Classic Folk Music from Smithsonian Folkways

Classic Folk Music from Smithsonian Folkways

Classic Folk Music from Smithsonian Folkways

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
We often take for granted the supremacy of artists such as Doc Watson, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie McGhee, and other folk music legends. Classic Folk sheds new light on the success of the urban intellectual-driven movement that made rural white and African-American artists and their music favorites of audiences everywhere. This recording features classic performances by classic artists doing some of their classic songs during the great folksong revival of the 1940s through 1960s. It is some of the great performances from the vaults of Folkways Records. Compiled and annotated by Jeff Place.

Classic Folk Music from Smithsonian Folkways,Various Artists,Smithsonian Folkways,Folk & Traditional,Folk Collections,Folk Revival,Folksongs,Political Folk,Pop,Traditional Folk,V/A Compilations
Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
  • Terrific sound recordings!
  • Truly Classic!
 Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006JTG5
Release Date: 2002-10-22

Tracks:

  1. Omie Wise - Doug Wallin
  2. Sugar Baby - Dock Boggs
  3. I Am a Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow - Old Regular Baptists
  4. Sixteen Tons - George Davis
  5. John Henry - Lesley Riddle
  6. Lost Indian - Marion Sumner
  7. Southbound - Doc and Merle Watson
  8. High on a Mountain - Ola Belle Reed
  9. Coal Creek March - Pete Steele
  10. Coal Miner Blues - Hazel Dickens/Alice Gerrard
  11. Railroad Blues - Sam McGee
  12. Cuckoo Bird - Clarence Ashley
  13. Conversation with Death (Oh Death) - Berzilla Wallin
  14. Lone Prairie - Wade Ward
  15. Rain and Snow - Dillard Chandler
  16. Mole in the Ground - Bascom Lamar Lundsford
  17. Moonshiner - Roscoe Holcomb
  18. Wildwood Flower - Kilby Snow
  19. Barbry Ellen - Jean Ritchie
  20. Daniel Prayed - Watson, Price and Howard
  21. Wreck of the Number Nine - Pop Stoneman
  22. Red Jacket Mine Explosion - The Phipps Family
  23. Kingdom Come - Norman Edmonds
  24. Amazing Grace - Horton Barker

Album Description

Riding the wave of the renewed interest in traditional American music, Classic Mountain Songs From Smithsonian Folkways Recordings showcases a handful of the greatest mountain ballads as performed by some of the most influential folk singers and songwriters of the 20th century. This collection features many classic performances from a wide variety of regional instrumental and song styles. These diverse styles and songs types from the mountain communities of North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee include old-time fiddle and banjo pieces, early bluegrass, and traditional ballads, with a special emphasis on Appalachian vocal traditions. Doc and Merle Watson, Roscoe Holcomb, Clarence Ashley, and Dock Boggs are just a few of the revered roots artists who appear on this stellar compilation. This is an essential album for both old and new fans of American mountain music. Compiled and annotated by Jeff Place.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways.......2007-07-15

I love Appalachian Folk Music and this CD included most of the best. It was true blue original recording of this music.

5 out of 5 stars Terrific sound recordings!.......2006-11-07

Great recordings of a wide variety of songs. Entertaining, great to just listen to, or to learn music from. Nice variety of classic sounds.

5 out of 5 stars Truly Classic!.......2003-02-14

The spate of worthy compilations riding on the coattails of O Brother, Where Art Thou? continues with Classic Bluegrass From Smithsonian Folkways, 25 tracks of serious bluegrass untarnished by rock, pop or other corrupting influences. Recorded between 1956 and 1992, it includes three numbers from what's purportedly the first bluegrass LP ever, Folkways'American Banjo: Three-Finger And Scruggs Style. Dashing mandolin runs by Earl Taylor (and his Stoney Mountain Boys) and bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe (with Peter Rowan) open and close this crisp disc while Ralph Stanley, singing with older brother Carter, offers clawhammer banjo picking.

