The Complete Bloomington Indiana Concert: Part 1 (March 30 1968)

Recorded live when James was aged 65 and in great form (considering that he had recently been hospitalized) and previously unreleased, this very enjoyable concert captures all of this man's charisma and it is an absolute must for all collectors of acoustic blues. He comes over as a quiet natured, respectful, humorous, thoughtful man and nothing like the rather morose, difficult person that he was once known. The guitar playing is crisp, inventive, and clean and no other player ever quite captured his highly personalized sound. A number tried, such as the late Jack Owens, but they came nowhere near - neither playing nor when trying to duplicate his eerie and haunting vocals. Another great delight, for acoustic guitar players, is to hear James tuning his guitar and adjusting the tunings during the introductions. The guitar style has fascinated players for years and at the time of his first recordings for Paramount during February 1931 there was no-one else recording in this style. Both discs reprise songs from that first recording session and show he had lost very little of that original intensity and commitment. It is hard to believe that just seven months after this concert James was bedridden with terminal cancer, for he is bright and cheerful, although he does, in his 'Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues', recall his recent stay in that establishment.