Those Prison Blues is an album by blues musician Robert Pete Williams recorded by Harry Oster in Louisiana State Penitentiary in 1959 and 1960 and originally released on the Folk-Lyric label before being reissued with an altered track listing on Arhoolie in 1971.[1][2]

Those Prison Blues
Studio album by
Released1959
Recorded1959
VenueLouisiana State Penitentiary
GenreBlues, field recording
LabelFolk-Lyric
FL-109
Robert Pete Williams chronology
Angola Prisoners' Blues
(1959)
Those Prison Blues
(1959)
Free Again
(1961)
Arhoolie Reissue Cover

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
New Record Mirror     [4]

Eugene Chadbourne's review on AllMusic stated: "Although some of these tracks are brilliant, there are more consistent collections available by this artist, as well as ones that are more generous with playing time".[3]

Track listing

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All compositions by Robert Pete Williams except where noted

Original Folk-Lyric Release

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  1. "I'll Be Glad When I'm from Behind Iron Walls" – 5:23
  2. "Louise" – 4:24
  3. "Blue in Me" – 4:02
  4. "Come Here, Baby, Tell Me What Is Wrong with You" – 1:57
  5. "I Got the Blues So Bad" – 3:35
  6. "Boogy Woman" – 3:06
  7. "Pardon Renied (Denied) Again" – 4:44
  8. "Army Blues" – 3:13
  9. "Blues in the Dark" –
  10. "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Traditional)
  11. "Angola Special" – 4:12

Arhoolie Reissue

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  1. "Pardon Denied Again" – 4:44
  2. "This Wild Old Life" <previously unreleased – 4:20
  3. "Texas Blues" <previously unreleased – 5:07
  4. "Up And Down Blues" <previously unreleased – 6:00
  5. "I'm Blue as a Man Can Be" [aka "I'll Be Glad When I'm From Behind Iron Walls"] – 5:23
  6. "Louise" – 4:24
  7. "Blue in Me" – 4:02
  8. "I Got the Blues So Bad" – 3:35
  9. "Come Here Baby, Tell Me What Is Wrong with You" – 1:57

Personnel

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Performance

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Production

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References

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  1. ^ Robert Pete Williams Discography. Retrieved December 7, 2018
  2. ^ Dr. Harry Oster Recordings. Retrieved December 7, 2018
  3. ^ a b Chadbourne, Eugene. Robert Pete Williams: Those Prison Blues – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  4. ^ R.L.M. (July 13, 1963). "Robert Pete Williams: Those Prison Blues" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 122. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.