"FOLKSONGS" - Old Time Country Music 1926-1944

The French label Frémeaux & Associés certainly has taken it upon themselves to issue unique collections of early recorded music, and Folksongs: Old Time Country Music 1926-1944 is no exception. While the American labels Yazoo and Smithsonian/Folkways approach similar music -- sometimes the very same recordings -- it's the clever concepts that yield the bizarre inclusion of unexpected tracks which always keeps Frémeaux & Associés' compilations from being redundant. The clincher for Folksongs: Old Time Country Music 1926-1944 is the inclusion of the sophisticated performance of "Greensleeves" by the Twentieth Century Minstrel (how vague can a moniker get?). This performance stands out because of the very trained voice of the vocalist sits side by side with backwoods performances by the likes of Clarence Ashley and Bascom Lamar Lunsford. After reading the liner notes, the reason becomes somewhat clear why this was included: the label wished to compile some of the earliest recordings of some of the most famous American folk classics and apparently mistook "Greensleeves" as a classic American folktale. Still, Frémeaux & Associés have put together another wonderful collection of early recordings which treads both sides of fame from the most celebrated (Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Dock Boggs) to the completely forgotten (Ernest V. Stoneman, Noach & Spark, Will Bennett), making this an excellent two-disc set for collectors and historians alike.by Gregory McIntosh, Allmusic

trax CD 1:
1. The Coo Coo Bird - Clarence Ashley 2. Nine Pound Hammer - The Monroe Brothers 3. John Henry - Two Poor Boys 4. East Virginia - Beull Kazee 5. Two White Horses - Two Poor Boys 6. The Mountainer's Courtship - Ernest V. Stoneman & Wife 7. I Wish I Was A Mole In The Ground - Bascom Lamar Lunsford 8. Greensleeves - The Twentieth Century Minstrel 9. My Long Journey Home - The Monroe Brothers 10. Salty Dog - Morris Brothers 11. Train Carry My Girl Home - Mainer & Morris 12. Brown's Ferry Blues - Sam & Kirk McGee 13. Rambling Boy - The Carter Family 14. Keep On The Sunny Side - The Carter Family 15. Railroad Hill - Will Bennett 16. Alama Bound - Papa Harvey Hull 17. In The Pines - Darby & Tarlton 18. Birmingham Jail (On A Monday) - Darby & Tarlton
trax CD 2:
1. Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms - The Monroe Brothers 2. Poor Boy - Gus Cannon 3. Pretty Dolly - Dock Boggs 4. Midnight Special - Lead Belly 5. 900 Miles - Woody Guthrie 6. Stackalee - Frank Hutchison 7. Henry Lee - Dick Justice 8. The Wagoner's Lad - Buell Kazee 9. Willie Moore - Burnett & Rutherford 10. Greenback Dollar - Noach & Spark 11. Little Red Shoes - The Monroe Brothers 12. Frankie And Johnnie - Jimmie Rodgers 13. Gambling Barroom - Jimmie Rodgers 14. White House Blues - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers 15. Down South Blues - Dock Boggs 16. Careless Love - The Delmore Brothers 17. Raining On The Mountain - The Delmore Brothers 18. Hesitation Blues (Curley Head Woman) - Burnett & Rutherford
...served by Gyro1966...