R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country (2006)

One thing I love about Robert Crumb more than his drawings is his taste in music. Without him, I probably wouldn't have dared venture into weeding out the good blues/ragtime artists, even though I consider them one of my favorite styles of music. This CD came with a book I bought of the same title, which was based on a trading card series Crumb drew of old blues artists. It's a fairly good sized book, each section split into labeled sections (Heroes of the Blues, Pioneers of Country Music, and Early Jazz Greats), so it makes it easy to reference an artist if I need to. Each picture is drawn by Crumb himself, along with a small biography of the artist with their origin and time of activity. All of this, and a free CD! But for those of you who may not read, or who wouldn't want to trouble with a book, I'm being nice enough to offer this fantastic compilation for free. All songs were arranged by Crumb himself, all of which are highly regarded recommendations from the brilliant cartoonist. So, you have nothing to lose. And if you find yourself craving more, it wouldn't hurt to check out the soundtrack to Terry Zwigoff's disturbing and moving documentary, Crumb, based off the artist's life (conveniently found here). Enjoy!

1. Memphis Jug Band- On the Road Again
2. Blind Willie McTell- Dark Night Blues
3. Cannon's Jug Stompers- Minglewood Blues
4. Skip James- Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues
5. Jaybird Coleman- I'm Ganna Cross the River Jordan/ Some O' These Days
6. Charley Patton- High Water Everwhere
7. Frank Stokes- I Got Mine
8. "Dock" Boggs- Sugar Baby
9. Shelor Family- Big Bend Gal
10. Hayes Sheperd- The Peddler and his Wife
11. Crockett's Country Mountaineers- Little Rabbit
12. Burnett & Rutherford- All Night Long Blues
13. East Texas Serenaders- Mineola Rag
14. Weems String Band- Greenback Dollar
15. Bennie Monten's Kansas City Orchestra- Kater Street Rag
16. "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band- Sobbin' Blues
17. Parham-Picket Apollo Syncopaters- Mojo Strut
18. Frankie Franko & His Louisianians- Somebody Stole my Gal
19. Clarence William's Blue Five- Wild Cat Blues
20. "Jelly Roll" Morton's Red Hot Peppers- Kansas City Stomps
21. Jimmy Noone- King Joe

R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country (2006)