There seems to be some kind of unwritten rule against giving exact session dates on most Tradition CD reissues, although at least one of the tracks on In the Shadow of the Gallows Pole comes from 1939. The sleeve does note that the material "is digitally remastered directly from rare, mint condition 78s contained in Leadbelly's first full album, Negro Sinful Songs, and from 78s released on the Stinson label." There's some interest in the variety of instrumentation -- Leadbelly uses not only his 12-string guitar, but also piano and button accordion (the last of which is used to unusual effect on the version of "John Hardy"). "The Bourgeois Blues" is also a bit unusual in that its lyric derives not from folk traditions, but from an incident in Washington, D.C. in 1935 in which Leadbelly encountered segregation. This can't be recommended as one of his more essential releases, however, particularly as the running time is a mere 28 minutes.
Genre - Blues
Styles - Country Blues, Acoustic Blues, Folk Blues
Time - 28:42
Format - mp3@320 Kbps
Size - 60 mb
Tracks
01. Looky Looky Yonder / Black Betty / Yellow Women's Doorbells
02. Poor Howard / Green Corn
03. De Blues
04. The Gallis Pole
05. The Bourgeois Blues
06. Noted Rider
07. Big Fat Woman
08. Bottle Up and Go
09. Bring Me Li'l Water, Silvy
10. Julie Ann Johnson
11. Line 'Em
12. Whoa Back Buck [Back Band]
13. John Hardy
Credits
Leadbelly (vocals, 12 string guitar, accordion)
Label
Tradition, 1996
1 comentarios:
This Tradition CD is very short - less than 30 minutes long - and there is no discographical information included, so most listeners will have no idea when, and under what circumstances, these selections were recorded. And the track points aren't always lined up properly at the beginning of each song. But the music is fabulous - these are some of the best recordings Leadbelly ever made. There is the wonderfully bitter "Bourgeois Blues," based on the racism he experienced in Washington, DC: "Home of the brave; land of the free - I don't wanna be mistreated by no bourgeoisie." There are Ledbetter's versions of old work songs like "Julie Ann Johnson" and the railroad crew song "Line 'Em." And "Gallis Pole" is an intense, moving version of the old British ballad "Gallows Pole." (Led Zeppelin also recorded a version of this one.) On most of the tracks, Leadbelly accompanies himself on his twelve-string guitar, but there are a couple of unaccompanied vocals (the opening work song medley and "Line 'Em"). And Leadbelly plays piano on one short selection ("Big Fat Woman") and even brings out his accordion for the Texas bad man ballad "John Hardy." So where do these recordings come from? A little time with the discography in Charles Wolfe and Kip Lornell's Leadbelly biography reveals that the first five tracks were recorded for the Musicraft label on April 1, 1939. The rest of the tracks come from an October, 1943 Asch Records session. So this isn't the ideal issue of this music. I wouldn't let that stop you if you can get this CD for a decent price; it's some of Leadbelly's best recorded work. The music rates five stars.