The Mississippi Sheiks recorded in a lot of configurations in the early 1930s, but usually with Lonnie Chatmon's fiddle front and center, along with the guitar and vocals of
Walter Vinson, and at different times
Bo Carter,
Sam Chatmon,
Texas Alexander, and others (usually friends, family, or neighbors) would sit in, and it always came out sounding like
the Sheiks, a ragged, loose street corner string band playing the blues. Yeah, the pace is about the same on most of the tracks collected here, and sometimes it seems like the same melody is given a few different turns under varying titles, but the best of these ("Sitting on Top of the World," "I've Got Blood in My Eyes for You," "The World Is Going Wrong," "Sales Tax," "Tell Me What the Cats Fight About") are wonderfully woozy and vital recordings that continue to have a shelf life well into the 21st century. This set makes a nice introduction to the Mississippi Sheiks' gloriously wry and wobbly universe. ~ Steve Leggett