UPC: 011661913820
Format: CD (8 disc)
Release Date: Oct 22, 2013
Regular price
$90.95 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$90.95 USD
Unit price
per
Couldn't load pickup availability
FREE SHIPPING
This item is expected to ship between 3 and 16 business days after order placement.
Liner Note Author: Bill Nowlin.
Photographer: Bill Murlin.
Woody Guthrie was not a simple man, and he was driven by energies and demons that even he often didn't understand, but he persisted, pushing himself across every possible creative medium of the times, and his life's work, which begins with his songs (but covers so much more, including an iconic autobiography that was later turned into a movie), made him into one of the most important and vital American artists of the 20th century. He defined an era and culture in transition in his Dust Bowl ballads, outlaw tales, work and labor songs, antiwar songs, children's songs, political songs, and a host of love songs and songs that touched on philosophy, geography, and the hard work of living day to day in an emerging industrial world. He was kind of a maverick troubadour beat journalist, writing and drawing constantly, and new poems, writings, drawings, and even previously unknown songs and recordings have kept turning up even a decade into the 21st century. He was a complicated whirl of energy, and his politics weren't that simple, either. Usually portrayed as a left-leaning Communist, his mind was too restless to be pinned down to any "ism" for very long, and he was really more of a populist and patriot in the Walt Whitman tradition, believing completely in the equality and level playing field that the Founding Fathers promised America would be, and siding with hard-working families and the desperately poor when America turned out to be infested with legions of bankers, lawyers, and politicians. This six-disc set presents Guthrie's complete sessions for the Library of Congress and Alan Lomax, as well as the songs he was commissioned to write by the Bonneville Power Administration, plus a handful of songs he wrote for the government's VD education program, and a series of radio skits and other programs he made for the Office of War Information during the Second World War. It presents Guthrie as an American patriot, and one can hardly argue with the designation. He was in the service of his country for all of these recordings, and the key thing to note is that he changed nothing in his approach or delivery to give that service. Guthrie truly believed that songs should be of social service, and when the country asked for his songs, he brought them, as any patriot would. That dozens of these songs are enduring, beautiful, and wise makes Guthrie even more than that. It makes him an American treasure. ~ Steve Leggett
Photographer: Bill Murlin.
Woody Guthrie was not a simple man, and he was driven by energies and demons that even he often didn't understand, but he persisted, pushing himself across every possible creative medium of the times, and his life's work, which begins with his songs (but covers so much more, including an iconic autobiography that was later turned into a movie), made him into one of the most important and vital American artists of the 20th century. He defined an era and culture in transition in his Dust Bowl ballads, outlaw tales, work and labor songs, antiwar songs, children's songs, political songs, and a host of love songs and songs that touched on philosophy, geography, and the hard work of living day to day in an emerging industrial world. He was kind of a maverick troubadour beat journalist, writing and drawing constantly, and new poems, writings, drawings, and even previously unknown songs and recordings have kept turning up even a decade into the 21st century. He was a complicated whirl of energy, and his politics weren't that simple, either. Usually portrayed as a left-leaning Communist, his mind was too restless to be pinned down to any "ism" for very long, and he was really more of a populist and patriot in the Walt Whitman tradition, believing completely in the equality and level playing field that the Founding Fathers promised America would be, and siding with hard-working families and the desperately poor when America turned out to be infested with legions of bankers, lawyers, and politicians. This six-disc set presents Guthrie's complete sessions for the Library of Congress and Alan Lomax, as well as the songs he was commissioned to write by the Bonneville Power Administration, plus a handful of songs he wrote for the government's VD education program, and a series of radio skits and other programs he made for the Office of War Information during the Second World War. It presents Guthrie as an American patriot, and one can hardly argue with the designation. He was in the service of his country for all of these recordings, and the key thing to note is that he changed nothing in his approach or delivery to give that service. Guthrie truly believed that songs should be of social service, and when the country asked for his songs, he brought them, as any patriot would. That dozens of these songs are enduring, beautiful, and wise makes Guthrie even more than that. It makes him an American treasure. ~ Steve Leggett
Tracks:
Disc 1:
1 - Lost Train
2 - Growing Up in Oklahoma
3 - Railroad Blues
4 - More Talk of Growing Up in Okemah
5 - Gang of Kids Woody Hung Around With
6 - Rye Whiskey
7 - Some Old-Time Square Dance Tunes
8 - Old Joe Clark
9 - Alan Lomax Asks for a Tune
10 - Beaumont Rag
11 - Alan Asks for Another One
12 - Green Valley Waltz aka Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Feet?
