{"product_id":"the-complete-recordings-vol-1-empress-of-the-blues","title":"The Complete Recordings Vol. 1: Empress of the Blues","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Smith, Bessie\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Import\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eRelease Date:\u003c\/b\u003e 09-04-1991\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDetails:\u003c\/b\u003e Amazon.ca Bessie Smith was not the first of the classic blues singers to record, but once she did, she became the form's dominant force, with a voice that combined clear diction, great power, and a unique capacity to convey complex emotions. Weariness gives way to resilience and sorrow to joyous triumph in Smith's performances, and there's nobility in her delivery of even the sometimes tritely comic lyrics she sang. This is the first of five two-CD sets that gather all her known recordings. The first 38 songs, from February 1923 to April 1924, are here. Smith was a presence when she first arrived in the studio: \"Downhearted Blues,\" her first record and already a hit for its composer, Alberta Hunter, would sell nearly 800,000 copies in its first six months of release. It's a riveting performance, but there's greater substance just a couple of months later in the bending notes of \"Oh Daddy Blues.\" There are many majestic performances here, with Smith usually accompanied by just piano, played by songwriter Clarence Williams, her working accompanist Irving Johns, or Fletcher Henderson. When her accompaniments begin to expand, Don Redman makes an appearance on clarinet, but the great band recordings with Louis Armstrong remain in the future. The liner notes, by Smith's biographer, Chris Albertson, are excellent, filled with illuminating background and details of Smith's career during her first year of fame. --Stuart Broomer\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUPC:\u003c\/b\u003e 007464470912\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eEAN:\u003c\/b\u003e 0074644709124\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eLanguages:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eBinding:\u003c\/b\u003e Audio CD\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eItem Condition:\u003c\/b\u003e UsedVeryGood\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ID Shop.ca","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43892965146883,"sku":"XO-9EOD-P2A3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0030\/9765\/7390\/products\/513S8M_gRBL.jpg?v=1682385663","url":"https:\/\/idshop.ca\/en\/products\/the-complete-recordings-vol-1-empress-of-the-blues","provider":"ID Shop.ca","version":"1.0","type":"link"}