Mel Bay Complete Country Blues Guitar Book/ CD set
by Stefan Grossman

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Book Review: A Treasury of Country Blues Guitar Styles
Summary: 5 Stars

This isn't so much a method book--though I taught myself to play country blues from it--as a large tab compendium with helpful tips about each song. Each song has at least one fully-transcribed verse. Many have intros and outros, and some are complete arrangements. Most of the book covers the alternating bass and ragtime traditions of the Memphis and Piedmont blues, but there are seven Delta tunes, and excellent seven-song chapter on Texas blues, and even a good number of bottleneck tunes. Most of the songs are old standards ("Crow Jane","Vestapol","Hard Time Killin' Floor") taken from the original recordings by artists like Reverend Gary Davis, Mance Liscomb, and Blind Blake.

The "handwritten" tab is large and easy to read--you'll never be able to go back to that tiny Hal Leonard/Guitar Player tab after this. There are lots of photos of old bluesmen as well as atmospheric old-South pictures from the Library of Congress collection. It's so attractive I keep it on my coffee table. The CDs feature Grossman playing the tabbed arrangements (and then some) as well as original Blind Lemon Jefferson tracks. They're listenable in their own right, even if you aren't learning the guitar!

If you're interested in pre-war blues guitar, and you already known how to play five or six chords (remember, this book teaches country blues, not guitar), this is easily the best bang for your music buying buck.

Summary of Mel Bay Complete Country Blues Guitar Book/ CD set

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