Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways - Classic Railroad Songs From Smithsonian Folkways
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Artist: Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian FolkwaysBrand: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Edition: Music CD
Format: CD
CD Release Date: 2006-01-10
Model: SFW40192
Music Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Soundtracks:
- An excerpt from âRail Dynamicsâ recorded by Emory Cook
- Train 45 â?? The New Lost City Ramblers
- Kassie Jones â?? Furry Lewis
- Jay Gouldâ??s Daughter â?? Pete Seeger
- Railroad Bill â?? Walt Robertson
- Lininâ?? Track â?? Lead Belly
- Freight Train â?? Elizabeth Cotten
- Drill Ye Tarriers, Drill â?? Cisco Houston
- Zack, the Mormon Engineer â?? L. M. Hilton
- Lost Train â?? The Virginia Mountain Boys
- The F. F. V. â?? Annie Watson
- Heâ??s Coming to Us Dead â?? The New Lost City Ramblers
- The Train That Carried My Girl from Town â?? Doc Watson
- Rock Island Line â?? Lead Belly
- Lonesome Train â?? Sonny Terry, Woody Guthrie, and Cisco Houston
- John Henry â?? Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston
- The Wreck of the Number Nine â?? Rosalie Sorrels
- Freight Train Blues â?? Brownie McGhee
- The New Market Wreck â?? Mike Seeger
- Jerry, Go Oil That Car â?? Haywire Mac
- Way Out in Idaho â?? Rosalie Sorrels
- Old John Henry Died on the Mountain â?? Henry Grady Terrell
- Casey Jones â?? John D. Mounce
- Wreck of the Old 97 â?? Pop Stoneman
- Midnight Special â?? Lead Belly
- Wabash Cannonball â?? Doc Watson
- Lost Train Blues â?? Vernon Sutphin
- New River Train â?? Iron Mountain String Band
- Excerpt from âThree Little Engines and 33 Carsâ recorded by Vinton Wight
Music reviews of Classic Railroad Songs From Smithsonian Folkways
Music Review: Ridin' The Rails
Rating: 4 Stars
The first paragraph is taken from a PBS review of railroads in the 1930's
"American Experience: Riding The Rails, PBS Productions, 1998
Growing up in the 1950's I had a somewhat tenuous connection with trains. My grandparents lived close to a commuter rail that before my teenage years went out of service, due to the decline of ridership as the goal of two (or three) car garages gripped the American imagination in any age when gas was cheap and plentiful. In my teens though, many a time I walked those above-mentioned abandoned tracks to take the short route to the center of town. As an adult I have frequently ridden the rails, including a cross-continental trip that actually converted me to the virtues of air travel. Of course, my `adventures' riding the rails is quite different than that being looked at in this American Experience documentary about a very, very common way for the youth of America to travel in the Depression-ridden 1930's, the youth of my parents' generation. My own experiences were merely as a paying passenger. Theirs was anything but. The only common thread between them and me is the desire expressed by many interviewees to not be HERE but to be THERE."
That said, for those who have an remembrance of the old rails or who long for a slower, more thoughtful way to travel (if only in the mind) here is a compilation that should fit right into your dreams. I note that, as was to be expected, the western railroads have first place in the railroad song pantheon. Moreover, it does not hurt to have certain knowledge about the nicknames for the various lines and some railroading terminology. For that the Smithsonian Folkway booklet of copious liner notes, as always, is very helpful, for the historian and the novice alike.
So what is interesting here? Furry Lewis' "Kassie Jones", here a shorter version, which I have reviewed elsewhere for one. The classic, much-covered "Railroad Bill", the saga of a train outlaw who will not be captured alive for another. Of course Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train" that was a rite of passage for a whole generation of folk singers in the early 1960's. The same for Lead Belly's "Midnight Special" and "Rock Island Line" , Woody Guthrie (with long time hoboing pal Cisco Houston) on the also much-covered "John Henry" and Doc Watson on "Wabash Cannonball".
My favorite here though, and call me perverse if you like, is L.M. Hilton doing "Zack, The Mormon Engineer". This is the tale of a polygamous Mormon railroad man who has a wife in every town on his route. The railroad tries to transfer him but he says "no way" his wives are on the line his is on now. The elders of today's Mormon Church may not like it but I definitely got a chuckle out of it. I admire Zack's executive management style and as long as the wives didn't mind the set up why should we.
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Description of Classic Railroad Songs From Smithsonian Folkways
This album features powerful performances by legends Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Brownie McGhee, Mike Seeger, Pop Stoneman, Cisco Houston, and Rosalie Sorrels, among others. Elsewhere, National Heritage Fellowship Award winners Elizabeth Cotten and Doc Watson, who has won six Grammy Awards to date, are represented. Of the 29 tracks on the album, a full 21 appear on CD for the first time, all newly remastered by Grammy winner Pete Reiniger.Bookended by actual recordings of trains from the 1950s, the compilation evidences the continuing influence of these essential American ballads, work songs, blues and broadsides. "Midnight Special," represented here by Lead Belly, has been covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Paul McCartney, and Van Morrison. Alt-country band the Old 97s named itself after "The Wreck of the Old 97," which has been interpreted by Johnny Cash and John Mellencamp, among many others. The compilation also includes iconic American songs "Rock Island Line," "John Henry," "Wabash Cannonball," and "Railroad Bill," all presented here in riveting performances. Bluesman Furry Lewis, who sings about the legend of "Kassie Jones," actually lost a leg to a railroad accident in 1917.Grammy winner Jeff Place compiled and annotated Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways, which also contains rare photographs from the Library of Congress.Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways is the ninth entry in the label's Classic Series and serves as a doorway into Folkways' incredible catalog of recordings. The Classic Series, which has covered blues, bluegrass, folk, and mountain music, among other genres, also illustrates the role Moses Asch and his Folkways label played in preserving a vital piece of American history. December 6, 2005 marks the 100th anniversary of this American documentarian's birth.Blues CDs
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