While many of the great blues recordings have been commercial hits, there are others that sank almost without a trace. Skip James’ Paramount singles, for instance — nine of them, all recorded in 1931, after the Depression had struck the record business —
are so rare that the magazine 78 Quarterly reported that no more than three dozen copies of his Paramount 78s, in total, had been documented among collections known to the magazine. The transcendent quality of James’ music would make his records priceless by any standard, however. Elegant and mysterious, his unique singing and guitar playing could sound almost heavenly, yet his lyrics were often burdened with gloom and desolation. ‘Devil Got My Woman’ and ‘Hard Time Killin’ Floor’ are both Blues Hall of Fame singles, while ‘I’m So Glad’ became his most well-known song after it was reworked in blues-rock style by Cream. James’ 1931 output has been reissued several times by various labels both before and after Yazoo’s 1986 LP, but Yazoo took the lead in remastering to obtain top quality sound from the 78s, and has since improved on its own audio standards with a 2005 CD retitled ‘Hard Time Killin’ Floor, encompassing all 18 of James’ sides plus four by Son House.
Tracks: Devil Got My Woman/If You Haven’t Any Hay Get On Down The Road/Hard Luck Child/Drunken Spree/Little Cow And Calf Is Gonna Die Blues/Be Ready When He Comes/How Long ‘Buck’/I’m So Glad/Cherry Ball Blues/Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues/22-20 Blues/4 O’Clock Blues/Jesus Is A MIghty Good Leader/Yola My Blues Away/What Am I To Do Blues/Special Rider Blues/Illinois Blues/Cypress Grove Blues
Released on LP as Yazoo 1072 in 1986, on CD as Hard Time Killin’ Floor, Yazoo 2075, in 2005.