5 comments about Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits (Decca).

1. Nineteen mellow arrangements and a laid back Ms Holiday make for a very pleasant hour of listening pleasure. It can set the mood for a relaxed dinner party by having this play in the background.



2. Although there are a few good cuts on this collection, despite the generally terrible arrangements, almost any other collection of Billie's is better. If you want a single disc Greatest Hits album, try an obscure Brit import called "Fine and Mellow." The only thing the DECCA CD has going for it is better sound quality, because it was recorded much later than most of her good recordings.



3. I've heard many Billie Holiday CDs and this is one of the better ones. The sound quality is fantastic. 19 of her very best hits. I recommend this to both new and old Holiday fans.



4. ...Like me! True, these songs don't represent the real Billie because they are so short (about 3 minutes each). And there are a lot of added strings in the background in order to fit into what was commercially typical of the day. BUT trust me, after you listen to "Good Morning Heartache" it will sound like REAL music, compared to so much (noise/garbage) that passes for music in the present.

   I love this record!




5. While it is true, no one album could contain all of Billie Holiday's greatest hits, it's not a bad start. I you have just discovered Billie Holiday and you want to listen to some of her best renditions then this album isn't a bad place to start. Billie Holiday is so rare a talent that we may never see another like her again. So much of who she was is heard in her voice that it is often feels like an intrusion into the mind of another individual. At the same time, that is what makes Billie Holiday the greatest. So much of what music is today is vapid beyond belief. What with singers that convey no emotion because they have none to offer, lyrics that are as sharp as a butter knife and listeners who get excited over any tripe handed to them in their lethargic ears. In short, Billie Holiday is for everyone, everyone who has a discerning taste for quality. Buying this album is like taking the first bite of a meal that is going to satisfy both your taste buds and your soul.

2 comments about Shake Sugaree.

1. I bought this album after hearing the song "Shake Sugaree" on Sirius Disorder (satellite radio). Elizabeth's guitar style is mesmerizing--you will want to listen to the album straight through. I'm grateful that Smithsonian Folkways has brought us this album. Don't hesitate, buy it.



2. Thank you, Smithsonian Folkways, for reissuing this terrific album!
   
   Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten was a beautiful musician as well as a terrific lady, and this album showcases her considerable talents on guitar & banjo. Libba's granddaughter, Brenda Evans, sings the classic title song, which was written by Libba & her grandchildren. Other highlights, for me, are Libba's versions of "Ruben" and "Shoot That Buffalo", as well as the instrumentals "Washington Blues" and "Buck Dance".
   
   Now let's hope Smithsonian Folkways re-releases Libba's third & last studio album, "When I'm Gone"!

No comments about The World Must Never Know!.

No comments about A Proper Introduction to Tex Ritter: Sing, Cowboy, Sing.

5 comments about Wild & Beautiful.

1. I'm just a kid. My dad is a big fan of this kind of music. Recently he has been listening to this celtic CD. Honestly I love them and their music. My dad has one other CD which is their best songs or greatest hits, there is one song on both of those CDs that really stands out which is the fisherman's song. When my dad got this CD I instantly recognized The Fisherman's Song, but another song stands out, If I was a Blackbird. This is a sad song about a sailor whose lover doesn't love him enough to stay with him so she sails away. Although it is sad, it is definatly the best song on there. It is a beautiful song and his voice is comforting. I would buy this CD only for this song. I strongly reccommend this CD for anyone who loves celtic music as much as my dad.



2. This is real music, of the sort you'd expect to hear on a Saturday evening at a local pub--warm, rousing, and authentic. Silly Wizard's distinctive sound is defined by the deft accordion-playing of Phil Cunningham and the heartfelt, unpretentious vocals of Cunningham and lead singer Andy M. Stewart. Martin Haddin on keyboards and guitars and Gordon Jones on guitar and bodhran round out the core quartet, which is joined on this album by fiddler Dougie MacLean and drummer Roy Ashby. The accordion-led dance sets, tracks 2, 6, 7 and 8, are lively and winning, and Stewart's broguish singing in the slow numbers, such as "If I Was a Blackbird" and "The Fishermen's Song", is so genuine and understatedly heartfelt that it just tugs at my heart every time I hear it. Browsers whose computers will only let them sample the first few tracks should be aware that this album starts out on the slow side but really ends with a bang on the last three sets. Something that both dates and distinguishes the music of Silly Wizard is the use of keyboards such as that featured in "The Pearl", which sound rather like a pedaled, electrified harpsichord. It's a timbre not heard much these days in the instrumentations of newer Celtic groups, but it actually compliments the reedy sound of an accordion and the plucking of guitar strings quite nicely. Good overviews of Silly Wizard's output include "The Best of Silly Wizard" and "Live Wizardry". For contemporaneous work of Phil Cunningham, check out "Gathering Pace" by Relativity, starring Phil and his brother Johnny, along with siblings Triona Ni Domhnaill and Michael O Domhnaill.



