In His Prime
Even before his rediscovery in 1959, Furry Lewis's lofty place in Memphis blues history had been secured on the strength of a mere 23 songs recorded between 1927 and 1930. Lewis's innovative guitar work and his pained vocals take center stage on these 14 recordings. Lewis shows terrific versatility on these sides: His incredible fingerpicking uses dramatic bass tones on "Jellyroll" and rolls banjo-style on "Mistreatin' Mamma." His high-pitched slide wails through "Why Don't You Come Home."  Lyrically, he was capable of both great wit and dark imagery ("I believe I'll buy me a graveyard of my own/I'm gonna kill everybody that ever done wrong."). The Lewis staple "Kassie Jones (Parts 1 and 2)" is here, although his other classic, "John Henry," isn't.--Marc Greilsamer