Down In The Basement: Joe Bussards Treasure Trove of Vintage

Product Review

Declan McManus Pumps It Up. Joe Bussard. "He's an eccentric record collector who's preserved all sorts of magical corners of music - although he says things like, 'There are no good jazz records made after 1927.'" Elvis Costello - Esquire UK October 2005

"This is the music of poor whites and blacks: wild-ass jazz and string-band hillbilly, surreal yodels and king snake moans, lightning-bolt blues and whorehouse romps and orgasmic gospel. It's all anti-pop, anti-sentimental: the raw sounds of the city gutter and the roadside ditch." Desperate Man Blues by Eddie Dean - Da Capo Best Music Writing 2000

"Joe has spent more than 50 years pursuing his purpose with a single-mindedness bordering on mania. And his purpose is no less than collecting and preserving the vast wealth of American vernacular music that was recorded on fragile shellac discs during the early decades of this century." A Visit and Interview with Record Collector Joseph E. Bussard, Jr by Marshall Wyatt - Old-Time Herald Spring 1999 - oldhatrecords.com/BussardInt.html

24 Rare Gems From The King Of Record Collectors - String Bands, Blues, Jazz, Country, Cajun, Gospel. Profusely illustrated, 28-page full-color booklet includes biographical essay, fully annotated discography, and (online) firsthand accounts of Joe's record collecting adventures. 72 minutes of newly, digitally remastered music. Jewel case, second edition.

Title Tracks for Down In The Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove of Vintage 78s 1926-1937 (Jewel Case with 28-page booklet)

1. The Lost Child - Stripling Brothers
2. How You Want It Done? - Big Bill
3. The (New) Call Of The Freaks - Luis Russell & His Orchestra
4. The School House Fire - Dixon Brothers
5. Greenback Dollar - Weems String Band
6. You Got To Go Down - Blind Gary
7. The Old Ark's A'Moving - A.A. Gray And Seven-Foot Dilly
8. Runnin' Wild - James Cole's Washboard Four
9. Keep It Clean - Charley Jordan
10. Get The "L" On Down The Road - Bill Johnson's Louisiana Jug Band
11. I Got A Bulldog - Sweet Brothers & Ernest Stoneman
12. Old Hen Cackle - Colman & Harper
13. Song From A Cotton Field - Bessie Brown
14. Atlanta Bound - Gene Autry
15. Easy Rider Blues - Soileau And Robin
16. Hot Lips - Bill Brown And His Brownies
17. Uncle Dave's Beloved Solo - Uncle Dave Macon
18. Hastings Street - Blind Blake And Charlie Spand
19. Ain't That Trouble In Mind - Fields Ward & The Grayson County Railsplitters
20. Give The World A Smile - The Corley Family
21. Original Stack O'Lee Blues - Long Cleve Reed And Little Harvey Hull (Down Home Boys)
22. Hot Town - Fess Williams And His Royal Flush Orchestra
23. Paddlin' Blues - Gitfiddle Jim
24. Plow Boy Hop - Grinnell Giggers

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review

(18 customer reviews)

79 of 82 people found the following review helpful

Two dozen time machines that work, September 18, 2003

George T. Parsons (Nevada City, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Down In The Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove of Vintage 78s 1926-1937 (Digipak with 72-page booklet) (Audio CD)

Joe Bussard has one of the coolest record collections on earth.
He started his own pirate radios station in his parent's basement when he was a teen in the later 40s. He later did real radio shows and still does. He started collecting records when he was 12 years old and he still does. He started his own record label called Fonotone and John Fahey recorded his first records in Joe's basement. This comes with a 74 page incredible illustrated an informative book. Too bad there's only ONE disc considering the size of Joe's collection, but we can all hope and pray for this to be the first in a loooooooong series of such anthologies. This set of 24 old-time songs, hillbilly whoops, jazz, country blues, gospel, jug bands, and more, feels as alive today as the moment it was created. This is so great, get it and you'll be rewarded with some incredible music and a cool visit with Joe Bussard by way of the extensive liner notes and images.

50 of 54 people found the following review helpful

Down in the Groove, December 1, 2003

Arch Stanton (Bondurant, WY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Down In The Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove of Vintage 78s 1926-1937 (Digipak with 72-page booklet) (Audio CD)

This record is a complete blast, from the track selection to the packaging. Joe Broussard owns 50,000 78s of gospel, old country, blues, cajun, etc and 24 of them made it on this disc. The sound is sparkling and the only clunker track is "Give the World a Smile" by the Corley Family. Good to hear some obscurities alongside Rev Gary Davis and Big Bill Broonzy and I'm glad the world has at least a couple of pale record freaks who like to sit in their basements sniffing shellac and collecting pristine old-time music. Makes me want to go steal a Victrola!

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

Where do we get the rest, June 30, 2005

Raymondo "Raymondo" (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Down In The Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove of Vintage 78s 1926-1937 (Digipak with 72-page booklet) (Audio CD)

Late one night I caught a film called "Desperate Man Blues". It was all about Joe Bussard and his record collecting. I am a blues fan and imagine my delight (when I came across "Treasure Trove.." on the Amazon site) when I found this great album. This album is brilliant. Each track is a gem. Once I heard this album I started looking for more. Then to my great delight the film "Desperate Man Blues" is now issued on DVD and the music from the film has been released on CD. (Also called Desperate Man Blues"). Joe has a great and honest style on the DVD that I loved from that first moment. The DVD has excerpts from Joe's radio show and other goodies. Check out http://www.desperatemanblues.com.au.
Thanks Joe for searching (collecting) out great music.