On Tue, 9 Feb 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Jimmie Tarlton:
> Was cruising through the Hightone / HMG site, (www.hightone.com) ran
> across some stuff I'd never heard of, talked Darrell into sending. Was
> pleasantly surprised with some of it, and was absolutely *knocked out*
> by the Jimmie Tarlton - Steel Guitar Rag. Very primitive sounding blend
> of (as the liner says) mountain folk, city blues, and Hawiian pop.
> Recorded in Roakoke, Alabama in 1963, and L.A. in 1965. JT was one-half
> of the duo Darby and Tarlton from the 20's and 30's. According to the
> notes, JT played the guitar in his lap, not necessarily because he
> thought it sounded better, but because he just wasn't comfortable
> playing in a traditional guitar pose. (maybe he just likes to sit down
> to play <g>)
> Incredible stuff, at least to these ears.
Tarlton's a great bluesy steel guitarist. The duets he recorded with Tom
Darby are some of the best bluesy country of the late 20s-early 30s (back
when bluesy country music was all the rage, thanks to Jimmie Rodgers).
They recorded a few standards (like both sides of their biggest hit
record, "Birmingham Jail" and "Columbus Stockade Blues"). There's a Darby
& Tarlton CD available on County Records, but it seems to emphasize their
more old-timey stuff a bit more than you'd expect, as opposed to their
hardcore blues recordings. You also can find a few of their songs on
various compilations, like the excellent Fremeaux & Associes sets
Hillbilly Blues and Folksongs, along with Columbia/Legacy's White Country
Blues collection. There's also a 4-CD D&T Bear Family set for the totally
obsessive. (I wouldn't be surprised if Gardner or Jim Nelson had a
copy.<g>).--don
