To many listeners, these sessions by Mississippi John Hurt won't seem very bluesy. Hurt comes from the Piedmont tradition which relies on a fingerpicking style closer to ragtime than the slide guitar stuntwork of the Delta blues. Furthermore, unlike swaggering Ur-rock stars such as Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, and Leadbelly, Hurt was by all accounts a simple country gentleman who was well-liked by everyone he met, and his music reflects that.
Young John Hurt taught himself to play guitar in secret in the middle of the night so as not to wake the house. He grew into a life working outdoors on farms and railroads in rural Mississippi. He played mostly at parties close to home. He was partnered with a white fiddle player named Willie Narmour who recommended him for a recording session with OKeh Records. The session yielded several singles, none of them particularly popular, and soon the Great Depression arrived to decimate the recording industry. John Hurt would return to rural life in Mississippi, playing the occasional party or fish fry, but mostly retired from music for the next 30 years.
Hurt's music was reappraised by the folk music revival of the early 60s and he was drawn out of his shell once more. He quickly became one of the most famous bluesmen of the time, and enjoyed playing for large and appreciative audiences for a few years until his death in 1966. His influence would be felt in the music of Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead.
History and influence are great and can make an otherwise mediocre album worth taking a look at. This is one of those times where history fails to do the music justice rather than vice versa. These simple and beautiful songs can and should be enjoyed by everyone. They have lost nothing since 1928. They remain immediate, relatable, and warm. They are refreshingly free of bluster. Their melodies are gently haunting. These are the daydreams of a good man. These are treasures.