Mississippi John Hurt – Today!

A quiet return

Decades separate Mississippi John Hurt’s first records from his rediscovery. He recorded for OKeh in 1928, then spent many years working outside the music business. In the early sixties, a clue in “Avalon Blues” led record collectors to Mississippi. Hurt returned to performing and reached a new audience at the Newport Folk Festival.

Vanguard released Today! in 1966. Its New York recordings date from July 1964, with Patrick Sky supervising production. The album belongs to Hurt’s later career, bringing older material and traditional songs into the same unforced musical setting.

Following the thumb

One way into Hurt’s fingerpicking is to hear two movements at once. His thumb sustains the bass while the fingers shape melodic figures above it. The voice adds another layer. “Candy Man” and “Make Me a Pallet on the Floor” offer useful starting points for hearing how those parts connect.

Follow the bass on one listen, then move to the higher strings on the next. The interest lies in tasks that belong together while maintaining different patterns. A large ensemble is not needed to create that sense of interaction.

Old songs and a borrowed guitar

Hurt had already recorded “Candy Man”, “Louis Collins” and “Spike Driver’s Blues” in 1928. Today! returns to them in later performances. “Talking Casey” also introduces his slide playing, while “Beulah Land” closes the twelve-track sequence.

For the Vanguard sessions, Hurt used a Martin OM-45 borrowed from Stefan Grossman. The session discography credits Jerry Ricks with a second guitar on “Pay Day” and “If You Don’t Want Me, Baby”. Hurt remains the centre of the record, but it is not an entirely unaccompanied solo programme.

This Bluesville edition

ACONC 837 is a single 180-gram LP. Craft credits Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab with remastering and cutting from the original tapes; the all-analog description is the publisher’s statement. QRP presses the record. A replica tip-on jacket is accompanied by an obi with notes from Scott Billington. The twelve tracks retain the original programme. Conflicting mono/stereo descriptions are not turned into a definite claim for this edition.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and dispatch from Hilden.

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.