The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4

Woody Guthrie - The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4

The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4
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CD Details

Artist: Woody Guthrie
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set
CD Release Date: 1999-08-17
Music Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. This Land Is Your Land
  2. Riding in My Car (Car Song)
  3. Ramblin' Round
  4. Talking Fishing Blues
  5. Philadelphia Lawyer
  6. Lindbergh
  7. Hobo's Lullaby - Woody Guthrie, Reeves, Goebel
  8. Pastures of Plenty
  9. Grand Coulee Dam
  10. End of the Line
  11. New York Town
  12. Gypsy Davy
  13. Jesus Christ
  14. This Land Is Your Land
  15. Do-Re-Mi
  16. Jarama Valley - Woody Guthrie, Seeger, P
  17. Biggest Thing Man Has Ever Done
  18. Picture from Life's Other Side - Woody Guthrie, Baer, Charles E.
  19. Jesse James - Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly
  20. Talking Hard Work
  21. When That Great Ship Went Down
  22. Hard, Ain't It Hard
  23. Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
  24. I Ain't Got Nobody
  25. Sinking of the Reuben James
  26. Why Oh Why
  27. This Land Is Your Land (Reprise)
Music CD 2
  1. Mule Skinner Blues - Woody Guthrie, Rodgers, Jimmie [1]
  2. Wreck of the Old '97 - Woody Guthrie, Whitter, Henry
  3. Sally Goodin' - Woody Guthrie,
  4. Little Black Train
  5. Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet?
  6. Baltimore to Washington
  7. Rubber Dolly - Woody Guthrie,
  8. 21 Years - Woody Guthrie, Miller, Bob [6]
  9. Sowing on the Mountain - Woody Guthrie,
  10. Bed on the Floor
  11. Take a Whiff on Me - Woody Guthrie, Miller, Bob [6]
  12. Stepstone - Woody Guthrie, Webster, J.O.
  13. Put My Little Shoes Away - Woody Guthrie, Mitchell, Charles
  14. Hen Cackle
  15. Poor Boy
  16. Stack-O-Lee - Woody Guthrie,
  17. Johnny Hart - Woody Guthrie,
  18. Worried Man Blues
  19. Danville Girl
  20. Gambling Man - Woody Guthrie,
  21. Rye Straw
  22. Crawdad Song - Woody Guthrie,
  23. Ida Red - Woody Guthrie,
  24. Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy
  25. Train 45 - Woody Guthrie,
Music CD 3
  1. Hard Travelin'
  2. Farmer-Labor Train
  3. Howdjadoo
  4. Ship in the Sky
  5. I Ain't Got No Home
  6. Mean Talking Blues
  7. Better World A-Comin'
  8. Miss Pavlichenko
  9. So Long (It's Been Good to Know Yuh)
  10. New Found Land
  11. Oregon Trail
  12. Vigilante Man
  13. 1913 Massacre
  14. Talking Columbia
  15. Two Good Men
  16. Sally Don't You Grieve
  17. Talking Sailor Blues
  18. What Are We Waiting On?
  19. Railroad Blues
  20. Ludlow Massacre
  21. Ladies Auxiliary
  22. Miner's Song
  23. When the Yanks Go Marching In
  24. Union Maid
  25. Rubaiyat
  26. The Many and the Few
  27. Hanukkah Dance
Music CD 4
  1. Ranger's Command
  2. Buffalo Skinners
  3. Billy the Kid - Woody Guthrie, Jenkins, Andrew [1]
  4. Cowboy Waltz - Woody Guthrie,
  5. Pretty Boy Floyd
  6. Along in the Sun and the Rain
  7. Whoopie-Ti-Yi-Yo, Get Along Little Dogies - Woody Guthrie,
  8. Froggie Went A-Courtin' - Woody Guthrie,
  9. Buffalo Gals
  10. I Ride an Old Paint
  11. Dead or Alive (Poor Lazarus)
  12. Slipknot (Hangknot, Slipknot)
  13. Cocaine Blues (Bad Lee Brown) - Woody Guthrie,
  14. Go Tell Aunt Rhody - Woody Guthrie, Traditional
  15. Chisholm Trail
  16. Stewball
  17. Wild Cyclone
  18. Train Blues
  19. Red River Valley - Woody Guthrie, Traditional
  20. Fastest of Ponies
  21. Stewball
  22. Snow Deer - Woody Guthrie, Mahoney, Jack
  23. When the Curfew Blows (Curfew Blow)
  24. Little Darling (At My Window Sad and Lonely)
  25. Blowing Down That Old Dusty Road (Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad)
  26. The Return of Rocky Mountain Slim and Desert Rat Shorty

Music reviews of The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4

Music Review: An American legend, captured on scratchy tape.
Rating: 5 Stars

Like countless others, I started listening to Woody Guthrie's recordings as a fan of Bob Dylan. I'm happy to say that listening to Woody has enhanced my appreciation for him as a singer and songwriter, and also has made me appreciate Dylan more once I was aware with what elements of Guthrie's influence he incorporated into his art and which he expanded upon. I highly recommend purchasing this entire collection (rather than just one or two discs, since they're available individually) along with the essential Dust Bowl Ballads as a strong foundation for a Woody Guthrie collection (not to mention his amazing autobiography, Bound for Glory).

