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Jimmie Rodgers - Last Sessions, 1933 Audio CD

A fair review of the Jimmie Rodgers "Last Sessions, 1933" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Jimmie Rodgers reviews here, or go back to the Jimmie Rodgers tabs.

Jimmie Rodgers Band: Jimmie Rodgers
Title: Last Sessions, 1933
Rating:
Release Date: 1992-02-14
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Barefoot Blues [Blue Yodel No. 12] 2: Dreaming with Tears in My Eyes 3: Dreaming with Tears in My Eyes 4: Cowhand's Last Ride 5: I'm Free from the Chain Gang Now 6: Yodeling My Way Back Home 7: Jimmie Rodgers' Last Blue Yodel (Women Make a Fool Out of Me) 8: Yodeling Ranger 9: Old Pal of My Heart 10: Years Ago 11: Somewhere Down Below the Dixon Line 12: Old Love Letters 13: Mississippi Delta Blues

Last Moments of a Great Artist.
By 1933, Rodgers knew he was dying of TB. This is heart rending, gut-wrenching stuff from a man obviously close to death. So, anxious to provide for his family after he was gone, he journeyed to New York in the middle of May, intending to cut 24 sides. But he managed only 12 sides in 8 days before he passed away on May 26. And what good sides they are, ranging from the blues sound of 'Blue Yodel No 12 (Barefoot Blues)' through to the Home-Love-Mother sentiments of 'I'm Free From The Chain Gang Now'. Between takes, he would have to rest for several hours on a bed set up in the studio. His final recordings, on May 24, are perhaps the most poignant. His Last Blue Yodel (The Women Make A Fool Out Of Me) is superb. For me, it's one of his best. 'Mississippi Delta Blues' and 'Years Ago' are nicely nostalgic. But it's 'Old Love Letters' that gets me every time. With John Cali and Tony Calicchio providing sweet sounding guitar backup, Rodgers, his breath almost gone, struggles with the sentimental lyric, and even manages his trade mark yodel. A fitting tribute to a landmark talent.


Jimmie's Last Recordings
I've read elsewhere that he actually died less than 48 hours after the last session. Rodgers was dying of TB when he recorded these last songs. You can hear it in his voice. That's what gives these tunes an eerie, lonely, hynoptic feel to them. They are stripped down, "unplugged" if you will. Very little accompaniment. No Jazz or Dixie-land bands here. No Louis Armstrong. Mostly just Jimmie, and maybe a mandolin or side guitar. But this is Jimmie Rodgers, still making the yodels blue, and the train whistles blow. A "must have". No collection is complete without this, some boxed sets from Hank Williams and the Carter Family, and yes, some Hendrix.


You can see a complete list of all Jimmie Rodgers discography, or go back to the Jimmie Rodgers tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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