Deep River of Song Alabama (blues)(mp3@320)[rogercc][ ]

Deep River of Song: Alabama - From Lullabies To Blues


Released : 2001


Label: Rounder


Format : Mp3@320



Recorded between 1934-1940 by folklorist John Lomax, this offers an interesting cross-section of songs sung by "real" people in Alabama. And a cross-section it really is, from blues to spirituals to lullabies to work songs. It's a collection that introduces a voice that should have become well-known -- Vera Ward Hall, who opens the set with a startlingly pure "Another Man Done Gone" and keeps cropping up throughout. While the emphasis is on song, there's also some wonderful harmonica playing on "Train on a Hill" by Richard Amerson (who also reminisces about his days on steamboats), and Tom Bell accompanies himself on guitar on "Worried Blues." Perhaps the most intriguing piece is "Billy Goat Latin" from Joe F. Williams & Booker T. Williams, a bizarre field holler. All the way through, material that's become quite familiar over the years pops up in its folk roots -- "Honey, Take a Whiff on Me," "Hush Little Baby," "Alabama Bound," and "Go to Sleep (Little Baby)" -- all of which have become part of the national consciousness. Lomax proves to be as able as his son in finding great performers (although you have to wonder when he asks one to take a song into double time, obviously a first-time occurrence for the subject of this particular recording).

Tracklist :


1. Another Man Done Gone - Vera Ward Hall (01:24)


02. Railroad Bill - Vera Ward Hall (01:18)


03. Poor Lazarus - Vera Ward Hall (03:17)


04. Been In the Jailhouse (Sun Gonna Shine In My Door Some Day) - Blind Jessie Harris (02:20)


05. I Been Drinking - Vera Ward Hall (02:44)


06. Honey, Take A Whiff On Me - Blind Jessie Harris (03:11)


07. Train On A Hill (Train Imitation) - Richard Amerson (04:44)


08. Alabama Bound - Rich Brown (01:45)


09. Moaning (I'll Soon Be Gone) - Vera Ward Hall, Dock Reed, and Henry Reed (01:30)


10. Job, Job - Dock Reed and Vera Ward Hall (02:46)


11. Didn't That Hammer Ring? (I Can't Hold Out No Longer) - Dock Reed and Vera Ward Hall (02:54)


12. What Is the Soul of Man? - Dock Reed, Henry Reed, and Vera Ward Hall (01:22)


13. Knock John Booker (To The Low Ground) - Mary McDonald (01:40)


14. Wake, Sally Baker - Joe and Mary McDonald (02:14)


15. Go To Sleep (Little Baby) - Harriet McClintock (02:33)


16. Hush, Little Baby - Annie Brewer (00:43)


17. Come Up Horsey - Vera Ward Hall (02:07)


18. Little Bitty Man - Mary McDonald (01:07)


19. Titty, Give Me Some Titty - Mary McDonald (01:04)


20. Hopali - eight unindentified girls (01:46)


21. Ain't Gonna Rain No More - eight unidentified girls (00:34)


22. Jack, Can I Ride - unidentified children (02:00)


23. Billy Goat Latin - Joe F. Williams and Booker T. Williams (01:39)


24. Hog Hunt - Richard Amerson (02:25)


25. I'm Chopping Cotton - Sim Tartt Group (01:24)


26. Gin the Cotton - Harriet McClintock (00:52)


27. Boll Weevil Blues - Vera Ward Hall (01:18)


28. Worried Blues - Tom Bell (02:43)


29. Steamboat Days - Richard Amerson (05:01)


30. Carrie, Carrie - Thomas Langston, Judge Broadus, Albert Nicholson & Joe Millhouse (01:23)


31. Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-One (Ain't Working Song) - Charley Campbell (01:37)


32. Captain, I'm Getting Tired - Willie Carter, Albert Nicholson, Allen Gordon, and David Alexander (01:31)