60 Shades of the Deep Blues by Mercury

So for this chart I wanted to give a nice overview of some great, essential deep blues. If you want more discussion and history feel free to check out the corresponding "Genre Extravaganza: DEEP BLUES/COUNTRY BLUES" forum topic. It's really old now so it may be a challenge to uncover it. ; )

Also read books on it. I'd say the best introduction to the story of this amazing music is the book "Deep Blues" by Robert Palmer. It's what I stole the name of this chart from and it's one of my favorite books of any kind.

If you have any recommendations or questions or if you like some particular artist and want to know who/what to check out next - all those things should be made in to comments. And I promise oh get back with you.

Love you beautiful people.

Peace,
Ryan

• Chart updated: 06/12/2022 17:15
• (Created: 05/30/2014 22:56).
• Chart size: 60 albums.

There are 28 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and 60 Shades of the Deep Blues has an average rating of 95 out of 100 (from 61 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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11. (13) 2

The Original 1928 Recordings 

 Mississippi John Hurt

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Hurt was a musician more akin to his nimble-fingered east coast brethren than his intense slide guitar-occupied Mississippi peers. His dexterous guitar picking style, warm and beautifully welcoming vocal style (one of my fave vocalists - it feels like I'm hearing an old friend every time i hear him sing) and nearly unmatched repertoire of songs made him not only one of the best blues men of the Delta, but one of the absolute best songsters and folk musicians in American history. [First added to this chart: 03/08/2019]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

23 charts

Rank Score:

175

Rank in 1971:

112

Rank in 1970s:

1,140

Overall Rank:

7,240

Average Rating:

 82 (33 votes)

Comments:

1

13. (9) 4

The Complete Library Of Congress Sessions 1941-1942 

 Son House

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Son House was like a preacher. When he was on (which he is on all these recordings) he was pure fire. He was pure passion. And his slap style guitar managed to be just as, if not more, amazing than his hero, Charley Patton's. In truth, this set of tracks is profound at times in its honest passion and emotion. Son House may have been the coolest vocalists ever because, like I said, he vocally strutted like a holy man. He was like James Brown before James Brown. Anyway, now I'm just rambling. It's fucking Son House! [First added to this chart: 05/31/2014]

Year of Release:

1990

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

6

Rank in 1990:

891

Rank in 1990s:

10,074

Overall Rank:

64,802

Average Rating:

 69 (18 votes)

Comments:

2

27. (=)

The Carolina Blues Man, Vol. 1 

 Pink Anderson

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A good-natured finger-picking guitarist, Anderson played for about 30 years as part of a medicine show. He did make a couple of sides for Columbia in the late '20s with Simmie Dooley, but otherwise didn't record until a 1950 session. Finally as the folk revival commenced in the early '60s he began to record albums (this one included) He's a more than worthy exponent of the Piedmont school, versed in blues, ragtime, and folk songs, Pink is really one of the greatest an most versatile bluesmen you'll hear. A songster of the higher order.

And it will entertain you BEAers to know that Anderson also became an unusual footnote in rock history when young, unknown at the time, Syd Barrett combined Pink's first name with the first name of another obscure bluesman (Floyd Council) to name his rock group, Pink Floyd, in the mid-'60s. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2014]

Year of Release:

1961

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

9

Rank in 1961:

206

Rank in 1960s:

3,213

Overall Rank:

56,458

Average Rating:

 68 (5 votes)

Comments:

0

43. (=)

Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar 

 Elizabeth Cotten

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Elizabeth Cotten was among the most influential guitarists to surface during the roots music revival era, her wonderfully expressive and dexterous fingerpicking style was a major inspiration to the generations of players who followed in her wake. And her stunningly familiar and sweet voice is to die for.

This album was recorded later in her life after the Seeger family, who she worked for, discovered she played music. They got her in to the studio to record some albums. It was perfect timing as the folk revival was just about to go in to full swing. This album is stunning in it's warmth, beauty, tradition and earthy-realness. It's hard to describe. But listening to this album is like being in another world and another time for a bit. I can't recommend this enough if you are in to or getting in to Folk, Blues, Country, or Americana. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2014]

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

56 charts

Rank Score:

371

Rank in 1958:

29

Rank in 1950s:

110

Overall Rank:

3,881

Average Rating:

 77 (41 votes)

Comments:

2

44. (=)

Texas Sharecropper And Songster 

 Mance Lipscomb

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Mance was actively making music since the 20s but apparently never recorded until the folk revival in the very early 60s. He is a musician, much like Leadbelly and John Hurt and Henry Thomas, who could not be designated as strictly blues. He was a beautiful interpreter of song. All kinds and types of songs were in his repertory. His voice is weather-worn and sincere. And he was also a very good acoustic guitar player. The thing I love about listening to his music is it is sort of like a picture into some bygone time and place. The culture and feel of the good old days live on in these beautiful songs and melodies. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2014]

Year of Release:

1960

Appears in:

13 charts

Rank Score:

7

Rank in 1960:

211

Rank in 1960s:

3,440

Overall Rank:

60,842

Average Rating:

 70 (10 votes)

Comments:

