A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings

 

This is another album that I just happened upon, most likely as something that was recommended to me on some platform or another. It's another goodie, though, with 30 (!) songs representing early Americana and folk music that was collected by the Library of Congress fieldworkers.

Opening with a fun fiddle workout from W.H.Stepp, we get an acapella group take on "Rock Island Line" from Kelly Pace, old folk numbers like "Pretty Polly" (this time by E.C. Ball), kinda nursery rhyme raps like "Pullin' the Skiff" and a great take on "Shortenin' Bread" (both from Ora Dell Graham), a fun run through on "Soldier's Joy" by the Nashville Washboard Band, a soulful acapella "Another Man Done Gone" (Vera Hall), a harp'n'vocal version of "When I Lay My Body Down" (Turner Junior Johnson), a fiddle howdown in "Grub Springs" (W.E. Claunch), Bozie Sturdivant's powerful acapella "Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down", the old world shanty "Iron Merimac", a nursery rhyme attributed simply to "Margaret", and a great banjo workout in "Coal Creek March" among others - and that's all just in the first half!

The second half of the CD includes David Honeyboy Edwards, who made it to 96 years old, but here he's a young bluesman doing a terrific "Worried Life Blues", there's a few gospel and sacred numbers, more old world disaster songs, fiddle hoedowns, bluegrass banjo, field hollers, acoustic slide guitar melodies and basic folk/Americana numbers, including Woody Guthrie's version of "The Gypsy Davy". 

This CD comes with an extensive booklet with an overview of the collection and its inception along with extensive notes from Lomax about each and every number. Any fan of early Americana should definitely pick this one up!