Many of the performers - Red Allen, Doc Watson and Hazel Dickens, for example - grew up with the music. The Harley Allen-Mike Lilly Band (Harley being Red's son) shows how the genre's trademark tight harmonies can turn smooth (in an Osborne Brothers style) rather than sharp, without sacrificing the essence of true bluegrass. The New Lost City Ramblers' The Little Girl And The Dreadful Snake as well as The Lilly Brothers and Don Stover's Neath That Cold Grey Tomb Of Stone evince mountain music's darkness, but then a wildfire fiddle breakdown such as David and Billy Ray Johnson's Grey Eagle comes along to show its fun side. It's a well-balanced set of early bluegrass highlights.
Classic Maritime Music from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Wonderful sample of maritime songs and chanteys
  • water-soaked tunes
 Classic Maritime Music from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys
  2. American Sea Shanties and Songs
  3. Shanties & Songs of the Sea
  4. Sailors' Songs & Sea Shanties
  5. Blow the Man Down

ASIN: B0001XXBC0
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Tracks:

  1. Roll Alabama Roll (The Alabama)
  2. Shenandoah
  3. Clear the Track and Let the Bullgine Roll
  4. Greenland Whale Fisheries
  5. Paddy Doyles Boots
  6. The Black Ball Line
  7. The Sloop John B
  8. Tommys Gone to Hilo
  9. Lord Franklin
  10. The Handsome Cabin Boy
  11. Rio Grande
  12. Run Come See
  13. Ten Penny Bit (Instrumental)
  14. South Australia
  15. Haul Away Joe
  16. Blood Red Roses
  17. All for Me Grog
  18. Haul on the Bowline
  19. Bully in the Alley
  20. Chesapeake Born (Tom Wisner, Burmese Tunes, BMI)
  21. A Hundred Years on the Eastern Shore
  22. Dredging is Drudgery (Tom Wisner)
  23. Liverpool Judies (Instrumental)
  24. Santiano Hugill
  25. Reuben Ranzo
  26. The Girls Around Cape Horn
  27. Adieu My Lovely Nancy
  28. The Dreadnaught
  29. Married to a Mermaid
  30. Boney
  31. Homeward Bound/The Old Slipper Shoe (Instrumental)
  32. Homeward Bound

Album Description

More than just sea chanteys, maritime musical tradition encompasses an ocean of songs from people who have lived and worked on the water. Onboard are Folkways favorite singers-Dave Van Ronk and the Foc'sle Singers, Lead Belly, and Paul Clayton and many more. Classic Maritime takes you from the folk songs of Martha's Vineyard down to the Bahamas and beyond. Compiled and annotated by Jeff Place. Extensive liner notes, a whopping 32 tracks, 68 minutes of music!

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Wonderful sample of maritime songs and chanteys.......2007-01-11

You'll want to run off and join a whaler or be thankful you're on dry land after listening to this album. Good mix of humorous and poignant music about life at sea.

4 out of 5 stars water-soaked tunes.......2004-05-31

In a very happy move Smithsonian Folkways has taken to plumbing Folkways' deep catalog for a series of "Classic" anthologies of American roots music. The previous five are variously focused on Southern styles: blues, bluegrass, and mountain music. In the sixth of the series, SF turns to a non-Southern genre which has passed into neglect in recent years: songs of salt- and freshwater sailors. These are not field recordings, but the work largely of revival singers, who include such familiar names as Dave Van Ronk, Paul Clayton, and Lead Belly, along with others not so well known. They are taken from albums released between 1951 and 1997.

This is, as one would expect, a satisfying collection, not just for the performances but for the usual well-informed annotations and documentation. This grizzled folk fan learned a few things I didn't know, such as that "Run, Come See Jerusalem" -- once a folk-scare standard, done nicely here by the X-Seamen's Institute -- was written in 1929 by Blind Blake. No, not that Blind Blake, the bluesman/songster from Florida whose first name was Arthur, but the Bahamian singer Blind Blake, born Blake Higgs. I also learned that "Hilo" in the song "Johnny's Gone to Hilo" (here "Tommy's Gone to Hilo") is not in Hawaii, but in Peru (the port city of Ilo).

