a story like that, it's hard not to get interested in what promises to be a weird, inspired outing. You're in luck--although Spence's sometimes unfocused songwriting and his decision to play all of the instruments hold Oar back from being a flawless outing, it's a classic of 60's psychedelia and still holds up well nearly 40 years later.

Within the first three tracks, Spence shows his propensity for different singing voices, with an airy falsetto on the joyful "Little Hands," a Fred Neil-like baritone on the dark country folk of "Cripple Creek," and a wheezy, tired whisper on "Diana." Throughout the album he'll continue using these voices, and it works pretty well. The songs are mysterious, but not really in a scary way. "Margaret-Tiger Rug" marks one of a few lighthearted romps with some pretty clever lines and observations. "Weighted Down" is a dirge-like hippie anthem, and "War In Peace" grooves along with spacey echoes.

When he's not playing idiosyncratic folk and blues ("Books of Moses" is pretty darn bluesy), Spence is stretching out some genre-defying psychedelia, as on the epic closer, "Grey/Afro." It's a perfect soundtrack for chilling out, but Oar also holds up to active listening, with some pretty decent lyrics and playing (though sometimes the bass/drum playing is a bit pedestrian).

The bonus tracks, although there are many of them, are mostly songs that didn't make it on the album for good reason--they're incomplete ideas, played even less well than the album's weaker tracks. It's pretty interesting to have the entire sessions on one disc, though.

If you're a fan of the bands Spence was in before Oar, I'd recommend giving this a try, and I'd also recommend it to fans of weird psych folk in the style of Syd Barret. Have a fun trip . . .

What Is The Sound Of One Oar Flopping?.......2006-12-23

There's a reason Oar flopped when it was released back in 1969: it sucks! Thirty eight years later, with Skip Spence safely in his grave, some now give this pitiful mess *five* stars. Since you can't give more than five stars here, they're saying Oar is on a level with masterpieces like Sergeant Pepper... Dark Side of the Moon... Led Zeppelin 4....! Just between you and me, I think the government is still secretly drugging people.

With all due respect to Skip's venerable memory, Oar is a painful aural experience. The first two tracks, Little Hands and Cripple Creek, are halfway good, and show some production values; but things quickly deteriorate from there. One gets the impression the rest of Oar was cobbled together in the recording studio just prior to taping - then put in the can after only one or two takes. Lastly, the bass playing and drumming are just gawdawful.

Yes, it's too bad that things ended up like they did for Skip. And it's hard not to sympathize with him - he flew high only to crash hard. But let's keep a sense of perspective: His tragedy did not translate into good music. One extra star in his memory.

This Will Never Happen Again in the Pop Music Industry.......2006-11-27

This is a rare album. People who love the album often discover its darkness during their own personal moments of darkness and despair. What makes this album special is that it either saves these people or it aggravates their condition. You can rise up or fall down in Skip's ashes with this thing. Everyone knows about the six months that led up to this oddity, but I would love to know more about the four days (or so) that took place inside the Columbia studios in Nashville. It just shocks me that a major label allowed this to happen. VERY reminiscent, albeit on a much smaller scale, of David Geffen's heavy funding of Gene Clark's lavishly overbudget "No Other". Geffen was hoping Gene would rekindle some of the Byrds magic, whereas someone at Columbia was hoping to cash in on Skippy's San Fran connection? Not sure what the story is with this. I know this album was not even two years removed from the Grape's glory days with Columbia, when major labels were crawling that famous intersection in SF looking to sign any band that walked.

More importantly, it happened. It's a story I doubt you will ever see happen again. I am sure the Columbia records brass must have laughed at this, what would be one of their all-time worst-sellers, but it got released. It didn't get canned, it got released. I would love to know the champions over at Columbia who made sure of it. We owe them a debt of gratitude.

"Said my being gone was the best thing for you..." Not for me, Skip...

A soul crying out for love, like all souls do..........2006-11-15

This is undeniably a tragic yet great album. A friend of mine can't play it anymore, because he can't stand hearing a soul in torment, which is what the album is. It's so naked emotionally. Spence just bears everything, his very being, his very soul. The only other albums that come close to this is Nick Drake's final studio album, Pink Moon, and Lee Hazlewood's emotionally wretching Requiem for an Almost Lady. I won't recount Spence's back story, for other reviewers have done it very well. The songs go right to your very being. There is no BS here. This was who Spence was at the time, warts and all. It is a testament to another sensitive, young soul destroyed by celebrity, the "business", drugs, etc., etc.. This was Spence's only real solo album, and it's a true masterpiece, mysterious, moving, and beautiful.

