Bluesville Records, Craft Recordings’ blues HQ, is back this fall with heavyweight vinyl reissues that dig deep into the roots of the genre. Pink Anderson’s 1961 Vol. 1: Carolina Blues Man and Terry Callier’s 1966 The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier get the full collector treatment—remastered from original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl, and packaged with new obi notes. For fans of Scrapper Blackwell, Furry Lewis, and Lonnie Johnson, this is blues history served loud, clear, and unpolished—exactly how it was meant to hit your soul.
The vinyl resurgence has turned jazz and blues reissues into a serious thrill for collectors, and Craft Recordings, Bluesville, and our friend Chad at Acoustic Sounds have been steering the ship. They’re giving a new generation a shot at artists they might otherwise miss, without the headache of hunting down rare originals.
Even for those of us who’ve lived and breathed the blues for decades, these reissues offer clean, faithful sound that’s often easier to track down—and far less bank-breaking than the originals.
Pink Anderson Vol. 1: Carolina Blues Man — Digging the Roots
Pinkney ‘Pink’ Anderson (1900–1974) wasn’t just another Piedmont picker. He was a master of finger-picking and sly, sometimes wicked storytelling. Born in South Carolina, he taught himself guitar, cutting his teeth on Spartanburg streets and the wandering medicine-show circuit. He made a handful of sides with Blind Simmie Dooley in 1928, but a proper solo album? That took decades, because good things apparently like to keep you waiting.
By 1950, folk and blues were bubbling up with a younger crowd, and Anderson returned to the studio with fellow Carolinian Rev. Gary Davis, later part of a split LP in 1956. Eleven years later, with the blues revival in full swing, he finally laid down Vol. 1: Carolina Blues Man for Prestige’s Bluesville label. Produced by folk revival kingpin Kenneth S. Goldstein, it’s just him, his guitar, and a room that doesn’t stand a chance. His finger-picking and strumming fill the space like a full band, leaving no doubt that one man can make the blues hit harder than most do with an army behind them.
Anderson digs into traditional material—‘Meet Me in the Bottom,’ ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go,’ ‘Mama Where Did You Stay Last Night’—but every cut carries his fingerprint. The pauses, the phrasing, the quiet melancholy between the notes; it’s all Anderson, and nobody else. After this debut, he kept busy: two more Bluesville releases, a spot in Samuel Charters’ 1963 documentary The Blues, and national tours that proved the old man could still outplay half the scene. His guitar work left its mark on future legends, including Johnny Cash.
And in one of rock’s cruel jokes, his nickname helped inspire the name Pink Floyd—a cruel bit of rock irony, considering how far one of that band’s founders drifted from the heart of the blues and into something far darker. Anderson played with soul and humanity; the man who borrowed his name seems more interested in shouting at shadows and picking fights with history itself.
Credit where it’s due: Chad Kassem, and the folks at Craft and Bluesville, clearly care about preserving this piece of American music history with the reverence it deserves. The pressing quality here is outstanding. The vinyl is whisper quiet, with zero surface noise and a center hole so precise you could set your watch by it. The presentation is clean, rich, and unusually spacious for a 1961 recording. You can practically feel the air move between the notes.
Anderson’s guitar work digs in deep. His picking gets under your skin in the best possible way, the kind that makes you wince a little before you smile. The man didn’t need a band. His voice and guitar fill the room like they’ve been waiting sixty years to do it right.
This is one of the best sounding reissues from this period I’ve heard. There’s no studio trickery, no mastering sleight of hand—just Pink, dead center, singing and playing like he’s right in front of you. If every reissue sounded this alive, half the vinyl revival crowd would finally understand what the fuss is about.
Where to buy: $32.99 at Amazon | Craft Recordings
Related Reading:
- Review: Furry Lewis – Back On My Feet Again Gets 180g Reissue From Bluesville And Craft Recordings
- Review: Memphis Slim – At The Gate Of Horn 180G LP Reissue By Craft Recordings Revives Bluesville Classic
- Review: Lonnie Johnson’s Blues & Ballads Reissue From Bluesville & Craft — Classic Blues, Audiophile Vinyl, No Frills, All Soul
- Buddy Guy This Is Buddy Guy! & Scrapper Blackwell Mr. Scrapper’s Blues Vinyl Reviews: All-Analog Mastering, 180-Gram Pressings