A small number of performances don't move me much. Tom Wisner's original, all-too-well-intentioned "Chesapeake Born" strikes me as purely cornball in that distinctively gooey Pete Seeger sort of way. Alan Mills and the Shanty Men perform in what sounds, at least to my ear, in so stilted, theatrical a fashion as to remind the listener why sea shanteys are so often parodied and ridiculed. (Admittedly, they're here for all of :36, in a mercifully brief "Paddy Doyle's Boots.") Done right, shanteys are wonderfully affecting, and most of the singers here do them proud. There are also a few ocean-going ballads, the standards "Greenland Whale Fisheries," "The Sloop John B," "Lord Franklin," and "The Handsome Cabin Boy," whose subjects range from the wryly comic to the heartbreakingly tragic.

If you already love this sort of thing, you'll want this album. And if you're looking for one representative anthology of maritime folk music to fill a hole in your collection, this one will do just fine.
Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Too much revivalist material
  • Pretty good but..
 Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000C4Y0TG
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Tracks:

  1. An excerpt from “Rail Dynamics” recorded by Emory Cook
  2. Train 45 — The New Lost City Ramblers
  3. Kassie Jones — Furry Lewis
  4. Jay Gould’s Daughter — Pete Seeger
  5. Railroad Bill — Walt Robertson
  6. Linin’ Track — Lead Belly
  7. Freight Train — Elizabeth Cotten
  8. Drill Ye Tarriers, Drill — Cisco Houston
  9. Zack, the Mormon Engineer — L. M. Hilton
  10. Lost Train — The Virginia Mountain Boys
  11. The F. F. V. — Annie Watson
  12. He’s Coming to Us Dead — The New Lost City Ramblers
  13. The Train That Carried My Girl from Town — Doc Watson
  14. Rock Island Line — Lead Belly
  15. Lonesome Train — Sonny Terry, Woody Guthrie, and Cisco Houston
  16. John Henry — Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston
  17. The Wreck of the Number Nine — Rosalie Sorrels
  18. Freight Train Blues — Brownie McGhee
  19. The New Market Wreck — Mike Seeger
  20. Jerry, Go Oil That Car — Haywire Mac
  21. Way Out in Idaho — Rosalie Sorrels
  22. Old John Henry Died on the Mountain — Henry Grady Terrell
  23. Casey Jones — John D. Mounce
  24. Wreck of the Old 97 — Pop Stoneman
  25. Midnight Special — Lead Belly
  26. Wabash Cannonball — Doc Watson
  27. Lost Train Blues — Vernon Sutphin
  28. New River Train — Iron Mountain String Band
  29. Excerpt from “Three Little Engines and 33 Cars” recorded by Vinton Wight

Album Description

This album features powerful performances by legends Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Brownie McGhee, Mike Seeger, Pop Stoneman, Cisco Houston, and Rosalie Sorrels, among others. Elsewhere, National Heritage Fellowship Award winners Elizabeth Cotten and Doc Watson, who has won six Grammy Awards to date, are represented. Of the 29 tracks on the album, a full 21 appear on CD for the first time, all newly remastered by Grammy winner Pete Reiniger.

Bookended by actual recordings of trains from the 1950s, the compilation evidences the continuing influence of these essential American ballads, work songs, blues and broadsides. "Midnight Special," represented here by Lead Belly, has been covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Paul McCartney, and Van Morrison. Alt-country band the Old 97s named itself after "The Wreck of the Old 97," which has been interpreted by Johnny Cash and John Mellencamp, among many others. The compilation also includes iconic American songs "Rock Island Line," "John Henry," "Wabash Cannonball," and "Railroad Bill," all presented here in riveting performances. Bluesman Furry Lewis, who sings about the legend of "Kassie Jones," actually lost a leg to a railroad accident in 1917.

Grammy winner Jeff Place compiled and annotated Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways, which also contains rare photographs from the Library of Congress.

Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways is the ninth entry in the label's Classic Series and serves as a doorway into Folkways' incredible catalog of recordings. The Classic Series, which has covered blues, bluegrass, folk, and mountain music, among other genres, also illustrates the role Moses Asch and his Folkways label played in preserving a vital piece of American history. December 6, 2005 marks the 100th anniversary of this American documentarian's birth.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Too much revivalist material.......2007-06-25

There are a lot of good songs on here but I was disappointed that so much of the album is made up of Folk Revival era covers rather than "roots" versions. I cannot imagine that there weren't enough Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and older songs about trains for them to fill this out without resorting to pop-type groups like the New Lost City Ramblers.

