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Recording Review of Lead Belly: the Smithsonian Folkways Collection

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Recording Review of Lead Belly: the Smithsonian Folkways Collection East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University ETSU Faculty Works Faculty Works Spring 1-1-2015 Recording Review of Lead Belly: The mithsoniS an Folkways Collection Ted Olson East Tennessee State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works Part of the Appalachian Studies Commons, and the Music Commons Citation Information Olson, Ted. 2015. Recording Review of Lead Belly: The mithS sonian Folkways Collection. The Old-Time Herald. Vol.14(2). 47. ISSN: 1040-3582 This Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in ETSU Faculty Works by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recording Review of Lead Belly: The mithsoniS an Folkways Collection Copyright Statement © Ted Olson This review is available at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University: https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/1168 Reviews Hitler) / Big Fat Woman / Been So Long from his recording career over three CDs (Bellevue Hospital Blues) as well as (in that set's 154-page 12" x 12" Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection hardcover book) samples of his idiosyn­ Disc Four: cratic prose writing and visual art. Since WNYC, Folk Songs of America (Grey Lead Belly is principally remembered Goose - Boll Weevil - Yellow Gal - Ha­ for his music, the newer Smithsonian Ha This a Way - Leaving Blues - Irene Folkways set commendably features a - outro) / WNYC, Folk Songs of America generous selection of recordings-108 in (Almost Day - Blues in My Kitchen, Blues all-made by Lead Belly for three labels In My Dining Room - I Went Up On the (Folkways, Stinson, and Disc) as well as Mountain - Good Morning Blues - Baby, for the Library of Congress; the set's five Don't You Love Me No More - T. B. Blues CDs effectively illustrate the musician's - Irene - outro) / If It Wasn't For Dicky / stylistic range and diverse repertoire. Smithsonian Folkways SFW40201 What's You Gonna Do When the World's The set features 16 previously unreleased Disc One: On Fire / Rock Me (Hide Me in Thy Bo­ recordings, four of which were of Lead The Bourgeois Blues / Fannin Street som) / Packin' Trunk Blues / Leaving Belly compositions never before released (Mister Tom Hughes Town) / The Mid­ Blues / How Come You Do Me Like You in any form. (By contrast, Woody At 100 night Special / John Henry / Black Girl Do? I One Dime Blues/ I'm Going to Buy included 57 tracks in all, 21 of which (Where Did You Sleep Last Night) / Pick You a Brand New Ford/ Jail-House Blues were previously unreleased recordings, a Bale of Cotton / Take This Hammer / (It Was Early One Morning) / Shout On with six of those 21 constituting never­ Cotton Fields / Old Riley - Here, Rat­ (Honey, I'm All Out and Down) / Come before-heard original songs by Guthrie.) tler, Here / Rock Island Line / The Callis and Sit Down Beside Me / Red River Among the recordings in the Lead Belly Pole (The Maid Freed From the Gallows) set are inspired performances of songs / Ha-Ha This a Way / Sukey Jump / Boll Disc Five: associated with the musician-some of Weevil / Scottsboro Boys / Governor 0. Yes, I Was Standing in the Bottom - which he composed ("The Bourgeois K. Allen / Governor Pat Neff / There's a When It's Springtime in the Rockies / Blues," "Bring Me a Little Water, Sylvy," Man Going Around Taking Names / On Ain't Going Down to the Well No More "Cotton Fields," "Alberta"), and some of a Monday (Almost Done) / You Can't (Version 2) / Every Time I Go Out / Go which he adapted from other composers Lose Me, Cholly / Keep Your Hands Off Down, Old Hannah / Black Betty / No­ ("Rock Island Line") or from traditional Her / We Shall Be Free body Knows You When You're Down and sources ("The Midnight Special," "Irene Out I Stewball / Ain't It a Shame to Go [Goodnight Irene]," "Black Girl [Where Disc Two: Fishin' On a Sunday / Relax Your Mind Did You Sleep Last Night]," "The Cal­ Alabama Bound / Almost Day (Christ­ / Princess Elizabeth / Silver City Bound lis Pole," "Pick a Bale of Cotton," and mas Is a-Coming) / Fiddler's Dram / I The Titanic / House of the Rising Sun / "Black Betty" ). Whether written or ar­ Green Corn / Sally Walker / Bring Me a It's Tight Like That / Diggin' My Potatoes ranged by Lead Belly, these songs have Little Water, Silvy / Julie Ann Johnson / / Springtime in the Rockies / Backwater been embraced over the decades by in­ Linin' Track / Whoa, Back, Buck / Shorty Blues / Didn't Old John Cross the Water numerable music-makers, from interna­ George / Ham and Eggs (Make It