2016 CALENDAR - Classic Blues Artwork From The 1920's Vol. 13

"One of every October's delights for me is the arrival of Blues Images' annual 12×24-inch wall calendar for the next year. As ever, each month's illustration is a reproduction of the original ad for a vintage blues 78 RPM platter. An accompanying 20-track CD presents these songs plus eight bonus tracks – some the flip sides of songs on the calendar, while others are back-to-back sides of a rare vintage disc that isn't on the calendar.

Since the obscurities generally come from collectors' 78s, the audio can be scratchy. This year's good news is that Blues Images has teamed up with the creators of American Epic, a three-part documentary on 1920s-'30s music that will air early next year on PBS and the BBC. The American Epic's crew's work cleaning up some (not all) of the 2016 CD's songs is superb.

The 2016 calendar and CD extend from 1927 to 1933. We hear the famous (Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ma Rainey, Barbecue Bob) as well as lesser-known artists such as Hattie Hyde (recording with Memphis Jug Band) and Charlie Kyle. The two sides from a 1930 Jaydee Short 78 come from the only copy of the disc known to exist." - Goldmine