There are other CD's in this series, though, that are very good.

4 out of 5 stars Pretty good but.........2007-03-29

Frankly, I was disappointed in the version of "The Wreck of the Old 97." It's an interesting cut, live with a call and response from the audience, but the recording doesn't pick up the crowd very well. Essentially, you get half the song. Other than that quibble, a pretty good CD.
Classic Labor Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Best Labor Songs Collection
  • Labor songs
 Classic Labor Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000F3T87I
Release Date: 2006-05-23

Tracks:

  1. Joe Hill - Paul Robeson
  2. Bread and Roses - Bobbie McGhee
  3. Casey Jones (Union Scab) - Pete Seeger and the Almanac Singers
  4. We Shall Not Be Moved/Roll the Union On Joe Glazer
  5. Roll the Union On - John Handcox
  6. Cotton Mill Colic - Mike Seeger
  7. The Mill Was Made of Marble - Joe Glazer
  8. Aragon Mill - Peggy Seeger
  9. Talking Union - Almanac Singers
  10. 1913 Massacre - Woody Guthrie
  11. The Preacher and the Slave - Utah Phillips
  12. Which Side Are You On? - Florence Reece / Almanac Singers
  13. Hold the Fort - Joe Uehlein
  14. Union Maids - New Harmony Sisterhood Band
  15. Too Old to Work - Joe Glazer
  16. Black Lung - Hazel Dickens
  17. Been Rolling So Long - Larry Penn
  18. VDT Blues - Tom Juravich
  19. Automation - Joe Glazer
  20. I'm Union and I'm Proud - Eddie Starr
  21. I'm a Union Card - Kenny Winfree
  22. Carpal Tunnel - John O'Connor
  23. We Just Come to Work Here, We Dont Come to Die - Anne Feeney
  24. One Day More - Elaine Purkey
  25. We Do the Work - Jon Fromer
  26. De Colores - Baldemar Velasquez
  27. Solidarity Forever - Joe Glazer

Album Description

Songs of the American labor movement over the 20th century for just wages, dignity, and a fair shake. They voiced grievances, affirmed the value of the worker to society, and painted a picture of just world that could, one day, exist. Classic Labor Songs from Smithsonian Folkways is a collage of these voices—champions of the movement, singing songs with a passion and love for their fellow workers that rings just as true today as it did then. Utah Phillips, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joe Glazer, the Almanac Singers, and more chronicle the history of the American labor movement in stirring song. 28-page booklet, 27 classic tracks! 77 minutes of music!

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Best Labor Songs Collection.......2007-06-22

You would expect that since this collection is a Smithsonian Folkways Recording it would be better than most. And it is! I have listened to many work/labor songs CD's and found that the quality and varation of the songs in this collection much better. And there are not 12 or 16, but 27! Of course, there are a few male and female singers that I always pass up, but, still, just a few. Having been a union shop steward/building representative at my school for many years (and walked several picket lines), I can relate to the messages herein. They are really inspiring--and I don't tire of listening to them, as the previous reviewer seems to say, too. You will love the voices of Paul Robeson, Pete and Mike and Peggy Seeger, Joe Glazer (four tunes), Larry Penn, Eddie Starr, Kenny Winfree, John O'Connor, Anne Freeney. These "artists" are on other collections in the same genre, but those version and their quality do not match this.

4 out of 5 stars Labor songs.......2007-05-07

Mind you, the songs are all over the place. From a pretty dreadful song about Carpal tunnel syndrome and a silly song written "by" the little piece of paper that's your union card, to Paul Robeson's "I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night." A bunch of songs sung by Joe Glaser, who I don't think I'd heard before (odder than it sounds). And the New Harmony Sisterhood band updating "Union Maid," then switching into a wild klesmer version.