on the I De Kalb Blues (Ain't Gonna Drink No tional pop music legends to heroes of Side of the Road) / Moanin' / Out on the More) / They Hung Him on the Cross various roots music subgenres to local Western Plains / Noted Rider / Meeting (Version 1) / They Hung Him on the singers and strummers. Yet other musi­ at the Building (All Over This World) / Cross (Version 2) / In the World cians' interpretations of such songs gen­ Good, Good, Good (Talking, Preaching - erally lack the irrepressible combination We Shall Walk Through the Valley) / Ain't Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Col­ of toughness and tenderness present in You Glad (The Blood Done Signed My lection, a 2015 set celebrating the music of Lead Belly's versions; indeed, one of his Name) / I'm So Glad, I Done Got Over/ Huddie Ledbetter (c. 1888-1949), is cast principal gifts was infusing his music The Hindenburg Disaster / Ella Speed / in the basic mold as-and has been ad­ with contrasting elements. Haul Away Joe / Old Man / Sweet Jenny vertised as a companion to-that same Also included on the Smithsonian Lee / Jean Harlow / Laura / Queen Mary label's acclaimed 2012 Woody Guthrie Folkways set are recordings that docu­ set entitled Woody At 100. Both releases ment Lead Belly's passionate rendi­ Disc Three: were not only issued by the same com­ tions of various work songs (including Good Morning Blues / Sail On, Little pany, but they also claim the same pro­ "Linin' Track"), prison songs (such as Girl (You Can't Mistreat Me) / Easy Rid­ ducers (Jeff Place and Robert Santelli), "On a Monday"), and blues composi­ er / Poor Howard / Duncan and Brady mastering engineer (Pete Reiniger), and tions ("In the Evening [When the Sun / How Long, How Long / T. B. Blues / art director (both sets were designed by Goes Down]") as well as gospel material Jim Crow Blues / Pigmeat / John Hardy the Visual Dialogue company's Fritz Kla­ ("There's a Man Going Around Taking / Outskirts of Town / 4, 5, and 9 / In the etke, who won a GRAMMY for his work Names") and songs for children (most fa­ Evening (When the Sun Goes Down) / on the Guthrie package). This is a, vet­ mously, "Ha-Ha This Way"). Represent­ Red Cross Store Blues / Diggin' My Po­ eran team, with many historical record­ ed on the set as well are various topical tatoes / Blind Lemon / When a Man's a ing releases and music-related museum songs, whether prompted by civil rights Long Way From Home / Alberta / Ex­ exhibits to their collective credit. incidents ("Scottsboro Boys"), celebri­ cerpt from "The Lonesome Train" / Na­ Woody At 100 explored the entirety of ties ("Jean Harlow"), notorious figures tional Defense Blues / Hitler Song (Mr. Guthrie's work, incorporating selections ("Hitler Song [Mr. Hitler]"), or ephem- THE OLD-TIME HERALD WWW.OLDTIMEHERALD.ORG VOLUME 14, NUMBER 2 47 eral events of national or international ings (combining his entire output on ally come down and hang out and play interest ("Queen Mary"). Lead Belly "folk" labels such as Folkways and also music with some of the last of the clas­ composed two of the set's other topical his many field recordings for represen­ sic players, especially Luther Davis and songs-"Governor Pat Neff" and "Gov­ tatives of the Library of Congress and Kahle Brewer. Always deeply and emo­ ernor 0. K. Allen" -to thank the gover­ other documentarians, along with his tionally attached to what I'm carefully nors who, appreciating his music, par­ work for such commercial companies as going to refer to as "true" and "authen­ doned him for his crimes and freed him the American Record Company, Victor, tic" old-time music-if he had a choice from prison. As evidenced by many of and Capitol) is unlikely to materialize he listened to and learned from the old his songs (whether topical or not) show­ in the foreseeable future, Lead Belly: The guys-Craig had the feel and the feeling. cased on the set, Lead Belly had the rare Smithsonian Folkways Collection is likely He had the sound. It was timeless and it ability to turn rough-and-tumble per­ to remain the essential and central com­ was unique. sonal experiences and observations into pilation of Huddie Ledbetter's music Mostly the songs and tunes on the CD songs of universal interest and relevance. for years to come. are Craig unaccompanied or with just Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways TED OLSON banjo, fiddle, or guitar. Other songs and Collection bears witness to the striking To order: folkways.si.edu/leadbelly tunes have minimal and just-right ac­ range and marked contrasts in the mu­ companiment. Many folks will know sician's repertoire, voice, performance Craig Johnson Craig's work from his many years as style, and songcraft.
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