Scooped up a worn copy of this bad boy at amoeba today.
from some blog: "Released to commemorate the 1969 Memphis Blues Festival, Memphis Swamp Jam features 20 songs by the event's most notable performers. However, this is not a live album. Although the tracks date from the same period as the festival, they were recorded at Ardent Recording Studio and Royal Recording Studio in Memphis. Chris Strachwitz produced this two-LP set, and it marks one of the few occasions (if not only) when he worked in this capacity for a company other than his own Arhoolie Records. The likely idea behind this production was to release it on a label with greater distribution capability than Strachwitz's in an effort to give the musicians wider exposure to the record-buying public. 1969, of course, was a year well known for its numerous music festivals. The blues revival that had begun earlier in the decade was at its apex. With many in the counterculture embracing old blues singers as the spiritual fathers of particular rock & roll musicians, the timing seemed right for a release such as this.
Judging by the quality of the performances, the artists on Memphis Swamp Jam seemed to sense the importance of this project. Sure, you've probably heard different versions of these same songs on other releases by the featured musicians. However, they all seem to go that extra mile on this album perhaps aware that they were now recording for something other than small specialty labels."
Bukka White, Piano Red, Nathan Beauregard, Sleepy John Estes, Fred McDowell & Johnny Woods, Napoleon Stickland (featuring Otha Turner), Furry Lewis, and RL Watson & Josiah Jones.
