AMG Review of Honey Babe Let the Deal Go Down: The Best of the Mississippi Sheiks

Thom Jurek
All Music Guide

Sony Legacy's remastered update of its out of print 1992 Mississippi Sheiks retrospective sounds much better than its predecessor. Astonishingly, all 20 sides come from between 1930 and 1931. The Sheiks, who appeared in many configurations, were always represented by Walter Vinson (Jacobs) on vocals and guitar and Lonnie Chatmon on fiddle. But here their ranks are added to on numerous selections by either Bo Carter (Chatmon) and Sam Chatmon as well as Texas Alexander. All but two sides here were recorded for the OKeh label ("Please Don't Wake It Up" and the classic "I've Got Blood in My Eyes for You" were recorded for Columbia). While all the titles have been released previously, they've never been issued with sound quality this fine. Tracks include Sheiks favorites such as "The Jazz Fiddler," "Seen Better Days," "Honey Babe Let the Deal Go Down," "Your Good Man Caught the Train and Gone," and the amazing "Bootlegger's Blues." For punters seeking a single volume, this is it; for those seeking an introduction to some of the greatest string band blues ever recorded, look no further.~ Thom Jurek, Rovi