3. The first time I heard the Fisherman's Song, I was stunned by its simplicity and poignancy, not to mention the beautiful and organic quality of the poetry. This song showcases the power of Andy Stewart's voice. It also shows his talent at staging a drama that sounds raw and inescapable, yet is somehow made bearable through the use of strikingly telling metaphors.

   Other songs on this album are worth their salt: If I Was a Blackbird is a classic of Celtic music and a favorite of mine. I like the rendition here. Hame,Hame,Hame is a wonderful song, followed by a lovely melody (Tha Mi Sgith=I'm tired) that speaks less of green fields than it does of introspection and internal landscapes, as the title suggests.

   The other instrumentals are also very good. A little less daring/modern than in 'A Gling of Silver,' but still masterfully executed. A powerful album, just as illustrated by the sun setting on the loch (on the cover) and the name it sports.




4. How did I miss this band! I thought I knew celtic music. I guess they were a little before my time. These guys are amazing! I have never felt like I heard 'real' celtic folk music until now. This is the real deal.



5. I feel like I just heard real Scottish music for the first time. The singer has an incredible voice and when he sings you can't help but feel like this is what the real songs of the highlands sound like. This music isn't overly polished and over produced and is about half instrumentals.

   Just listen to the samples "If I Was a Blackbird", "Hame, Hame, Hame/Tha Me Sgith", and "Fisherman's Song/Lament for the Fisherman's Wife" and you will be hooked.

5 comments about D.C. Blues: Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 2.

1. I love this album. Mississippi John Hurt has such a soothing voices. This is a must for any blues fan, or anyone who likes to listen to music for that matter.
   
   Being from Arkansas near where the blues originated, I have been able to attend many blues festivals and hear many artists. Mississippi John Hurt ranks on the top of great blues musicians.



2. This recording along with Vol. 1 really capture John Hurt at his finest. I prefer these to the later Vanguard recording.



3. I have all of Missispi John Hurt's recordings-and this one is the worst-the live the best.
   
   Clearly sitting in front of a mike(you a Black man) with two white people watching you is null of inspiration. Clearly the electronics was poor (1950-60) The guitar sounds decrepit and run-down at the heels. The voicing is good but...all the rest is uninspiring.
   To collectors i say get it-and then compare it with "Missisipi John Hurt Live"



4. Been listening to John since the mid 60's. Love the guy, and study and play his tunes for no reason other than the pure joy of it. Recently picked this up. Wow! Until I heard these recordings, I would positively tell you that "Today!", produced lovingly by Patrick Skye, was absolutely the best Hurt album ever. Now it has some competition. This album brings out new aspects of Hurt. I particularly liked Disc 2. You should do yourself a favor and get this.



5. If you are newly interested in Mississippi John Hurt and looking for a good musical intro to his music, I dare say that this recording may not be your best choice; recording quality and performance quality could be better. The Vanguard "Complete Studio Sessions" 3-CD set might well be a better intro to the music of John Hurt.
   
   If however you are a serious John Hurt fan, then this 2-CD set (previously available only in Europe) would be essential to your collection. Some songs found on this collection are not available elsewhere. In addition, some versions of previously available songs (guitar arrangements, keys, and lyrics) are different on this recording. As usual, the performances are always charming.
   
   Moreover, this CD provides an unvarnished picture of how Mr. Hurt was playing, right at the very beginning of his "rediscovery" period circa 1963. His technique is not nearly as smooth as it was to become just a year or so later. On some songs, the guitar is out of tune; I know this doesn't sound like a 4-star recording per se, but, for the John Hurt afficionado, it really adds to the total picture provided by the man's recorded legacy. And the other thing too... he was such an interesting fellow.... it's great to hear an occasional verbal comment or two made before and after takes.
   
   In short: I have been listening to this guy for 40 years, and it sure is nice to encounter another batch of recordings from MJH.

5 comments about Late Night at the Cafe Carlyle.

1. This is an very special gem. I love Mr. Shorts handling of the music. His voice is as nimble as the feet of Astaire and soothing and beautiful as cool water on a sizzliing summer day. For my birthday last year My partner and I dined at the Carlyle it was pure joy. We could feel the warmth and spirit of Mr. Short everywhere. If you love American songbook as much as We do this will be a welcome addition to the family.



2. The music is great and the setting is intimate, but Bobby Short's delivery ocassionally annoys me. He has a tendency to break into an abrupt piercing warble and his phrasing seems choppy to me. It's not enough to ruin the album, but it can be distracting.



3. Owning nearly all of Bobby Short's albums, this is the one I play the most. I love his style! He recorded at an actual preformance which added more intimacy to the of the album.



4. There cannot be a better night of classic American music than a Bobby Short gig at the Carlyle.



5. This is Short at his best. There's no brass section to drown out his voice or his piano, and you can hear the audience at the Cafe Carlyle react to his performance. Short's interpretation, along with Beverly Peer's and Robert Scott's, never gets stale. You can listen to this CD a hundred times and hear new aspects each time.

5 comments about An Untamed Sense of Control.