13 - Troubles and Tragedies That Fractured Woody's Family in Okemah
14 - Greenback Dollar
15 - Lomax Asks About the Boll Weevil
16 - Boll Weevil
17 - Jailhouse Songs
18 - Midnight Special
19 - When the Great Dust Storm Struck
20 - [CD-ROM Track]
Disc 2:
1 - End of the World
2 - So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh
3 - Dust Storms Devastate the Farmland
4 - Talking Dust Bowl
5 - Migrants Arrive in California
6 - Do Re Mi
7 - Hard Times
8 - Songs About Hard Times
9 - Bring Back to Me My Blue-Eyed Boy
10 - Songs About Outlaws
11 - Billy the Kid
12 - Billy the Kid and Pretty Boy Floyd
13 - Pretty Boy Floyd
14 - Jesse James
15 - Jesse James and His Boys
16 - Takin' It from the Rich and Givin' It to the Poor
17 - Jesus Christ
18 - Songs About Bankers
19 - Jolly Banker
20 - Another Song About the Depredations of the Bankers
21 - I Ain't Got No Home
22 - Hundreds of Thousands Made Homeless
23 - Dirty Overhauls
24 - Story of Mary Fagan
25 - Mary Fagan
26 - Origins of the Song
Disc 3:
1 - Origins of the Song [Continued]
2 - Chain Around My Leg
3 - Let's Sing Some Blues
4 - Nine Hundred Miles
5 - Worried Man Blues
6 - About the Worried Man Blues
7 - Lonesome Valley
8 - Railroad Blueses
9 - Walkin' Down That Railroad Line
10 - Interlude
11 - Goin' Down the Frisco Line
12 - Riding the Rails
13 - Going Down the Road
14 - Interlude
15 - Seven Cent Cotton
16 - Wish I'd Stayed in the Wagon Yard
17 - Interlude
18 - Dust Bowl Refugee
19 - Contractors Duping the Desperate
20 - Dust Storm of April 14, 1935
21 - Dust Storm Disaster
Disc 4:
1 - Breathing in Dust
2 - Dust Pneumonia Blues
3 - Leaving the Dust Bowl
4 - California Blues
5 - Jimmie Rodgers
6 - Migrants Arriving in California
7 - Do Re Mi
8 - Refugees Pouring into California
9 - Dust Bowl Refugee
10 - California as One of the 48 States
11 - Will Rogers Highway
12 - Flood That Took Over 100 Lives
13 - Los Angeles New Year's Flood
14 - Good Horse
15 - Stewball
16 - Interlude
17 - Stagger Lee
18 - Interlude
19 - One Dime Blues
20 - Interlude
21 - Git Along Little Dogies
22 - Interlude
23 - Trail to Mexico
24 - Gypsy Davy
25 - Introducing an Old Song
26 - Hard Ain't It Hard
Disc 5:
1 - Introduction
2 - Pastures of Plenty
3 - Oregon Trail
4 - Roll on Columbia
5 - New Found Land
6 - Talking Columbia
7 - Roll, Columbia, Roll
8 - Columbia's Waters
9 - Ramblin' Blues
10 - It Takes a Married Man to Sing a Worried Song
11 - Hard Travelin'
12 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum
13 - Jackhammer Blues
14 - Song of the Coulee Dam
15 - Grand Coulee Dam
16 - Washington Talkin' Blues
17 - Ramblin' Round
18 - Pastures of Plenty
19 - End of My Line
20 - Sinking of the Reuben James
21 - Takin' It Easy
22 - Reckless Talk
Disc 6:
1 - Girl in the Red, White, and Blue
2 - Labor for Victory
3 - Farmer-Labor Train
4 - Jazz in America #93
5 - Whoopy Ti-Yi, Get Along, Mr. Hitler
6 - Jazz in America #116
7 - Sally, Don't You Grieve
8 - Narrator
9 - Dig a Hole
10 - VD Avenue
11 - Intro
12 - Veedee Blues
13 - Intro
14 - Blessed and Curst
15 - Case of V.D.
16 - V.D. Seaman's Letter
17 - V.D. City
18 - V.D. Day
19 - Child of V.D.
20 - V.D. Gunner's Blues
21 - Brooklyne Towne
22 - Narrator
23 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum
24 - Old Cracked Looking Glass
25 - Hard Times in the Durant Jail
26 - Empty Boxcar, My Home
27 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum
Disc 7:
1 - Oregon Trail
2 - It Takes a Married Man to Sing a Worried Song
3 - Hard Travelin'
4 - Grand Coulee Dam
5 - Roll on, Columbia
6 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum
7 - Jackhammer Blues
8 - Pastures of Plenty
9 - Talking Columbia
10 - Ramblin' Round
11 - Washington Talkin' Blues
Disc 8:
1 - V.D. City
2 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum [1951 Home Recording]
1 - Lost Train
2 - Growing Up in Oklahoma
3 - Railroad Blues
4 - More Talk of Growing Up in Okemah
5 - Gang of Kids Woody Hung Around With
6 - Rye Whiskey
7 - Some Old-Time Square Dance Tunes
8 - Old Joe Clark
9 - Alan Lomax Asks for a Tune
10 - Beaumont Rag
11 - Alan Asks for Another One
12 - Green Valley Waltz aka Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Feet?
