Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick, 1958-1971 (CD)
Various Artists
Amoeba Review
If you love the blues, Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick 1958-1971 is for you. This is the real stuff: '50s and '60s era recordings from Black musicians in Texas and nearby communities, some that would become well-known (Lightnin' Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb) and some that would remain hidden talents in the world beyond their close-knit communities. The songs were collected by blues fanatic Robert "Mack" McCormick, a photographer who chronicled the lives of Black and Latino Texan communities, and interviewed and recorded these musicians. McCormick's collection isn't solely blues: you'll also find ragtime, gospel, country blues, and hypnotically humorous, uncategorizable songs (case in point: George "Bongo Joe" Coleman's "George Coleman for President, Nobody for Vice President"). Playing for the Man at the Door is truly exciting, an album that feels deeply alive despite all the years gone by since its original recordings.
Track Listing
Disc 1 Titles |
Artist |
Length |
---|---|---|
1.
Mojo Hand
|
Lightnin' Hopkins | 04:03 |
2.
God Moves on the Water
|
Mance Lipscomb | 02:33 |
3.
The Clinton
|
Robert Shaw | 02:18 |
4.
Sugar Blues
|
Kid Wiggins | 02:44 |
5.
St. James Infirmary
|
Dudley Alexander and Washboard Band | 04:16 |
6.
Darlin' (You Know I Love You)
|
CeDell Davis | 02:55 |
7.
You Gonna Look Like a Monkey
|
Dennis Gainus | 02:25 |
8.
One Room Country Shack
|
Grey Ghost | 03:42 |
9.
Groceries on My Shelf (Piggly Wiggly)
|
Edwin "Buster" Pickens | 04:26 |
10.
3 O'Clock Blues
|
Hop Wilson | 04:52 |
11.
Anything from a Foot Race to a Resting Place
|
Jealous James Stanchell | 03:11 |
12.
Salty Dog Rag
|
James Tisdom | 03:18 |
13.
Goin' to the River
|
Gozy Kilpatrick | 01:35 |
14.
Quills
|
Joe Patterson | 01:14 |
15.
Ma Pa Cut the Cake
|
Lightnin' Hopkins | 01:42 |
16.
Crazy About Oklahoma
|
Otis Cook | 03:12 |
17.
Little Red Rooster
|
Grey Ghost | 03:51 |
18.
My Work Will Be Done
|
Spiritual Light Gospel Group | 03:00 |
19.
Steel Guitar Rag
|
James Tisdom | 03:02 |
20.
Tall Angel at the Bar
|
Mance Lipscomb | 08:59 |
21.
This Whole World's in a Sad Condition
|
George "Bongo Joe" Coleman | 08:59 |
Disc 2 Titles |
Artist |
Length |
---|---|---|
1.
World's in a Tangle
|
Lightnin' Hopkins | 05:51 |
2.
Someday Baby
|
Robert Shaw | 05:39 |
3.
It's Alright
|
CeDell Davis | 03:36 |
4.
Cryin' Won't Make Me Stay
|
R.C. Forest , Gozy Kilpatrick | 01:54 |
5.
China Tea
|
Allen Van | 02:31 |
6.
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
|
George "Bongo Joe" Coleman | 03:24 |
7.
Tom Moore's Farm
|
Lightnin' Hopkins | 04:34 |
8.
Tom Moore's Farm
|
Mance Lipscomb | 04:56 |
9.
Don't Do Me No Small Favors (Help the Bear)
|
Jealous James Stanchell | 01:37 |
10.
Fox Chase
|
Billy Bizor | 02:20 |
11.
Black Widow Spider Blues
|
R.C. Forest | 02:03 |
12.
Come and Go with Me to That Land
|
Hardy Gray | 05:26 |
13.
Rollin' and Tumblin'
|
CeDell Davis | 03:18 |
14.
Train Roll Up
|
Leroy "Country" Johnson | 01:44 |
15.
Shorty George
|
Edwin "Buster" Pickens | 04:32 |
16.
Matchbox Blues
|
Joel Hopkins | 01:49 |
17.
It's My Life Baby
|
Blues Wallace | 04:16 |
18.
Hello Central, Gimme 209
|
Andrew Everett | 03:08 |
19.
Bad Lee Brown
|
Jim Wilkie | 02:33 |
20.
Tin Can Alley Blues
|
George "Bongo Joe" Coleman | 02:49 |
21.
Medicine Show Pitch
|
George "Bongo Joe" Coleman | 01:52 |
Disc 3 Titles |
Artist |
Length |
---|---|---|
1.
So Different Blues
|
Mance Lipscomb | 02:45 |
2.
I Feel So Good
|
James Tisdom | 02:41 |
3.
Mr. Charlie
|
Lightnin' Hopkins | 04:51 |
4.
The Ma Grinder
|
Edwin "Buster" Pickens | 02:08 |
5.
Deep Ellum Blues
|
Paul Elliott | 02:37 |
6.
K.C. Ain't Nothing but a Rag
|
Andrew Everett | 02:00 |
7.
Lonesome Road
|
Kid Wiggins | 02:24 |
8.
Old Judge Blues
|
Dennis Gainus | 03:15 |
9.
The Slop
|
Melvin "Jack" Jackson , Lightnin' Hopkins | 02:24 |
10.
Corrine, Corrina
|
Lightnin' Hopkins | 03:20 |
11.
Talking Blues
|
Jimmy Womack | 01:35 |
12.
Good Times Here, Better Times Down the Road
|
Joel Hopkins | 03:05 |
13.
Put Me in the Alley
|
Robert Shaw | 02:26 |
14.
Auctioneer
|
Walter Britten | 00:35 |
15.
Runaway
|
Hardy Gray | 03:27 |
16.
Broke and Hungry
|
Hop Wilson | 04:14 |
17.
Big Road Blues
|
Mager Johnson | 03:46 |
18.
Casey Jones
|
Mance Lipscomb | 02:27 |
19.
Atomic Energy
|
Jimmy Womack | 02:15 |
20.
Natural Born Lover
|
Long Gone Miles , Lightnin' Hopkins , Love Crazy | 04:24 |
21.
Swanee River Boogie
|
E.B. Busby | 01:44 |
22.
Rock Me Baby
|
Long Gone Miles | 02:53 |
23.
Blues Jumped a Rabbit
|
Lightnin' Hopkins | 03:51 |