That song's great. I like Hurt's combo of being so modest and understated on one hand and a ridiculous virtuoso on the other. Doesn't really fit in with other bluesmen and he's the only one of them with any detectable influence over Takoma style stuff.
― ogmor, Sunday, 30 September 2007 23:44 (sixteen years ago) link
FWIW, he did not consider himself a bluesman
― Hurting 2, Sunday, 30 September 2007 23:58 (sixteen years ago) link
Even that song, as much as it mentions blues, is more like a rag.
― Hurting 2, Monday, 1 October 2007 00:13 (sixteen years ago) link
I first heard him on one of those Scorcese comps and he didn't sound anything like I'd expected--the sweetness of the voice is total.
― mulla atari, Monday, 1 October 2007 03:20 (sixteen years ago) link
he's the only one of them with any detectable influence over Takoma style stuff.
:-O
― Stormy Davis, Monday, 1 October 2007 13:29 (sixteen years ago) link
I was being provocative. Obviously Fahey covers Blind Blake and quotes Skip James and Charlie Patton but in terms of technique and overall sound he's way closer to Hurt.
― ogmor, Monday, 1 October 2007 18:10 (sixteen years ago) link
my grandpappy wasn't exactly a bluesman. for an eloquent look at John Hurt's legacy re blooze and authenticity, see Barker and Taylor's "Faking It" and chapter on the musician.
― whisperineddhurt, Monday, 1 October 2007 19:27 (sixteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr_VUEITbjY
― am0n, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 15:40 (eleven years ago) link
He could be the star of the Anthology of American Folk Music box set, which is saying quite a bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gytJemzNTM
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 17:35 (eleven years ago) link
yeah i'd say either him or dock boggs maybe?
― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 17:36 (eleven years ago) link
They're both right at the top. Clarence Ashley too
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 17:38 (eleven years ago) link
i'm learning fingerpicking guitar right now and i swear i try to get tabs and listen to hurt stuff and i can't figure it out, it sounds like there are 2 players -- one strumming regular chords and one finger picking a pattern! it sounds so simple until you sit down and try to learn
― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 17:50 (eleven years ago) link
yeah i feel like hurt had some weird combo of being ultra precise, but also had super loose-jointed fingers. there should be a scientific study of his hands.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 17:54 (eleven years ago) link
yeah his shit feels way more precise and put together than some of the other real old school dudes like robert johnson and charley patton and stuff
― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 17:56 (eleven years ago) link
probably goes back to the idea mentioned upthread that "did not consider himself a bluesman" -- i imagine that he listened to piano players (ragtime/jazz/stride) more than guitar music? don't know if he ever commented on that.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 18:00 (eleven years ago) link
They show his hands on that video above. His left hand isn't doing anything that complex, but his right hand is fairly ninja-like
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 18:02 (eleven years ago) link
yeah his shit feels way more precise and put together
Yes. With the name Mississippi John Hurt you expect a raw howler. But he's so smooth, especially the stuff he did in the 1920s.
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 18:04 (eleven years ago) link
weird
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2jjd9VEUb1r91f2jo1_r1_cover.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OI6F8eWbwoc/TSggEeu0coI/AAAAAAAAA_I/IP-mEkBU4XM/s1600/nick-drake-bryter-layter-333180.jpg
― mizzell, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 18:17 (eleven years ago) link
It's been nearly 3 years so it's once again time to proclaim the greatness of Mississippi John Hurt.
― kornrulez6969, Friday, 5 June 2015 01:15 (eight years ago) link
Mississippi John Hurt sounds better the older I get.
― banjoboy, Friday, 5 June 2015 03:05 (eight years ago) link
Avalon blues is as classic as it gets
― Week of Wonders (Ross), Sunday, 20 August 2017 01:18 (six years ago) link
Still the greatest. An absolute giant.
― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 24 June 2020 13:40 (three years ago) link
we should change this thread title
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 24 June 2020 13:49 (three years ago) link
srsly what a completely inapt comparison
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 24 June 2020 13:50 (three years ago) link
Ugh
― Barry "Fatha" Hines (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 24 June 2020 13:54 (three years ago) link
anywayhttps://www.elijahwald.com/songblog/let-mermaids-flirt/
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 24 June 2020 13:57 (three years ago) link
https://www.npr.org/2024/02/22/1233089909/museum-honoring-mississippi-bluesman-john-hurt-is-destroyed-in-a-fire
Mississippi John Hurt house/ museum burns down. Sad
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 22 February 2024 16:10 (three months ago) link
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2024/02/21/mississippi-john-hurt-museum-burns-down-in-carroll-county-mississippi/72689068007/
Sounds like it may been an electrical caused fire
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 22 February 2024 16:13 (three months ago) link