It was the CD in the truck for a hundred mile trip over the weekend. I ended up skipping maybe just those two songs the second, third, and fourth times through. But sighing happily to hear Robeson each time. And the variations on Union Maid.
Classic Folk Music from Smithsonian Folkways
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • branches of the roots
 Classic Folk Music from Smithsonian Folkways
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Folk | Styles | Music
Traditional FolkTraditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B00029J258
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Tracks:

  1. Pastures Of Plenty - Woody Guthrie
  2. We Shall Overcome - Pete Seeger
  3. Rock Island Line - Lead Belly
  4. No More Auction Block - Paul Robeson
  5. Deportees (Plane Wreck At Los Gatos) - Barbara Dane
  6. John Henry - Doc Watson
  7. John Hardy - Mike Seeger
  8. Betty And Dupree - Brownie McGhee
  9. Gallis Pole - Fred Gerlach
  10. Polly Von - Paul Clayton
  11. Butcher Boy - Peggy Seeger
  12. Duncan And Brady - Dave Van Ronk
  13. Railroad Bill - Hobart Smith
  14. Wayfaring Stranger - Burl Ives
  15. Big Rock Candy Mountain - Haywire Mac
  16. Born 100,000 Years Ago - Cisco Houston
  17. Sugar Babe, It's All Over Now - Mark Spoelstra
  18. Changes - Phil Ochs
  19. Black And White - Earl Robinson
  20. Most Fair Beauty Bright - Jean Ritchie
  21. Cielito Lindo - Pete Seeger
  22. Tom Dooley - The New Lost City Ramblers
  23. Freight Train - Elizabeth Cotten
  24. Down On Me - Mary Pickney
  25. This Train (Bound For Glory) - Big Bill Broonzy

Album Description

We often take for granted the supremacy of artists such as Doc Watson, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie McGhee, and other folk music legends. Classic Folk sheds new light on the success of the urban intellectual-driven movement that made rural white and African-American artists and their music favorites of audiences everywhere. This recording features classic performances by classic artists doing some of their classic songs during the great folksong revival of the 1940s through 1960s. It is some of the great performances from the vaults of Folkways Records. Compiled and annotated by Jeff Place.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars branches of the roots.......2005-01-20

It wasn't all that long ago that many rock critics were trying to bury the folk (excuse me, "folkie") revival of the 1950s and '60s as some kind of embarrassing temporary diversion from the only valid genres: pop and rock. Such numbskullery has largely (though not quite entirely) passed. Besides the flood of recordings by authentic roots artists, past and present, in recent years, we have been treated to retrospectives from such influential revival labels as Vanguard, Elektra, and Prestige Folklore. But the label that started the revival, Folkways (Smithsonian Folkways these days), is only now documenting its role in that influential cultural movement and moment.

Put together by Smithsonian Folkways' Jeff Place, a front-rank authority on recorded American roots sounds, Classic Folk Music features the inevitable Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly -- who, of course, should be here -- as well as others who may not be familiar to the more casual listener. But the quality of song and performance is mostly high. Though they went on to become revival stars, some artists had authentic traditional roots (among them Doc Watson, Hobart Smith, Elizabeth Cotten, and Brownie McGhee; McGhee's version of the 1920s murder ballad "Betty and Dupree" is arguably the most perfectly accomplished cut on the album). Others are unmistakably smoother and city-bred, perhaps none more so than Paul Clayton, in his lifetime more influential than gifted, now only dimly remembered as the guy from whom Dylan stole the melody to "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." Another Dylan melody, for "Blowin' in the Wind," was inspired by Paul Robeson's moving rendition of the anti-slavery anthem "No More Auction Block."

On the other hand, Barbara Dane's reading of Guthrie's "Deportees" strikes me as a trifle overwrought, and though not bad certainly not her most assured performance. Pete Seeger, featured twice, is, well, Pete Seeger, but half-brother Mike Seeger's "John Hardy" is at that very high standard one associates with any performance he sets his mind to. I've heard Dave Van Ronk's "Duncan and Brady" many times over the four decades that have passed since my first listening, and it still sounds fresh, among the most spectacularly convincing -- and darkly funny -- performances to come out of the revival. Jean Ritchie weighs in with the undeservedly obscure, beautiful, and deeply sad "Most Fair Beauty Bright." Phil Ochs wrote some memorable songs, but none in my opinion equals the uncharacteristically apolitical, melancholy reflection "Changes."

