Complete Recordings: 1929-1934 (2002)

About this title: At the end of just the first disc on this five-CD set, the listener may feel like he/she was in the audio equivalent of a visual "white-out," so powerful are the sounds on that disc. From the opening bars of"Pony Blues," Charley Patton becomes a gigantic musical presence, who gets even bigger as his work goes on; with a guttural, stentorian voice that paves the way for everyone from Louis Armstrong to early Bob Dylan -- but especially for Howlin' Wolf -- he cuts through the poor condition surviving Paramount pressings like a call from the Great Beyond, almost unnaturally powerful and ... read more

Tracks:

1. Pony Blues [Patton/Traditional]
2. A Spoonful Blues [Patton]
3. Down the Dirt Road Blues [Patton]
4. Prayer of Death, Pt. 1
5. Prayer of Death, Pt. 2
6. Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues
7. Banty Rooster Blues [Patton]
8. Tom Rushen Blues [Patton]
9. It Won't Be Long [Patton]
10. Shake It and Break It (But Don't Let It Fall, Mama)
11. Pea Vine Blues [Patton]
12. Mississippi Boll Weevil Blues
13. Lord, I'm Discouraged [Patton]
14. I'm Goin' Home [Patton]
15. Snatch It and Grab It
16. A Rag Blues
17. How Come Mama Blues
18. Voice Throwin' Blues
19. Hammer Blues: Take 1
20. I Shall Not Be Moved [Parth]
21. High Water Everywhere, Pt. 1
22. High Water Everywhere, Pt. 2
23. I Shall Not Be Moved [Parth]
24. Rattlesnake Blues [Patton]
25. Going to Move to Alabama [Patton]
26. Hammer Blues: Take 2
27. Joe Kirby [Patton]
28. Frankie and Albert [Traditional]
29. Magnolia Blues [Patton]
30. Devil Sent the Rain Blues [Patton]
31. Runnin' Wild Blues [Patton]
32. Some Happy Day [Patton]
33. Mean Black Moan [Patton]
34. Green River Blues [Patton]
35. That's My Man
36. Honey Dripper Blues: No.2
37. Eight Hour Woman
38. Nickel's Worth of Liver Blues: No. 2
39. Some of These Days I'll Be Gone
40. Elder Green Blues: Take 2
41. Jim Lee: Pt. 1
42. Jim Lee: Pt. 2
43. Mean Black Cat Blues [Patton]
44. Jesus Is A-Dying (Bed Maker)
45. Elder Green Blues: Take 2
46. When Your Way Gets Dark [Patton]
47. Some of These Days I'll Be Gone: Take 2
48. Heart Like Railroad Steel
49. Circle Round the Moon [Patton]
50. You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die [Patton]
51. Be True, Be True Blues
52. Farrell Blues [Sims]
53. Tell Me Man Blues
54. Come Back Corrina
55. Some Summer Day [Patton]
56. Bird Nest Bound [Patton]
57. Future Blues [Brown]
58. M and O Blues [Brown]
59. Walkin' Blues [House/Johnson]
60. My Black Mama, Pt. 1 [House]
61. My Black Mama: Pt. 2
62. Preachin' the Blues: Pt. 1
63. Preachin' the Blues: Pt. 2
64. Dry Spell Blues, Pt. 1
65. Dry Spell Blues, Pt. 2
66. All Night Long Blues [Take 1] [Johnson]
67. On the Wall [Johnson]
68. All Night Long Blues [Take 2] [Johnson]
69. By the Moon and Stars
70. Long Ways from Home [Johnson]
71. Dry Well Blues [Patton]
72. Moon Going Down [Patton]
73. We All Gonna Face the Rising Sun
74. Moaner Let's Go Down in the Valley
75. Jesus Got His Arms Around Me
76. God Won't Forsake His Own
77. I'll Be Here
78. Where Was Eve Sleeping?

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.