0

50. (=)

Traditional Delta Blues 

 Johnny Shines

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Although Johnny Shines was steeped in Mississippi Delta blues as a youngster, and spent a good deal of time traveling and playing with Robert Johnson (the master himself) he spent most of the 1940s and '50s fronting electric bands in Chicago. Nevertheless, Shines's electric playing was always greatly informed by the Delta style, and, in the '60s and '70s, he began to revisit his roots in a solo acoustic format. This album captures Shines in this context, and features 14 excellent performances that display his passionate singing, fine bottleneck playing, and intricate phrasing in the Johnson tradition. Not surprisingly, This is an outstanding latter-day set of truly authentic Delta blues. It's really sick. Johnny Shines just had a coolness an certain intensity to his playing that I love and I think you'll love too. [First added to this chart: 05/31/2014]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

2 charts

Rank Score:

0

Rank in 1991:

1,773

Rank in 1990s:

21,541

Overall Rank:

140,083

Average Rating:

 73 (1 vote)

Comments:

0

Total albums: 6. Page 1 of 1

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60 Shades of the Deep Blues composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	2	3%
1960s	2	3%
1970s	7	12%
1980s	8	13%
1990s	34	57%
2000s	6	10%
2010s	1	2%
2020s	0	0%

Artist	Albums	%
Various Artists	4	7%
Lightnin' Hopkins	1	2%
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup	1	2%
The Mississippi Sheiks	1	2%
Tommy Johnson	1	2%
Clifford Gibson	1	2%
Bukka White	1	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	56	93%
	4	7%

60 Shades of the Deep Blues chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 4 from 12th to 8th Steppin' On The Blues by Lonnie Johnson
Up 3 from 8th to 5th Ragtime Guitar's Foremost Fingerpicker by Blind Blake (US)
Up 2 from 13th to 11th The Original 1928 Recordings by Mississippi John Hurt

Biggest fallers
Down 4 from 2nd to 6th King Of The Country Blues by Blind Lemon Jefferson
Down 4 from 9th to 13th The Complete Library Of Congress Sessions 1941-1942 by Son House
Down 3 from 7th to 10th Founder Of The Delta Blues by Charley Patton

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• Genre Favorites #3: Electric Blues by NickVolos (2014)
• Top 11 Music Albums of 1960 by Mercury (2021)
• Top 11 Music Albums of 1958 by flamingyesdept (2017)
• Top 11 Greatest Music Albums by ln68 (2010)

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60 Shades of the Deep Blues ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 61 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
85/100	09/02/2021 17:55	rockbluesfolkjaz	75	87/100
85/100	06/11/2021 14:38	Timestarter	114	90/100
100/100	11/08/2020 05:02	DJENNY	4,408	100/100
95/100	09/07/2020 16:38	arthurbittencour	161	90/100
100/100	03/18/2020 16:21	Jameth	48	96/100

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This chart is rated in the top 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 94.9/100, a mean average of 95.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 96.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.2.

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60 Shades of the Deep Blues comments

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From Mercury 09/07/2020 16:46

@arthurbittencourt - lol I get it. I love the wild. I am not familiar with a deep delta blues album of his. Pre-war mostly acoustic blues is the center of this chart. I have another chart which I’ve not finished after years of procrastination which is about my fave post WWII mostly electric blues which howlin Wolf is high on cuz he is one of the greats.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From arthurbittencourt 09/07/2020 16:38

95 / 100 just because no Howlin' Wolf.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Jameth 03/18/2020 16:37

Document Records cut their albums straight, which is why they’re so noisy. You can find comps for Tommy Johnson and others which have lower noise levels. Another important example of this is the more recent Centennial Collection for Robert Johnson, which contains all of the tracks found on The Complete Recordings (plus two more), but is much more listenable. Anyways, I thought I’d mention this because it might be better to steer people new to the blues or pre-war recordings towards the lower noise recordings. Or even to post-war tape recordings for those artists that are fortunate enough to have recorded to tape, such as Son House and Blind Willie McTell.

Thanks for helping the cause of the blues with this awesome chart!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From crimson 12/18/2019 03:49

Man, one of the greatest charts in this site. A loooot to be discovered by the common man in here.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From Boltzmann 12/17/2019 22:05

Damn, my blues doesn't go that deep, but I'm glad someone is willing to take the effort to make such a chart. It wouldn't be bad for me to get educated on blues and see where it overlaps with and how it evolved into rock 'n' roll. My previous efforts have been tiresome and unfruitful (everything is hard to find), maybe your chart will be good guidance.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From Steppenwolf666 12/17/2019 13:22

Very informative. A subject i don't know too much about.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From StefanR10 07/05/2019 07:42

This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.

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Rating:  

95/100

From arthurbittencourt 03/08/2019 05:27

How old are you my good friend? and how long have you been listening to blues?

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From boppare 01/21/2019 21:16

I thought I knew all there was to know about the Pre-war "deep blues", but this chart just made me add a few albums to my wishlist. Some excellent selections and comments.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Jasonconfused 11/15/2018 23:57

What an undertaking! I'll have to get to work on this immediately.

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