A1 	Tappin' That Thing 	
A2 	Pack My Clothes And Go 	
A3 	Skinny Woman Blues 	
A4 	Matchbox Blues 	
A5 	Texas Tony 	
A6 	Des Moines, Iowa 	
B1 	Shotgun Blues 	
B2 	Sugar Farm Blues 	
B3 	Diving Duck Blues 	
B4 	Wadie Green 	
B5 	Peach Tree Blues

Yank Rachell – vocals, mandolin (tracks: A1, A5, B1, B3), guitar (tracks: A2 to A4, A6, B2, B4, B5)
Backwards Sam Firk – guitar (tracks: A1, A5, B1, B3)

This is the first time that "Yank Rachell" has appeared on CD, and it's long overdue. Originally issued on vinyl in 1973 on the Blue Goose label (Blue Goose 2010), the aim was to record James "Yank" Rachell recapturing his days of playing solo. The idea seemed obvious, but had somehow been overlooked since his rediscovery in the early part of the 1960's. The ultimatum behind the original recording may be rather questionable--effectively "play them old country Blues or we don't set the tapes rolling"--but the results are never in doubt.

Mostly self-taught, Rachell played and recorded with Sleepy John Estes and with Hammie Nixon played as a jug band in the South. After returning to farming, and then working on the L&N during the Depression, Rachell later worked closely with (John Lee) Sonny Boy Williamson. After the war, Rachell eventually ended up in Indianapolis where he lived up until his death in 1997.

Rachell was more influential than he usually gets credit for, with a number of his songs being used as the basis for other tunes. Perhaps the most famous tune included here, after the version of Blind Lemon Jefferson's "MatchBox Blues," is "Divin' Duck Blues", which has become something of a Blues standard.

When you consider that Rachell had difficulty recalling any of these tunes immediately before the recordings, his standards of playing and singing are exceptional. Although more renowned as a mandolin player, he was equally at home on guitar, as can be heard on "Wadie Green." Although there can often be a sameness to the sound of the mandolin in less capable hands, Rachell's exploits the instrument's capabilities more fully on songs like "Shotgun Blues" and "Sugar Farm Blues." Rachell was also a fine singer, capable of adapting his vocals to fit the requirements of the song.

"Yank Rachell" is especially recommended for those who like their Blues acoustic. It belongs in the collection of any discerning Blues listener, because Rachell was an original and unique artist, who didn't follow the conventional styles of playing. A prolific songwriter, Rachell was an artist's artist, and it is perhaps fitting to leave the last word to B.B. King, who was a fan, and told Rachell that "It's people like you that made people like me possible." –Gordon Baxter, mnblues.com

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1 Depression Blues
2 Roll Me Over Baby
3 Check Up on My Baby
4 Early in the Morning
5 Diving Duck
6 Let Me Tangle in Your Vines
7 I Don't Believe You Love Me No More
8 Going to St. Louis
9 Sugar Mama

Yank Rachell - Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin, Vocals
Pete Crawford - Guitar
Floyd Jones - Bass (Electric)
Odie Payne, Jr. – Drums

While Yank Rachell was past his prime when he began recording for Delmark in the 1960s, he was still an effective, often exciting vocalist and mandolin player. He seldom sounded more striking and enjoyable than on the nine cuts that comprised Chicago Style, recently reissued on CD. Rachell sang with a spirited mix of irony, anguish, dismay, and bemusement on such numbers as "Depression Blues," "Diving Duck," and "Going to St. Louis." --- Ron Wynn, Rovi

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1. Texas Tony	3:45	
2. Girl of My Dreams	5:08             play
3. Do the Boogie Mama (Take 3)	2:47
4. Starvation in My Kitchen	4:32
5. I'm Gonna Get Up in the Morning	3:57	
6. Lonesome Blues	2:22
7. Shout Baby Shout	3:07
8. Rocky Mountain Blues	4:15
9. Do the Boogie Mama (Take 2)	2:39
10. Stop Knocking on My Door	2:57
11. Doorbell Blues	4:26                   play
12. Move Your Hand	3:49
13. Get Your Morning Exercise	2:31
14. When My Baby Comes Back Home	3:45
15. Up and Down the Line	4:16
16. Bye Bye Baby	3:48

Personnel: 
Yank Rachell (vocals, guitar, mandolin); 
Sleepy John Estes, Big Joe Williams (vocals, guitar); 
Hammie Nixon (vocals, harmonica); 
Michael Bloomfield (guitar). 

Recording: Dan Queen's Residence, Chicago, IL (03/06/1963-03/3

Yank Rachell was born March 16, 1910, near Brownsville, Tennessee, and he died April 9, 1997, in Indianapolis, Indiana. But for James "Yank" Rachell (which he pronounced "ray-shell"), the mandolin, common in early string bands, nearly died out as a blues instrument. While a few others were recorded playing blues mandolin, Rachell not only recorded prolifically but brought the instrument into new contexts. He also played rhythmically interesting guitar. In later years he electrified his instruments at times, but his mandolin sound, characterized by biting fills and swirling lines, ever remained haunting. Over his nearly 70-year recording career, he left a deep musical mark on sides under his own name and in accompanying Sleepy John Estes, John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Washboard Sam, Henry Townsend, Big Joe Williams, and others.

In one of his most famous stories, Rachell remembers back when he was a "mannish boy" walking down the road, and he heard a neighbor playing a "tater-bug" (round-back) mandolin. Yank had never seen one and had to ask what it was, but he wanted it so badly he traded a pig for it. His mother was not pleased, and told him when he got hungry he could eat the mandolin.

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