What can you say about a 4-disc retrospective of such a prolific, improvisational songwriter? In my reviews I generally talk about some specific songs, but there are so many here that I'll try not to get boring and long-winded with too many details. The discs are each loosely-based on a different theme and are named (1) "This Land is Your Land," (2) "Muleskinner Blues" (3) "Hard Travelin'" and (4) "Buffalo Skinners." Although the track sequencing isn't too strict, the songs on each generally do fall in the categories of patriotic, interpretive ballads (mostly classic folk covers), topical/working class ballads, and cowboy ballads. As you'll find out, though, these labels aren't too exclusive, and Woody writes and sings about pretty much anything you could imagine, and he sure was good at it.

As the legend goes, Woody wrote on anything he could get his hands on, and composed songs on the fly (freestyle rap anyone?), so this historical document is also quite amazing considering Asch told Guthrie he could drop by and be recorded whenever he wanted. These off-the-cuff recordings not only represent the broadness of Woody's musical vision, but also a pretty accurate representation of the spontaneous singing he did while wandering the country, living (and hearing about first-hand) the lives of the characters in his songs.

And what great songs they are. The tracks range from classics you may or may not have known Woody wrote and sang; "This Land is Your Land," "Grand Coulee Dam," "Pretty Boy Floyd," "So Long, It's Been Good To Know You," "Hard Travelin'," and "Car song," to name a few. What makes the wealth of music here extraordinary is hearing Woody come up with social anthems, dark ballads, heartbreaking stories, and hilarious blues time and time again. Although folk music is simple (fans of more complex chord changes and instrumentation may take a few listens to appreciate what it is about Woody's music that makes it so classic), the magic is in the storytelling and lyrics. Some of his talking blues like "Talking Hard Work" and "Mean Talking Blues," for example, are laugh-out-loud funny, especially on repeated listens.

Some people have griped about the sound quality, but I personally wouldn't have it any other way. The scratchy, old-timey production fits perfectly, and that analog sound probably accounts for much of Woody's timbre. I'll bet it wouldn't sound half as good if recorded in digital. Woody's signature flat-picked acoustic and occasional harmonica makes most of the accompaniment, although Cisco Houston and a few others make appearances singing and playing acoustic instruments, so there's not really any complex overdubbing that is in danger of being covered up by the quality. As for Woody's voice, it's like a warm blanket or the familiar sound of a grandfather telling a story. Even though it's simple, there's a warmth and magic, subtle wit there all the time that only Woody could pull off so genuinely.

The liner notes only add to the quality of this treasure, providing info for each song, as well as great, informative biographical info. Taken together, this really is an academic historical document both on paper and on CD, but it's also a real pleasure to listen to.

As you might have guessed, I highly recommend this collection, but if you don't have any Guthrie recordings yet, I'd probably recommend the shorter Dust Bowl Ballads first, since it's not as daunting in size or price. Once you're hooked, though, this is the next place to go. I hope you take the time to discover why Woody's such a legend, and treasure this set for years to come.

Description of The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4

This is the finest Woody Guthrie Collection ever assembled. These 105 songs, including many of his best-known compositions and some of his most unususal, were all recorded in the 1940's by Moses Asch, the founder of Folkways Records. Carefully selected, exquisitely remastered, and painstakingly annotated in over 100 pages of text in four illustrated booklets. Contains four CDs originally issued as separate volumes. Compiled and annotated by Jeff Place and Guy Logsdon.(4 hours and 43 minutes)
Poland-born, Brooklyn-reared producer and folk enthusiast Moses Asch maintained a suitably slack but ultimately productive relationship with Woody Guthrie. The notoriously unbound folksinger was free to stop by the New York studio unannounced and Asch would record whatever was running through the folksinger's fertile mind at the time. From the vast body of work the twosome came up with comes this cornerstone four-disc collection. All four CDs included in The Asch Recordings have been released individually--This Land is Your Land (something of a best-of set), Muleskinner Blues (a collection of the singer's old favorites), Hard Travelin' (a topical compilation), and Buffalo Skinners (Western-themed songs). If you have one or more of the aforementioned titles, finish off the set one by one. If you're interested in American folk music and you don't have the Guthrie/Asch collection, do yourself a favor and get it out of the box. --Steven Stolder

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