Various - Up Jumped The Devil - American Devil Songs 1920s

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5...according to our Phil on Thu 29 May, 2008.

I always really enjoy those Viper comps. The 'Up Jumped The Devil' comp is here featuring American devil Songs from the 20's to the 50's. Another great themed album but one day they'll run out of ideas and you'll get songs about people who wore really big hats or people who just ate citrus fruit. Anyway here's a bunch of songs about the devil sung by old people when music was made for the love of it and as a folkloric thing rather than a way of making loads of cash and getting your end away. Heartfelt blues, rock 'n roll and jazz dominate the album and if you want names then the ones I recognise are fats Waller, Gene Vincent, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Bessie Smith and Robert Johnson (who did make music to get his end away...). Great stuff indeed and a nice change from all the other stuff I'm forced to listen to day in and day out in this hellhole.

Viper’s finest compilation to date. A full hour of devilish classics from such legends as Gene Vincent, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Skip James, Bessie Smith, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jelly Roll Morton and Robert Johnson to name but a few.

l4/5 REVIEW IN MOJO: "FROM LUCIFER’S OWN COLLECTION COMES THIS SET OF EARLY BLUES, COUNTRY AND BOOGIE. FATS WALLER, SKIP JAMES AND SISTER ROSETTA THARPE PROVIDE BEASTLY HIGHLIGHTS."
l4/5 REVIEW IN THE INDEPENDENT : "OLD NICK WAS BOTH A LITERAL AND METAPHORICAL PRESENCE IN VIRTUALLY EVERY GENRE, FROM BYRON PARKER’S BREAKNECK BLUEGRASS NUMBER TO THE ROCK‘N’ROLL OF GENE VINCENT, WHO IN ‘RACE WITH THE DEVIL’ OUTSTRIPS BEELZEBUB IN A HOTROD RACE."

Tales of temptation, nightmare, possession and pure devilish fun, told via a rich and wonderful cornucopia of three decades of American popular music, ‘The Devil’s Music’ - Rock‘n’Roll , Blues, Jazz and Country can be all be tasted in this infernal music treat.
Now the educational bit:
- The word ’Devil’ grew from the Indo-European ’Devi’ or ’Deva’ meaning ’Goddess’ or ’Gods’. The Old English ’Divell’ comes from the Roman ’Divus’- ’God’). The Devil’s imagery comes directly from the horned, lustful, pagan God ’Pan’ who also played musical pipes.
- Indeed the Devil ’jumps’ up throughout history, in Blues mythology at the crossroads - a place that belongs to no one where you can exchange your soul for that arcane musical knowledge that will mesmerize and captivate here on Earth.

TRACK LISTING: 1) Gene Vincent - Race With The Devil 1956, 2) Fats Waller - There’s going To Be The Devil To Pay 1935, 3) Bo Carter - Old Devil Circa 1938 4) Charlie Christian - Pagin’ The Devil 1939, 5) Woodie Brothers - Chased Old Satan through The Door 1931, 6) Screamin’ Jay Hawkins - Little Demon 1956 7) Byron Parker and his Mountaineers - Up Jumped The Devil 1940, 8) Skip James - Devil Got My Women 1931 9) Fess Parker and his Royal Flush Orchestra - Feelin’ Devilish 1930 , 10) Bessie Smith -Blue Spirit Blues 1929 , 11) Oliver Brown -Oh You Devil You 1935 , 12) The Clovers -Devil or Angel 1955, 13) Almanac Singers - Get Behind Me Satan 1941, 14) Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Devil has thrown him down 1943, 15) Powder River Jack and Kitty Lee - Tying a Knot in the Devil’s Tail Circa 1930 , 16) Washboard Sam - She Belongs to the Devil 1941, 17) Jack Teagarden - Putting Salt on the Devil’s Tail Circa 1941 , 18) Otis Spann - I’d Rather Be The Devil 1954, 19) Jelly Roll !
Morton’s Red Hot Peppers - Boogaboo 1928 20) Robert Johnston - Me and The Devil Blues version 1 1937

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