I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More 1929-1941
Favored with rare songwriting insight, John Adam Estes from western Tennessee found his proper place among the country blues illuminati because of his prewar 78s for Victor Records and other labels. The quietly thunderous "Someday Baby" and twenty-two more selections hinge on his high voice's exquisite tonal clarity, his self-confident delivery, his bringing intelligibility to the phrase "construction of music," and his drawing of subtle yet great feelings from his own or traditional verses. The interaction of Estes's singing with Hammie Nixon's harmonica, James "Yank" Rachell's mandolin, and/or Jab Jones's piano results in textures that heighten the music's relaxed state of enchantment. On the minus side, the songs reveal Estes to have been an unremarkable guitarist.-- © Frank John Hadley 1993--From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD