Track Listing

1. This Land Is My Land
2. Silver Dagger
3. Tomorrow Is a Long Time - Odetta
4. Violets of Dawn - Richard & Mimi Fari�a
5. John Henry - Jesse Colin Young
6. Reno, Nevada - Eric Von Schmidt
7. Four in the Morning - Buffy Sainte-Marie
8. Wasn't That a Mighty Storm
9. Universal Soldier
10. Cocaine Blues - Dave Van Ronk
11. Morning Dew - Bonnie Dobson
12. San Francisco Bay Blues - Ramblin' Jack Elliott
13. I'll Fly Away - Carolyn Hester
14. Well, Well, Well - Herbert Brown, Bob Camp, Bob Gibson, Dick Rosmini
15. Mean Old Frisco - John Hammond, Jr.
16. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger
17. Mr. Spaceman - The Holy Modal Rounders
18. Catch the Wind - Donovan

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89307 in Music
• Released on: 1992-04-21
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

These are the really early troubadours of the folk era
I was going to say that Volume 1 of Rhino's "Troubadours of the Folk Era" goes off the beaten path in terms of what most listeners will associate with that period of American popular music, but the truth is that many of the artists collected on this CD were those who beat that path in the first place. Granted, you can go back in history to find recording of folk singers that predate Woody Guthrie, but clearly the folk revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s begins with American troubadour, so starting off with him singing "This Land Is Your Land" is the musical equivalent of Moses coming down from the mountain top to point out the Promised Land.

This CD plugs up some serious holes in my folk music collection, which is rather surprising because I have been focusing on this for the past year and the more I track down the more songs I am adding to my want list. Some of the songs here are covers of traditional tunes, such as Odetta's version of "John Henry" and Ewan McColl and Peggy Seeger's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." But what stands out are some of the "folk" songs that are working in other musical elements. Richard & Mimi Farina work in some jazz elements into "Reno, Nevada," and then you have Dave Van Ronk's "Cocaine Blues" and Ramblin' Jack Elliot's "San Francisco Bay Blues." Then there is the happy irony of the Holy Modal Rounders' "Mister Spaceman," which sounds like it is bein' a-played on the front porch of some shack back thar in the hills although the song is about a man in space (hence, the title).

I was sort of surprised that the 18-tracks on this CD extend all the way from Guthrie to the Sixties, as represented by Buffy Saint-Marie's "Universal Soldier." Unlike many folk collections, this one does not stick to an obvious chronology. Overall I like the songs that are clearly grounded in old-fashioned folk, such as Jesse Colin Young's "Four in the Morning" and Eric Von Schmidt's "Wasn't That a Might Storm," and the "new" female folk singers included, Bonnie Dobson ("Morning Dew") and Carolyn Hester ("I'll Fly Away"). Given the significance of the opening track I also think it says something that the final track comes from Donovan ("Catch the Wind"), a folk singer who became a commercial success without really going commercial. That seems totally in keeping with the other artists on this collection. Of course, since this series was put together by Rhino, we would not expect anything less.

Folk Music 101-There Are Many Rooms In That Mansion
The generic parts of this review, relating to the 1960's folk revival, have been used in other reviews of musicians from this period.

My musical tastes were formed, as were those of many of the Generation of 1968, by `Rock and Roll' music exemplified by the Rolling Stones and Beatles and by the blues revival, both Delta and Chicago style. However, those forms as much as they gave pleasure were only marginally political at best. In short, these were entertainers performing material that spoke to us at some other level. In the most general sense that is all one should expect of a performer. Thus, for the most part that music need not be reviewed here. Those who thought that a new musical sensibility laid the foundations for a cultural or political revolution have long ago been proven wrong.

That said, in the early 1960's there nevertheless was another form of musical sensibility that was directly tied to radical political expression- the folk revival. This entailed a search for roots and relevancy in musical expression. While not all forms of folk music lent themselves to radical politics it is hard to see the 1960's cultural rebellion without giving a nod to such figures as Dave Van Ronk, the early Bob Dylan, Utah Phillips, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and others. Whatever entertainment value these performers provided they also spoke to and prodded our political development. They did have a message and an agenda and we responded as such. That these musicians' respective agendas proved inadequate and/or short-lived does not negate their influence on the times.

My leftist political consciousness, painfully fought for in my troubled youth, coincided with an expansion of my musical tastes under the influence of the great blues and folk revivals of the 1960's. Unfortunately my exposure to the blues greats was mainly on records as many of them had been forgotten, retired or were dead. Not so with the folk revival which was created mainly by those who were close contemporaries. Alas, they too are now mainly forgotten, retired or dead. It therefore is with special pleasure that I review this two volume compilation of songs by the best musicians of the early folk period.

Many of the folksingers of the 1960's attempted to use their music to become troubadours for social change. The most famous example, the early Bob Dylan, can be fairly described as the voice of his generation at that time. However, he fairly quickly moved on to other concepts of himself and his music. The artists here, for the most part, stayed within the broad parameters of the term folk. There are, indeed, many rooms in that mansion as this compilation will demonstrate to the attentive listener. Some of the artists listed here, like Pete Seeger, I have reviewed previously elsewhere in this space. Others, like Eric Von Schmidt, I will do individual reviews of in the future. As a general observation the producers of this CD went out of their way, way out of their way to get the best renditions available of the songs by the individual artists represented and to provide the best range of what folk meant to those who wrote the songs, sang them and listened in. For those too young to have heard it then you have been given a reprieve- use it.

Highlights of Volume One are Joan Baez on "Silver Dagger"; Eric Andersen on "Violets of Dawn", the late Odetta on "John Henry"; Jesse Colin Young on "Four In The Morning": Donovan on "Catch The Wind" and an incredible rendition by the late Eric Von Schmidt of his "Wasn't That A Mighty Storm" (about a flood in Galveston, Texas in the early part of the 20th century).

Highlights on Volume Two are Tom Rush on "The Circle Game"; Judy Collins on " Who Knows Where The Time Goes"; Tom Paxton on "Ramblin' Boy"; and, Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band (that's with Geoff Muldaur and Maria Muldaur along with Jim, by the way) on a very well done version of the old blues classic "Don't You Leave Me Here".

Highlights on Volume Three, which is a little less worthwhile than the first two volumes and, frankly, reflects inclusions of some 'spacefillers', are Leadbelly's "Goodnight, Irene"; Woody Guthrie's "Hard, Ain't It Hard" and Sonny Terry's "Rider".