Track Listing

1. If I Had a Hammer
2. When I Was a Young Girl
3. Gallows Tree (Gallows Pole)
4. God's Gonna Cut You Down
5. John Riley
6. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
7. All the Pretty Little Horses
8. Prettiest Train
9. Meetin' at the Building
10. No More Auction Block
11. Hold On
12. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
13. Ain't No Grave
14. Santy Anno
15. Another Man Done Gone
16. He Had a Long Chain On
17. He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
18. Take This Hammer
19. Ox-Driver Song
20. What Month Was Jesus Born In?
21. Timber (Jerry)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72951 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Customer Reviews

One of the most powerful voices ever recorded
You have to know Odetta, and this is the best album for getting to know her -- so there you go!

Odetta has one of the most powerful voices ever recorded. Thank goodness we live in an age when we have recording capability! Just think if she had lived a century earlier -- her voice could not have been immortalized for future generations to witness.

She sings folks songs with conviction, humor, and sheer strength.

And she's actually, in my opinion, a little better as a live performer than a studio one -- somehow her passions really cut loose in front of an audience. No restraint. So this is an excellent album to start with.

Best songs to skip to when you first turn her on: TIMBER, FREEDOM TRILOGY, and JOSHUA FIT THE BATTLE OF JERICHO. Once you listen to those, you'll be properly blown away, and you can go back and get started on the rest of the wonderful album. Let those songs be your incentive!

One fine compilation, one fine artist
"The Essential Odetta", consisting of 20 live songs, was recorded and released in the early sixties as two separate albums capturing performances at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall. The full 20 songs showcase her extraordinary singing capabilities, interpreting folk and blues numbers. It is one of the two best compilations of her work, the other one being "Best of the Vanguard Years".

Since her debut in 1954, Odetta served as an inspiration to folk artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, who picked up steam in the mid-to-late sixties. It was, as a matter of fact, thanks to the Martin Scorcese documentary about Dylan, "No Direction Home", that I first heard of her, and I am glad I did. This is one fine artist that deserves to be discovered by the new generations.

Odetta is one of the best
Odetta sings with the voice of folk, blues, and the heart. If you own only one album by Odetta get the christmas album with spirituals. Then you will definately want to make this the second CD of Odetta's you have. I have loved this album, cassette, CD for years. Odetta is one of a kind.