This disc shows how good the revival's major talents were, and how little the sometimes profound music they produced has aged. This recording comes out of the world that Dylan affectingly recalls in the memoir he published last year. If you don't know already and want to learn, here's the place to start finding out for yourself what he meant. And let's hope that Smithsonian Folkways is laying plans for more of the same.
Classic African American Ballads from Smithsonian Folkways
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Very Good
 Classic African American Ballads from Smithsonian Folkways
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Blues | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000ENV3GI
Release Date: 2006-04-25

Tracks:

  1. Mouse on the Hill - Warner Williams
  2. Casey Jones - K. C. Douglas
  3. John Hardy - Lead Belly
  4. Railroad Bill - John Jackson
  5. Stewball - Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon
  6. John Henry - Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
  7. St. James Infirmary - Snooks Eaglin
  8. Staggerlee - John Cephas & Phil Wiggins
  9. Lost John - Convicts at the Ramsey & Retrieve state farms
  10. Betty and Dupree - Josh White
  11. Old Riley - Lead Belly
  12. The Race of the Jim Lee and Katy Adam - Jazz Gillum, Memphis Slim, & Arbee Stidham
  13. The Titanic - Pink Anderson
  14. Frankie and Johnny - Big Bill Broonzy
  15. White-House Blues - Earl Taylor & the Stony Mountain Boys
  16. Louis Collins - John Jackson
  17. Bad Lee Brown - Woody Guthrie
  18. Luke and Mullen - Horace Sprott
  19. Duncan and Brady - Dave Van Ronk
  20. Gallis Pole - Lead Belly
  21. Boll Weevil - Pink Anderson
  22. Delias Gone - Josh White, Jr.

Album Description

Classic African-American Ballads is an uncommon sampling of an important, historic, and engaging slice of America's Black music heritage. The heyday of the Black ballad tradition (1890-1920) left a lasting strain of creativity and a monument to African American life of the time. Ranging from songs created from the heritage of the English ballad, to social commentary vilifying abusive white authority figures, to "blues ballads," this album reminds us of the enormity and constant evolution of African American musical tradition. 36-page booklet, 22 classic tracks! 67 minutes of music!

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Very Good.......2007-03-29

Outstanding music, good recordings, not a weak one in the bunch. A 'Must Have' for any CD library!!
Classic Canadian Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Songs from the past.
 Classic Canadian Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000FILN80
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Tracks:

  1. Potpourri Jean Carignan & Company
  2. Lord MacDonalds Reel - Jean Carignan
  3. The Shining Birch Tree Wade Hemsworth
  4. Cree Greeting Song (Shake Hands Song) William Peaychew
  5. Le Reel de lHarmonica Mr. Aldor Morin
  6. The Northern Trappers Rendezvous The Loewen Family Orchestra
  7. The Alberta Homesteader Alan Mills
  8. A Poor Lone Girl in Saskatchewan Anne Halderman
  9. When the Ice Worms Nest Again Alan Mills
  10. The Oda G. Stanley G. Triggs
  11. The Story of Weldon Chan Karen James
  12. Chanson de Riel Joseph Gaspard Jeannotte
  13. Tim Finnegans Wake Tom Kines
  14. Is the By That Builds the Boat Alan Mills
  15. Tonts, Tonts Ruth Rubin acc. by Pete Seeger
  16. The Welcome Table Mr. Charles Owens & Family
  17. The Heel & Toe Polka Bob Arbuckle, Verner Mikkelson, & N. Roy Clifton
  18. Cree Prisoners Song William Burn Stick
  19. Un Canadien Errant Alan Mills
  20. Maggie Howie Mrs. Tom Sullivan
  21. Constitution Breakdown Lee Cremo Trio
  22. N Uair Nighidh Ten You Wash) The Millers/North Shore Singers
  23. Anti-Confederation Song Alan Mills
  24. Danse Carr Jean Carignan & Company
  25. The Black Fly Song Wade Hemsworth
  26. Hogans Lake O. J. Abbott
  27. Shes Like the Swallow Alan Mills
  28. The Gay Gordons Bob Arbuckle, Verner Mikkelson, & N. Roy Clifton
  29. Nootka Farewell Song George Clutesi & his Port Alberni Group
  30. *Moose & Bear Calls Helen Creighton interviews Mr. Sandy Stoddard (*bonus hidden track)

