Last Sessions (1972)

About this title: Recorded in New York during February and July of 1966, the 17 songs on this collection represent Mississippi John Hurt's final studio efforts. It is astonishing that this man, in the final months of his life, could do 17 songs that were the equal of anything he had done at his first sessions 45 years earlier, his playing (supported on some tracks with producer Patrick Sky on second guitar) as alluringly complex as ever and his voice still in top form. Hurt is brilliant throughout, his voice overpowering in its mixture of warmth, gentleness, and power, and in addition to the expected crop of ... read more

Tracks:

1. Poor Boy, Long Ways from Home [White]
2. Boys, You're Welcome
3. Joe Turner Blues [Hurt]
4. First Shot Missed Him [Hurt]
5. Farther Along [Hurt]
6. Funky Butt [Hurt]
7. Spider, Spider
8. Waiting for You
9. Shortnin' Bread [Traditional]
10. Trouble I Had All My Days [Hurt]
11. Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me [Hurt]
12. Good Morning, Carrie [Bowman/McPherson/Sm]
13. Nobody Cares for Me [Hurt]
14. All Night Long
15. Hey, Honey, Right Away
16. You've Got to Die
17. Goodnight Irene [Leadbelly/Lomax]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.