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

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!

there is nothing more to say, really. the other reviewers all got it right (except the part about the corley family's cut being a clunker - i love that one.) to think that this is less than a thousandth of this guy's collection makes me salivate for another disk. from the dawn of the recorded age - 20 years earlier and all this would just be gone in the air...

This CD was on my son's "wish list" at Christmas so I'm sure he loves it. He's a musician and makes his living teaching "old time" music- banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar.

Amazing collection. Every song is a fabulous reminder of the incredible variety of music we used to produce. Masterful collection. You will love it.

I wish they would make more of these from his huge collection. Lots of great tunes to clog or buck dance along with!

Great stuff from the bedrock of early jazz and deep blues and country music.Americas greatest contribution to world music.Keep mining this basement,there is riches here,great riches..

Bussard is a legend among old record collectors and this opening of his vaults promises musical bliss. For the complete story on Bussard go to [...] -- and after reading it you'll have to agree with the previous reviwer that one CD is not enough. Maybe there will be future volumes....

This is a gift to my son, who is very musical and plays many instruments. He likes all types of music.

One word: ECLECTIC! A lot of documentaries and articles seem to focus on the extremely boisterous personality of Joe Bussard, when instead, emphasis should be placed upon his extraordinary collection of 78rpm recordings – approximately 15,000 discs, I believe.This compact disc recording consists mostly of "hillbilly music" (a precursor of its more commercial cousin, "country music"). Although not my favourite kind of music, I have to admit, much of it is quite fascinating, and it is certainly important for modern performers of this style to be able to hear the "real thing." However, there is also a jug band recording, a cajun recording (a cajun blues!), an early Gene Autry song, and early African-American blues recordings such as the one by Blind Gary.If you are interested in, or collect "vernacular" recordings from the early 1920s, then you almost certainly will hear a number of tracks which you have never encountered before. I used to collect early recordings for many years, and there was only ONE track on this CD which I had heard before! Highly recommended.

This is not just another reissue of old 78's .... this is a collection of rarities put together by a man who lives and breathes shellac. The discs on this CD are all prime copies, no elecktrickery; track 21 (Original Stack O'Lee Blues) is the only copy of this disc known to exist, one disc from a label that issued only 55 records....bought in a lot for ten dollars, that someone has since offered thirty thousand dollars for....but collectors never sell, they buy discs to listen to, not trade.And Joe Bussard is the king of collectors, been at it since his teens, knows his stuff and loves his music...proper music that is. We are lucky that he chooses to share his collection with us and others who've heard his broadcasts....This is a collectors issue for collectors; you can tell by the booklet with the CD...74 pages with details about the discs, how they were found (each and every one!) pictures of the labels and (mint!!)sleeves....if they could record the smell and feel of a shellac disc in a cardboard sleeve they would have done.Most of us will never amass stuff like this since the glory days of collecting 78's from the original owners are now well gone; buy this CD and enjoy some real American music from the days when folks appreciated real musicianship.Then, in the words of Joe Bussard "Enjoy yourself, relax and live!"

most amazing cd,must for all lovers of early American music!

For over 50 years, Joe Bussard has been preserving 1920s and 1930s music by collecting old 78 rpm records. He has one of the world's most important collections of old 78s.This CD features 24 tracks taken from 78s in Joe Bussard's collection, all recorded between 1926-1937. It's all great material, ranging from blues to country to gospel. The digital re-mastering is well done and the sound is very good for analog to digital transfers from 78 rpm records. It includes an informative booklet with recording dates, locations, musician credits and more.Overall, a very good collection of 1920s and 1930s music.Apart from getting some great music, this collection is worth buying to support Joe Bussard's efforts in collecting and preserving music from this period. If you support music preservation, consider buying this CD to support Joe Bussard's significant contributions to that effort.

fantastic enjoyable excellent reproduction some classic surface noise just adds to the nostalgia.don't really care what they're playing give me more