Album Description

Canadian identity was once truly a mosaic - of disparate regions and small communities widely dispersed over a vast and inhospitable landscape. Classic Canadian Songs from Smithsonian Folkways showcases the rich musical traditions from generations of European settlers and contrasts with that of Aboriginal peoples fiercely determined to preserve their ways of life in the wake of colonialism and its injustices. 30 classic tracks, over an hour of music, 32 page booklet with extensive liner notes & photos.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Songs from the past........2006-08-04

When I was in undergrad. school in the late 50's, I worked in Canada. There I listened to a lot of Canadian folk songs. This collection brings back fond memories.
Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, Vol. 2
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • What started it all...the great grandparents of modern music
 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, Vol. 2
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Delta BluesDelta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
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Traditional BluesTraditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
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Electric Blues GuitarElectric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music
Acoustic BluesAcoustic Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
East Coast BluesEast Coast Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music
PianoPiano | Blues | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Folk | Styles | Music
Traditional FolkTraditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
Smithsonian Folkways StoreSmithsonian Folkways Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Classic Blues From Smithsonian Folkways
  2. Classic African American Ballads from Smithsonian Folkways
  3. Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
  4. Classic Bluegrass From Smithsonian Folkways
  5. Classic Folk Music from Smithsonian Folkways

ASIN: B0000C0FBI
Release Date: 2003-09-23

Tracks:

  1. Dark Road - Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry
  2. Step It Up and Go - Warner Williams
  3. It Was Early One Morning - Lead Belly
  4. Until My Baby Comes Home - Nora Lee King
  5. That's No Way to Do - Pink Anderson
  6. Farro Street Jive - Little Brother Montgomery
  7. I Ain't Gonna Cry - Son House
  8. Graveyard Blues - Roscoe Holcomb
  9. 44 Blues - Roosevelt Sykes
  10. Big Fat Mama - Honeyboy Edwards
  11. Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor - Lucinda Williams
  12. Lieutenant Blues - Barrelhouse Buck
  13. The Woman Is Killing Me - Sonny Terry and Friends
  14. Little Drops of Water - Edith Johnson
  15. When Things Go Wrong - Big Bill Broonzy
  16. Poor Boy a Long, Long Way From Home - Cat-Iron
  17. My Jack Don't Drink Water No More - Shortstuff Macon
  18. Way Behind the Sun - Barbara Dane
  19. Tell Me Baby - Lightnin' Hopkins
  20. Just A Dream - Memphis Slim
  21. Jelly Jelly - Josh White
  22. Down in the Alley - Chambers Brothers

Album Description

By popular demand! Featuring a second helping of all-time blues greats: Lead Belly, Son House, Lightnin' Hopkins, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Big Bill Broonzy and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Also includes other voices of the blues: Roscoe Holcomb, Lucinda Williams, and many more, highlighting the diversity of the blues tradition!

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars What started it all...the great grandparents of modern music.......2004-01-29

If you've seen the great PBS/Martin Scorsese Blues series, or read any of the books about the great bluesmen (Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, etc) then this disc gives you the opportunity to hear the old songs that started the blues music revolution recorded by the musicians who were at the start of the movement.

Son House, Big Bill Broonzy, Lightnin' Hopkins were all part of the original movement -- the folks that brought the blues to light.

Granted there's a number of modern cuts on this disc (I don't think Lucinda Williams was playing the blues in Chicago or the Mississippi Delta in the 1940's) but that doesn't detract from experience of hearing the old songs sung by the originals.

Music Review:

  1. Dave Guard & the Whiskeyhill Singers
  2. Dear To Our Island
  3. Deep Dead Blue
  4. Different Waters
  5. Dis Ain'tcha Momma's Zodico [Enhanced]
  6. Erik Darling [Import]
  7. Escape
  8. Favorite
  9. First 10 Years: 1986-95
  10. Front Parlour Ballads [Import]

Music Review

music review

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