Average customer rating:

sublime
Skip James: Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
Haunting blues...
A Masterpiece in the Annuls of Blues
Wonderful slice of Blues history, w/ excellent sound quality!

Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
Skip James
Manufacturer: Shout Factory
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

General | Blues | Styles | Music

Traditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

Acoustic Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James
Vietnam Blues: The Complete L&R Recording
Dark Was the Night
Vanguard Sessions: Blues From The Delta
Today!

ASIN: B00009ZYD8
Release Date: 2003-07-15

Tracks:

Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
Sick Bed Blues
Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues
Devil Got My Woman
Illinois Blues
I Don't Want A Woman To Stay Up All Night Long
Cherry ball Blues
Skip's Worried Blues
Cypress Groove Blues
Catfish Blues
Motherless & Fatherless
All Night Long

Customer Reviews:

sublime.......2007-05-12

His voice is out of this world and the songs sublime. This music sticks with you

Skip James: Hard Time Killing Floor Blues.......2007-02-10

The sound quality of his 1964 stuff may be better than his stuff from the 20's (understandably), but his performances were much better on his original, early recordings. I'm not some Blues snob, either, I'm actually just starting to get into the blues; but listening to them side by side it would be obvious to ANYONE which performance was better. Also, he used to play some awesome blues piano on a lot of his songs, it was kind of one of his trademarks--on this CD, alas, it's just guitar. You may still want to get this CD as it is some good blues, but definitely seek out his early stuff in addition. Oh, and one more thing: Skip James wrote "I'm So Glad," the song later covered by the blues-rock group Cream. But it's not on here! If you are like me and you are coming to the blues by way of British blues-rock, you'll definitely want to own James' version of "I'm So Glad."

Haunting blues..........2005-12-07

Skip James recorded the songs on this CD in 1964, the same year he was "rediscovered" and performed at the Newport Folk Festival. This is simply one of the most direct blues recordings I've heard. This is just Skip James, nothing is added to the performances. Skip James frequently sings in a melancholy falsetto and accompanies himself on acoustic guitar tuned to minor keys. Even when he sings in a lower register he sounds like he is mumbling or talking to himself, which makes the music seem turned inward, as opposed to shouting out the blues to the world. This is dark, deep, brooding blues, and is such a great listen. The sound quality is great too and it sounds like he is right in the room with you. Skip James sings of his battle with cancer on "Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues" and of course sings about woman trouble on songs like "Devil Got My Woman", my favorite song on this CD. This is one of my favorite acoustic blues CD's, there are times when only Skip James can hit the spot. The way he delivered his vocals was unique and combined with his guitar playing made for some incredible music. If you are a fan of acoustic blues Skip James has to be in your collection, and this disc is a great place to start.

A Masterpiece in the Annuls of Blues.......2005-08-16

Where would the Delta be without Skip James? Deeper and more soulfull than Robert Johnson's Crossroads, less preachy and more down-to-earth than the Death Letter Blues of Son House, Skip James strikes a beauiful minor chord in the soul. His soft hand on the guitar blends with the sweet eeriness of his voice in such perfect musical and emotional harmony as to command the casual listener to catch every note with the ear and savor each chord with his heart. A must-have in any respectable blues collection.

Wonderful slice of Blues history, w/ excellent sound quality!.......2005-08-03

I often find myself frustrated when I track down the recordings of various Blues legends, only to find the sound quality terrible. I grew up on Blues inspired Rock, and spent countless hours analyzing chords and solos, and find myself less than satisfied with scratchy hissing recordings of the Blues greats.

This recording is wonderful! The sound quality is fantastic, as he returned to record this in 1964. The price of the CD is worth it just to get the title song, and the rest of the CD demonstrates his range. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Average customer rating:

Skip James (Vanguard Visionaries)
Skip James
Manufacturer: Vanguard Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

General | Blues | Styles | Music

Acoustic Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Icky Thump

ASIN: B000PC6GCO
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Tracks:

I'm So Glad
Devil Got My Woman
22-20 Blues
Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues
Look Down the Road
Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues
Cypress Grove
Special Rider Blues
Look At the People Standing At the Judgement
Sick Bed Blues

Album Description

A true visionary, Skip James influenced artists Robert Johnson, Ry Cooder & Keb' Mo'

Average customer rating:

This is a classic!
Track list

The Will to Love
Skip Ewing
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

New Traditionalist | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Naturally
Until I Found You
Homegrown Love
Healin' Fire
The Coast of Colorado

ASIN: B000008FFP
Release Date: 1989-08-30

Customer Reviews:

This is a classic!.......2006-04-06

I have been a fan of many different genre's of music since I was very young. It was during the early 1990's that I was introduced to Skip Ewing's music. WOW! Here is a multi-talented performer who deserves to be a major star. His song writing is about the best I have ever heard. On many songs his ability to keep you guessing as to the true meaning of the song right up till the end is amazing. Try "She's Makin Plans" and you will see what I mean.

