VA - The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions Vol. 2: Arkansas & Mississippi 1952 (2003)

Modern Records was one of the great blues labels of the '50s, run by Joe Bihari out of Los Angeles. Modern released singles by Howlin' Wolf and Elmore James, and B.B. King was the label's biggest artist. But Bihari was not one to simply ride his current artists, and to this end, he enlisted Ike Turner as talent scout and the two of them traveled the South looking for new artists to record. Ace continues its documentation of these scouting trips with The Modern Downhome Blues Session, Vol. 2, which covers their March 1952 trip through Mississippi and Arkansas. Elmore James is easily the best-known performer here, but Houston Boines, Boyd Gilmore, and Driftin' Slim were all known in the South. Some of the tracks have some noticeable distortion present, but these are studio recordings, not field recordings. And although this music is from the Deep South, these are all urban blues tunes, complete with full electric bands. There are some great performances here, but it's a bit uneven and the inclusion of multiple takes of several tunes reinforces the documentary aspect of this series. As such, this series is clearly aimed at the blues fanatic/scholar or someone interested in understanding the complete history of Joe Bihari and Modern Records versus an entry point for the casual listener. ~Sean Westergaard