For blues lovers who love their experience pure and strong, Ferris (Blues from the Delta
) conducted more than 20 interviews of blues and gospel performers from the Mississippi Delta for his latest book. The author did much of this fieldwork as a graduate student during the 1960s and 1970s, capturing these singers close to where they grew up, chopping cotton and tending the farms during the day and prowling around the jukes and roadhouses at night. From among the Delta locals of sacred and secular music, Ferris interviews such blues masters as James “Son Ford” Thomas, Willie Dixon and B.B. King, with their words accompanied by a stirring CD/DVD of their music. There is an intriguing section on the infamous Parchman Penitentiary in the Delta, where cruel overseers and defiant inmates battle each other. Joyous, powerful and authentic, this package is designed to both inform and entertain those willing to plunge into this audacious world. (Nov.)