He writes and performs from the heart and that is so evident when you listen to his music; and listen you should! This album is filled with great songs. From the heart warming "Please Don't Leave Me Now" to the heart breaking "If A Man Could Live on Love Alone" and the upbeat title track this album has become a favorite. Skip's version of his original composition "It Wasn't His Child" absoulutely brought chills when I first heard it...and still does today!

If you love real from the heart music, masterfully written and emotionally performed, then you owe it to yourself to give this one a try. Believe me you will not be disappointed.

Track list.......2005-11-27

Track Listing
1. The Will to Love
2. Please Don't Leave Me Now
3. If A Man Could Live On Love Alone
4. Karen
5. Door, The
6. It Wasn't His Child
7. It's You Again
8. Age Doesn't Matter At All
9. Ain't That The Way It Always Ends
10. She's Makin' Plans

Average customer rating:

A Hop, Skip, and a Jump
Pam Donkin
Manufacturer: A Gentle Wind
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

DollHouse
Hey Eugene!
Icky Thump
It Won't Be Soon Before Long
A Thousand Splendid Suns

ASIN: B000N3AMUM
Release Date: 2007-01-29

Tracks:

A Hop, Skip, and a Jump
Little Red Train
Kitchen Jam
Kindness is Everywhere
Clap Your Hands Now
Families all Over the World
Five Fluffy Puppies
Solar System
Gotta Get the Beat
Planting Seeds of Love
It Rained All Day
What Shall We Do?
Nature s Fun and Fancy Free
Wigglin Around
Five Woodpeckers
Country Lullaby
Water Cycle Song
Say Goodnight

Product Description

Activity Songs for the Very Young. With an imaginative blend of music and creative movement, the playful images inspired by these adorable, easy sing along songs will have everyone giggling and wiggling, twirling and clapping. This musical frolic also advances language, math, science, listening, and movement skills. Hooray! Learning is child's play! Ages 1- 4

Average customer rating:

Long lost classmate
More successful as a songwriter
Way too underrated
Luke was the one
5 Stars is NOT enough for this CD

Skip Ewing - Greatest Hits
Skip Ewing
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

New Traditionalist | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Until I Found You
The Will to Love
The Coast of Colorado
Following Yonder Star
Anthology

ASIN: B000002OHH
Release Date: 1991-08-13

Tracks:

Your Memory Wins Again
I Don't Have Far To Fall
Burnin' A Hole In My Heart
The Gospel According To Luke
The Coast Of Colorado
It's You Again
It Wasn't His Child
If A Man Could Live On Love Alone
I'm Your Man
The Dotted Line

Customer Reviews:

Long lost classmate.......2005-12-16

The first time I heard skip sing and play his guitar we were in the 3rd grade in calimesa california. By the 5th grade I new that one day he would be someone famous. He has always had a beautiful voice. Would love to beable to see again sometime and beable to watch and listen to him sing again. Keep up the good work skip. cathy payson fergus falls, Mn

More successful as a songwriter.......2005-08-23

Skip Ewing (born Donald Ralph Ewing) has been an extremely successful country music songwriter - you will find his songs on many albums by major country artists - but only achieved limited success as a singer despite having a wonderful voice. This compilation features the best of Skip's music from his three MCA albums (A healing fire, The will to live, The coast of Colorado) recorded between 1988 and 1991, including all of his A-side singles. Most of the songs here are slow ballads although Skip's biggest hit was a mid-tempo song.

Skip scored a top three country hit with Burning a hole in my heart (the song that inspired me to buy this album), a top five country hit with It's you again and also made the country top ten with I don't have far to fall and The gospel according to Luke. Skip also scored minor country hits with Your memory wins again and The coast of Colorado. Also included is the Christmas song, It wasn't his child, which has also been recorded by Sawyer Brown (though it didn't appear on their Christmas album) and Trisha Yearwood (you can find it on her Sweetest gift album).

Skip's third album for MCA was less successful than the first two so he focused on his songwriting while MCA focused on other artists. I get the impression that Skip is happy to stick to songwriting but this collection shows what a great singer he is.

Way too underrated.......1999-12-23

Skip Ewing has always been something of an enigma. A fabulous writer and musician, he's been consistently overshadowed by "flash-in-the-pan" country artists that are here and gone in a twinkling. "Greatest Hits" is collection of Skip's hits from his first 3 albums. He is first and foremost a ballad singer, and that's never more evident than when he sings "The Gospel According to Luke" and "The Coast of Colorado", which I consider to be one of the finest country songs ever recorded. Ewing's ability to use plays on words is unrivaled, evidenced in his using Matthew 4:4 from the Bible as his basis for "If a Man Could Live on Love Alone". And of course, "It Wasn't His Child" keeps you guessing about it's significance until the very end, a technique Skip has done on other songs not on this collection and has mastered.

