I feel that I am doing this package something of an injustice to call it merely a 'box set'.Billed in the publicity material as a 'cabinet of wonder', this must surely be the most elaborate and dare I say beautiful package ever assembled for the purpose of bringing music into our homes.
Jack White's Third Man Records and John Fahey's Revenant Records have teamed together to bring us volume one of 'The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records' and in so doing, they have created a truly wonderful limited edition set. First there is the cabinet itself which is manufactured from quarter-sawn oak and which replicates the cabinets which once housed phonograph record players. All very appropriate considering how Paramount actually began as a furniture company manufacturing these very same items for other recording companies. The cabinet is lined with lush velvet upholstery with sections housing each of the splendid contents. These include six long playing records on burled chestnut coloured vinyl which themselves are set within a laser etched, white birch folio. Then there are two books. One is a 360 page field guide containing fascinating portraits of the artists and a full catalogue of Paramount record releases.
The second is a 250 page clothbound hard-cover art book. Finally, what is designed to resemble the metal contraption that held the needle on old phonograph machines, turns out to be a USB stick containing no fewer than 800 tracks by 172 different artists.
Phew!
Of course, the fact that this package is so aesthetically pleasing means that in so many reviews, the actual musical content has been all but overlooked. This is a great shame!
True, we are dealing here with sounds that were produced between 1917 and 1927 and Paramount were infamous for using cheap materials in the production of their recordings. Consequently we are not being treated to hi fidelity sound. Nevertheless the music is vibrant, often energetic and always historically relevant. For this is where modern music began. Included within the styles are blues, jazz, gospel, folk, vaudeville and quirky novelty songs. The artists represented include some well known names such as Ma Rainey, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong and Blind Lemon Jefferson. There are also some whose names I was familiar with but whose music I was not. These include Alberta Hunter, Fletcher Henderson, Ida Cox and Ethel Waters. How glad I am to have discovered them.
Obviously I have not worked my way through all 800 sides yet but of those I have heard, I have been delighted by The Beale Street Sheiks (listen if you can to 'Mr Crumb Don't Like It'), Jack Penewell (listen to his awesome and appropriate slide guitar playing on 'Hen House Blues') and the wonderfully named Jimmy O'Bryants Famous Original Washboard Band.
Congratulations to Third Man and Revenant for having the guts to produce this wonderful package. Also there is Volume Two to look forward to towards the end of 2014. This will cover the remainder of Paramount history from 1927 to 1932 and will I am informed contain music by Charlie Patton, Skip James, Son House and many others.
If you are interested in any of the artists contained in this set and wish to get in touch, then please contact me either through this blog or by email. I look forward to hearing from others who appreciate this 'cabinet of wonder'.
Bye for now.
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