13 - Troubles and Tragedies That Fractured Woody's Family in Okemah
14 - Greenback Dollar
15 - Lomax Asks About the Boll Weevil
16 - Boll Weevil
17 - Jailhouse Songs
18 - Midnight Special
19 - When the Great Dust Storm Struck
20 - [CD-ROM Track]
Disc 2:
1 - End of the World
2 - So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh
3 - Dust Storms Devastate the Farmland
4 - Talking Dust Bowl
5 - Migrants Arrive in California
6 - Do Re Mi
7 - Hard Times
8 - Songs About Hard Times
9 - Bring Back to Me My Blue-Eyed Boy
10 - Songs About Outlaws
11 - Billy the Kid
12 - Billy the Kid and Pretty Boy Floyd
13 - Pretty Boy Floyd
14 - Jesse James
15 - Jesse James and His Boys
16 - Takin' It from the Rich and Givin' It to the Poor
17 - Jesus Christ
18 - Songs About Bankers
19 - Jolly Banker
20 - Another Song About the Depredations of the Bankers
21 - I Ain't Got No Home
22 - Hundreds of Thousands Made Homeless
23 - Dirty Overhauls
24 - Story of Mary Fagan
25 - Mary Fagan
26 - Origins of the Song
Disc 3:
1 - Origins of the Song [Continued]
2 - Chain Around My Leg
3 - Let's Sing Some Blues
4 - Nine Hundred Miles
5 - Worried Man Blues
6 - About the Worried Man Blues
7 - Lonesome Valley
8 - Railroad Blueses
9 - Walkin' Down That Railroad Line
10 - Interlude
11 - Goin' Down the Frisco Line
12 - Riding the Rails
13 - Going Down the Road
14 - Interlude
15 - Seven Cent Cotton
16 - Wish I'd Stayed in the Wagon Yard
17 - Interlude
18 - Dust Bowl Refugee
19 - Contractors Duping the Desperate
20 - Dust Storm of April 14, 1935
21 - Dust Storm Disaster
Disc 4:
1 - Breathing in Dust
2 - Dust Pneumonia Blues
3 - Leaving the Dust Bowl
4 - California Blues
5 - Jimmie Rodgers
6 - Migrants Arriving in California
7 - Do Re Mi
8 - Refugees Pouring into California
9 - Dust Bowl Refugee
10 - California as One of the 48 States
11 - Will Rogers Highway
12 - Flood That Took Over 100 Lives
13 - Los Angeles New Year's Flood
14 - Good Horse
15 - Stewball
16 - Interlude
17 - Stagger Lee
18 - Interlude
19 - One Dime Blues
20 - Interlude
21 - Git Along Little Dogies
22 - Interlude
23 - Trail to Mexico
24 - Gypsy Davy
25 - Introducing an Old Song
26 - Hard Ain't It Hard
Disc 5:
1 - Introduction
2 - Pastures of Plenty
3 - Oregon Trail
4 - Roll on Columbia
5 - New Found Land
6 - Talking Columbia
7 - Roll, Columbia, Roll
8 - Columbia's Waters
9 - Ramblin' Blues
10 - It Takes a Married Man to Sing a Worried Song
11 - Hard Travelin'
12 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum
13 - Jackhammer Blues
14 - Song of the Coulee Dam
15 - Grand Coulee Dam
16 - Washington Talkin' Blues
17 - Ramblin' Round
18 - Pastures of Plenty
19 - End of My Line
20 - Sinking of the Reuben James
21 - Takin' It Easy
22 - Reckless Talk
Disc 6:
1 - Girl in the Red, White, and Blue
2 - Labor for Victory
3 - Farmer-Labor Train
4 - Jazz in America #93
5 - Whoopy Ti-Yi, Get Along, Mr. Hitler
6 - Jazz in America #116
7 - Sally, Don't You Grieve
8 - Narrator
9 - Dig a Hole
10 - VD Avenue
11 - Intro
12 - Veedee Blues
13 - Intro
14 - Blessed and Curst
15 - Case of V.D.
16 - V.D. Seaman's Letter
17 - V.D. City
18 - V.D. Day
19 - Child of V.D.
20 - V.D. Gunner's Blues
21 - Brooklyne Towne
22 - Narrator
23 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum
24 - Old Cracked Looking Glass
25 - Hard Times in the Durant Jail
26 - Empty Boxcar, My Home
27 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum
Disc 7:
1 - Oregon Trail
2 - It Takes a Married Man to Sing a Worried Song
3 - Hard Travelin'
4 - Grand Coulee Dam
5 - Roll on, Columbia
6 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum
7 - Jackhammer Blues
8 - Pastures of Plenty
9 - Talking Columbia
10 - Ramblin' Round
11 - Washington Talkin' Blues
Disc 8:
1 - V.D. City
2 - Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done aka The Great Historical Bum [1951 Home Recording]