What is the Blues?

JimJim
edited March 2011 in Other music
I'll start by saying I don't really know.  I know what it isn't or rather I know who doesn't play the Blues.

Does it matter?  Not sure about that either!

I know who I like, and I think they'd all be considered Blues by most people.

Big Bill Broonzy
Elmore James
Son House
John Lee Hooker
Freddie King
Buddie Guy

Loads more I like, that's just to get the discussion going.  Who does the Blues and why is it the Blues, and not Rock or Jazz or Country or Folk?

Comments

  • GromitGromit
    An empty wine rack.
  • JimJim


    :)) :-))
  • AlanAlan
    The blues: I get it. I'm there, even if they are not my experiences. It is a very emotional musical communication that can be highly personalized. I don't think it needs to be a genre onto itself, but it can permeate other styles also.
  • DocfosterDocfoster
    edited January 2011
    image

    And it has been this season...:-((

    What is it that Bleeding Gums Murphy says...?

    "The blues isn't about making yourself feel better, it's about making other people feel worse."



    I know little of the blues, though I do like Elmore James. Really good music and lyrics.
    Also early Fleetwood Mac (I think inspired by James) is good too, proving that white men can indeed play the blues.
    My old dad is a big fan of old-time blues. Blind Lemon Jeferson and such. I quite like it, but not for long. And the recordings are a little less than hifidelity.


    :-S

    Ben
  • JimJim
    That is a problem with the old stuff.  I've got quite a bit of Elmore and Broonzy and none of it is particularly good sound quality.  Even worse with Robert Johnson as his stuff was recorded in 1936 and 1937.  It's quite poor by modern standards  - but it the music cuts right through.
  • DocfosterDocfoster
    The bit of Elmore James I have is great. Just dug out the CD actually...
    'Look on Yonder Wall' and 'Done somebody wrong' - real genius! Splendid stuff. Recording's aren't too bad.
    Are the Robert Johnson tunes worth all the hype? I remember seeing 'Crossroads' as a lad and loved the music, but I suspect that may have been been more a la Ry Cooder (?) than RJ...
    Brn
  • JimJim
    Elmore's stuff is slightly better as it was done in the 50's IIRC - the same with Broonzy.

    You can be a Johnson completist with one CD.  Again, IIRC, he only recorded 27 songs or thereabouts.  I bought a double CD over 20 years ago which has all his cuts and a few alternate takes and I have his entire output.  and yes it's worth it - glorious stuff!
  • uglymusicuglymusic
    The Blues has never really cut it for me. I don't think I've ever bought any.


    The Blues Brothers is one of my favourite movies, though. Does that count? 
    :-"
  • MervynMervyn

    What is the blues ? - a lifestyle a music symbolic of a black American culture which moved and changed over 50 50 years before being merged and overtaken by a commercial predominately white culture. You have pre and post war blues Southern blues Chicago blues West Coast blues. All are different and developed over time as American society changed. It created rock and roll as we know it.

    Significant artists for me must include Muddy Waters BB King Howlin Wolf and Elmore James. But there are so many less known but equally accomplished such as Robert Nighthawk Jimmy Rodgers Eddie Taylor etc etc who contribute to the music. America gave us jazz but blues was more important in 20th century music imho.

  • JimJim
    Can't argue with any of that Mervyn.  But I was specifically asking what is Blues music, i.e. I'd Rather Be The Devil by John Martyn on Solid Air.  Is that a Blues song, if so why?, if not why?  Ditto Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You from Led Zeppelin 1.  And again, Good Time Tonight by Big Bill Broonzy.

    As I said in the OP I know, for example, that Miles Davis' Freddie Freeloader is not Blues.

    I guess what I'm asking is how do we know what is Blues?  Or any other category for that matter?

    Or am I over thinking the whole thing?


  • uglymusicuglymusic
    I think the problem could lie in definition/how the term is applied.


    There's the musical style, the state of mind, the cultural description, the lyrical content, the instruments and how they're played, the particular type of chord progression...


    How about we put the Blues aside, and try to define Jazz, instead 
    :-"

    If you have to ask...
  • JimJim
    Absolutely Dave.  The question can be applied to any category.  They are very difficult to define but we all instinctively know when we hear some music what it is.  But there are grey areas.
  • AlanAlan
    The grey areas are the fascination for much of the time, aren't they? I do enjoy the blues, but I enjoy other artists & genres incorporating the blues into something else much more. It is surprising, thought-provoking, stimulating...your John Martyn example is a good one.

    Another example of the crossover aspect is Gershwin; particularly 'prelude II' played by Dave Grusin on this:

    image
  • JimJim
    Exactly Alan, I'm currently playing Mouth Music.  They are a Scottish band who play Gaelic music but they use drum machines and sequencers etc.  About the only traditional aspect is the vocals which are sung in Gaelic.  I would put it broadly under the category of Folk or maybe World - but an awful lot of it sounds like Jazz to me.
  • uglymusicuglymusic
    I'd put Mouth Music under World, just because it has so many influences all wrapped up in its sheeps' stomach.
  • MervynMervyn

    To be pedantic blues influences can be found in many music genres - rock and roll jazz country gospel etc. 'Pure Blues' for me is played by blues artists ie Muddy Waters etc etc But even their blues playing style was changed by other influences eg rock and roll in an attempt to stay commercial. Likewise it went from acoustic to electric solo to 4 piece bands and so on. However the basics of a blues song remain unchanged ie rythm and content and can be played and interpreted by many musicians. But sometimes over-analysis is too much - just enjoy the music as it is.

  • AlanAlan
    Absolutely Mervyn. Blues is contextual though, even if that means it changes more than we want it to - the classic, timeless stuff we will always enjoy. The more progressive blues manifestations may be more fitting for our time, but are still easily understood. They probably will mature like whiskey.
  • JimJim
    Can't argue with either of you there.

    I've been listening to a lot of William Elliot Whitmore and really enjoying it.  But is it Blues?  Sounds a bit like what people, a few years back, called alt.country.

    I know it doesn't matter but I'm curious what people think.
  • DocfosterDocfoster
    Instead of definitions, perhaps it would be interesting to post which artist most epitomises these genres for us. It might give an idea of from which directions we are approaching the thread.
    For me, who knows little of blues or jazz:
    Blues - Elmore James
    Modern Jazz - miles Davis (also coltrane).
  • uglymusicuglymusic
    Can't argue with either of you there.

    I've been listening to a lot of William Elliot Whitmore and really enjoying it.  But is it Blues?  Sounds a bit like what people, a few years back, called alt.country.

    I know it doesn't matter but I'm curious what people think.
    Doesn't alt.country exist any more? What about Americana?
  • uglymusicuglymusic
    Blues - Leadbelly
    Modern Jazz (strict definition) - Charlie Parker
    Modern Jazz (looser definition) - Miles Davis
    Free Jazz - Ornette Coleman
    Avant Garde Jazz - Cecil Taylor
  • DocfosterDocfoster
    You're not allowed to subdivide! :O
  • uglymusicuglymusic
    Who says?  :-q
  • DocfosterDocfoster
    I'm trying to stereotype genres here. A common sense tabloid headline approach... :>
  • uglymusicuglymusic
    Hop Off You Frogs! 
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