1. Excellent. This shows the greatness of the hills music of the time. He does an excellent job on fiddle work, vocal, and resatational work. This is a collection of his home recordings. It puts you in a relaxed and happy mood and sets you back to the times when things were great.



2. Roscoe Holcomb must be one of America's most under-rated cultural treasures. This collection is consistently haunting, hair-raising and intense, with some of the most chilling banjo and guitar you'll ever hear. A far mountain cry from the slick, soulless pap of modern bluegrass. It all went wrong when we lost sight of Roscoe...



3. mr holcomb doesn't sound very healthy. each song is sort of like a prolonged whiskey-laden death rattle. but they're also very full of life. as sweet as his voice is, i think my favorite songs here are the few instrumentals. "knife guitar" just rocks.



4. John's long essay on Roscoe Holcomb the person that comes in the booklet with the CD is worth the price of the CD. Cohen describes the contrast between Holcomb's recognition as a folk musician on a national level while he struggled to make a living in his home in Kentucky where the only result of his national fame was that he was cut from the public assistance he received.There are some sections of letters Roscoe sent Cohen that speak to Holcomb's struggle with life.
   
   If anyone wants to see this illustrated, pick up the film John Cohen made called High Lonesome Sound (make sure you get John's film not the several copy cats later made about bluegrass using similar names). You see the contrast between Roscoe's old time music that seemed to be left behind by all the people around him for Nashville drivel or rock and roll. You see a determined hard working man proud to stick out like a hard horny thumb with his music in a world going another direction.
   
   We get reminded here of the multiple sources of Holcomb's music. Rather than being the product of some prestine tradition, Holcomb's tunes and his ways of playing them show the profound mixture of cultures and influences that marked him and the mountain communities. We old English ballads played on blues harmonica, traditional unaccompanied sounding songs learned from 1950s Bluegrass records, and, of course, the blues blues blues played on guitar, banjo, and harp. We even have Roscoe Fiddling.
   
   There are some nice versions of songs we're accustomed to hear in other people's versions like Darling Corey, Little Maggie, I Ain't Got no Sugar Baby Now.
   
   Holcomb's music is a good antidote to current trends in revivalist old time music that tend to want to reduce fiddling and banjo playing to one or two regional styles--not real even regional but narrow local or even family styles-as doctrinally reinterpreted and "taught" by one or two virtuosi. Other variations, or having your own individual styles tends to be frowned on.
   
   Yet, Roscoe Holcomb's unique style and fascinating music speak to that fact that traditional music in this country encompassed thousands of styles, regional styles, personal styles, left such great room for the personal expression of a true artist like Holcomb who could make each tune his own tune, not just a representative of some general type. It speaks to all the opportunities for ideas about music to flow to someone from old traditions, the radio, records, and people of all kinds coming up and down the mountains.
   
   Likewise contemporary old time music focuses almost exclusively on fiddle tunes and banjo versions of them, without much recognition or orientation to songs sung for their content and expression. Yet, such songs are at the heart of Roscoe's work on both of the CDs. He uses his music fundamentally not only to move dancers around floors, which I am sure Roscoe could do and do well, but to concentrate the utter meaning of the songs to his life into his performances.
   
   Finally, much contemporary old time music seems to follow the white flight middle class population that produces it and their fantasies about a less diverse past and the white purity of the music. Holcomb's music is so infused with blues and African American influence that when Cohen met Holcomb the first time and asked what he did, Roscoe Holcomb said he was a "blues singer!"



5. My wife gave an earlier Holcomb recording several years ago as a birthday gift. After listening to it once or twice (and reading the fascinating and impassioned liner notes), I set it aside as odd, strange, and most peculiar. Although Roscoe Holcomb is a fluid instrumentalist, his voice is so high and unusual that I did not see how his songs could bear repeated listening.

   I was wrong, about as wrong as a body could be. A couple of years later, I picked up "High Lonesome Sound" again and listened to it with care. The peculiar and high-pitched voice grew on me, and I found the powerful and honest delivery moving in the most compelling way. I now think that Roscoe Holcomb stands on a par with Blind Willie Johnson (in his time an equally obscure and strange singer) as one of the greatest exponents of American-born and bred music.

   Imagine my surprise when this new recording of Holcomb's was released. To my amazement, the leftovers that were not included in Holcomb's earlier ("High Lonesome Sound") album are at least as good. This is a wonderful and astonishing set of recordings. Lovers of American mountain music should be grateful that this legacy of Holcomb's great artistry has been preserved.

No comments about Lady Sings the Blues.

1 comments about Important Recordings 1934-1949.

1. This is the blues; the real thing, not blues-rock. Leadbelly became known to the white audience through his association with the early folk scene, but he himself was a straight-up bluesman. If you've been into stuff like Cream, The Yardbirds or Ten Years After thinking that they are blues, I've got news for ya!! Those bands are excellent, and were obviously blues-influenced,(and even recorded blues here and there!!) but they were rock bands more than they were blues artists. Check out this box, and any of the other blues boxes from JSP, and you will get a dose of TRUE blues!!