The four-disc sets that comprise the two volumes of Art of Field Recording are equal parts music albums and historical documents recorded over 50 years by Art Rosenbaum, University of Georgia art professor and folk music fan from an early age. Each volume contains a disc offering a survey of different genres and a disc of religious music. Volume I, which won a Grammy for Best Historical Album, offers a disc of instrumental and dance and one of blues, while Volume II features two discs of songs and ballads, one without musical accompaniment.
The liner notes for each volume, filled with photographs and illustrations, are collected in 96-page books providing “commentary on every track, in the interest of giving background, context, and some insights to the performers and the material.” Rosenbaum reveals one condition for a song’s inclusion and that was it had to be learned through oral tradition. Most of the work here is previously unreleased while “a fifth have appeared on various labels over the years.” The majority were recorded in the field in South, Midwest, and Northeast United States with a few at public events.
Some songs appear multiple times, but with 217 tracks there’s room for different interpretations and arrangements. “Fox Chase” can be heard accompanied by banjo and later a harmonica. “Coal Creek March” is played on banjo 20 years apart in Georgia 1977 and in Ohio 1957, with the poor audio quality of the latter almost overwhelming the historical significance. “Black Jack Davy” is sung a capella 50 years apart. A standout a capella performance is from Athens, GA, 1981, as Henry Grady Terrell sings the work song “Old John Henry Died on the Mountain” while actually working as he uses a pick ax to keep the rhythm. Dogs can be heard barking in the background, and they aren’t the only animals to get in on the act as Bobby McMillion in Lenoir, North Carolina sings over chirping cicadas.
The age range of the performers swings from Sister Fleeta Mitchell in her 90s in 2006 on the camp-meeting style of “Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down” to seven-year-old Ray Rhodes, who sings “Fred Adams” on a farm in Allegan County Michigan, 1958. The latter is a surprisingly dark song for a young child about the last man in Missouri to be hanged publicly. Rosenbaum states most of the performers are no longer living, adding to the importance and value of this piece of this work.
Article comments