You should absolutely buy this album. It's a great intro to Skip Ewing and his remarkable ability behind both the pen and the microphone. But it's more than that, too. It's the chance to experience a rarity in country music - songs that are thought-provoking, musical, and real. After Skip Ewing, everyone else will seem like just noise and words.

Luke was the one.......1999-11-27

I never was much of a country music listener. Then one day i heard "The Gospel According to Luke". I loved it so much that I never forgot it. Now it has been close to 10 years since I heard it. I remembered the title, so I began to search for the artist. What an impact this songwriter has made for me. I know this song will never be forgotten.

5 Stars is NOT enough for this CD.......1999-10-13

I first heard Skip Ewing while shopping at a Shepler's in KC and just had to ask the cashier who was singing. Skip is an extremely talented songwriter and has the voice to bring his incredible songs to life. He has more talent in his pinky than Garth could ever HOPE to have. The music fan in Kennesaw, GA, is absolutely right. Skip definitely should have been (should be?) a major star in country music. The next time you hear a song that really moves you, check and see if Skip isn't the songwriter.

Raising Arizona / Blood Simple: Original Motion Picture Soundtracks [2 on 1]

Average customer rating:

Some good tracks but missing others
Get the original recordings.
Missing the only reason I bought the soundtrack...
Missing banjo playing from Raising Arizona.
Not at all what I expected

Raising Arizona / Blood Simple: Original Motion Picture Soundtracks [2 on 1]
Skip La Plante , and Alan Drogin
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Miller's Crossing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Fargo (1996 Film)/Barton Fink (1991 Film)
Raising Arizona
American Beauty: Original Motion Picture Score
Quadrophenia

ASIN: B000001548
Release Date: 1994-03-15

Tracks:

Introduction - A Hole In The Ground
Way Out There
He Was Horrible
Just Business
The Letter
Hail Lenny
Raising Ukeleles
Dream Of The Future
Shopping Arizona
Return To The Nursery
Crash And Burn
Blood Simple
Chain Gang
The March
Monkey Chant
The Shooting
Blood Simpler

Amazon.com essential recording

The story goes that composer Carter Burwell owes his fortuitous, ongoing collaboration with the filmmaking's Brothers Coen to one crucial requirement: he worked cheap. But the Coens' low-budget film noir debut, Blood Simple (which also launched the career of cinematographer-turned-director Barry Sonnenfeld), certainly got the best of the bargain, a wonderfully less-is-more score highlighted by a compelling solo piano theme. For the Coens' next film, Raising Arizona, a darkly goofy kidnapping-themed comic vehicle for Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter, Burwell veered bravely into the ozone, mixing heavily Gothic organ, soaring sopranos, bluegrass banjo, whistlers, synths, yodelers, and samples of what sounds like a tin can being kicked down the longest hill in the world into a delightfully heady farrago that recalls Morricone at his most mischievous. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Some good tracks but missing others.......2007-02-20

Overall I like this CD very much, however I was hopeful that it would've included the end credits music that had a fade in of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" chiming in. Nutz

Get the original recordings........2005-04-21

This CD is not bad at all for the music that Carter composed.
He borrowed quite a bit from other sources and you can find them
right here on Amazon. The banjo music and yodel is by Pete Seeger
from the CD "Darling Corey And Goofing-Off Suite". The wonderful
Monkey Chant is the Balinese Ramayana Monkey Chant and can be found
on the CD "Bali: Golden Rain" in its original 22 minute version.

Missing the only reason I bought the soundtrack..........2005-02-19

I bought this soundtrack for the great Raising Arizona music that I heard while watching the DVD--the best part is the end credits with banjo etc. and a variation on "Ode to Joy". IT IS NOT THERE. Only one or two tracks I find enjoyable on the CD for a grand total of about 2 minutes.

Missing banjo playing from Raising Arizona........2005-01-21

The Raising Arizona part of the CD is almost exclusively electronic and only one 90 second track of the great banjo that I remember from the movie. I recommend listening to samples before you buy.

Not at all what I expected.......2001-07-23

Junque music. Sorry I bought it. There are two songs off of the Raising Arizona tracks that I do like, however... I'm really not happy with this one at all. Maybe I can go up to a pawn shop and trade it for something listenable. Sorry Carter.

Rock Music:

Rock Music

rock music