Percy Mayfield - 1951-1954

Artist:

Mayfield, Percy

UPC:

3448967515026

See Also:

Cooke, Sam Waters, Muddy Cole, Nat "King" Turner, Big Joe Brown, James

Description:

Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocals); Joy Hamilton (vocals); Ulysses Livingston, Charles Norris, Mitchell "Tiny" Webb, William Harvey Pyles, Herman Mitchell, Harold Grant (guitar); John Crawford (saxophone); Jewell L. Grant (alto saxophone); William B. Woodman, Jr., James "Ham" Jackson, Earl Sumner Jackson, Hubert Myers, Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis (tenor saxophone); Floyd Turnham, Maurice Simon (baritone saxophone); Fletcher Smith, Gerald Wiggins, Willard McDaniel (piano); Robert Pittman, Lee Young, Jesse Sailes (drums).
Liner Note Author: Dave Penny.
Recording information: Los Angeles, CA (07/07/1951-03/23/1954).
Author: Percy Mayfield.
Percy Mayfield`s songs are full of deep, fathomless fears and a kind of ominous, desperate loneliness that made him the master of the desolate ballad, and even his rare uptempo tracks have a sort of intangible pathos at the center (his best-known song, "Hit the Road Jack," is a perfect example). This second installment in Classic Records` chronological survey of his earliest work concentrates on Mayfield`s Specialty Records output between 1951 and 1954, just prior to his departure for Chess Records in 1955. These songs are best appreciated in small doses, since on the surface at least they`re all of a type, generally slow-burning tales that reflect the fear of rejection and abandonment. What redeems them is Mayfield`s subtle touch as a songwriter, which gives the best of these laments a deep emotional realness that lifts them out of clich? territory, and his plain, unadorned, and deceptively laconic singing style that makes him his own best interpreter, even though many other artists have covered his songs (including the great Ray Charles). Among the standouts here are the exhausted-sounding "How Deep Is the Well," the ominous "The River`s Invitation," and the stark, emotionally spent "You Don`t Exist No More." There are a couple of upbeat numbers as well, like the crisp, jaunty "Louisiana" and the goofy (at least by Mayfield standards) "Loose Lips." Although he seems to have constantly recycled the same dark, fearful mood in his material, Mayfield never resorted to easy triteness in his lyrics, and as a result, there is really nobody quite like him in either the blues or R&B genres. ~ Steve Leggett

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. How Deep Is the Well
2. Ruthie Mae
3. Hunt Is On, The
4. Big Question, The
5. My Heart
6. River`s Invitation, The
7. Louisiana
8. Lonesome Highway
9. Wasted Dream
10. Lonely One, The
11. Bachelor Blues
12. I Ain`t Gonna Cry No More
13. You Are My Future
14. Memory Pain
15. Memory Pain
16. Get Way Back
17. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
18. Advice
19. I Need Love So Bad
20. Loose Lips
21. Does Anyone Care for Me
22. Sugar Mama, Peachy Papa
23. You Don`t Exist No More
24. It`s Good to See You Baby
25. Nightmare

Album Information

Release Date:

07/14/2005

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Blues

Subgenre:

Piano

Label:

Classics

Catalog Number:

CLASSICS 515

Original Release Year:

2005

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Portions copyright 2005 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.

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