Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick 1958-1971

Alongside Alan Lomax and William Ferris, Robert ‘Mack’ McCormick fits into the tradition of white American enthusiasts of African-American roots music who devoted their lives to tracking down and documenting artists in their natural environment. Starting in the 1950s, McCormick amassed hundreds of recordings, mostly of blues musicians, in Texas and the surrounding areas. Since his death in 2015, the tapes have languished on the shelf and this collection represents the first time his mythical stash has been opened to the public.

With over 60 tracks touching on country blues, gospel, fife and drum bands, ragtime and more, it's a dizzyingly rich survey of sounds deeply embedded in communities surviving at the hard end of life. It includes well-known names, such as bluesmen Lightnin’ Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb, as well as unknowns who never set foot in a recording studio.

Most intoxicating is the sense of place that emanates. These are field recordings in the truest sense. The Spiritual Light Gospel Group lift their voices to the rafters of a country church; George ‘Bongo Joe’ Coleman delivers apocalyptic street-corner sermons with cars trundling by; and Hop Wilson's electrified ‘3 O’Clock Blues’ evokes a sweltering hot club on a Saturday night. Dive in.