Even if not a folk-music enthusiast, some of the songs will be familiar to listeners from their childhood, such as “On Top of Old Smokey,” “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round The Mountain,” and “Froggy Went A-Courting.” Disney aficionados should recognize “Steamboat Bill,” which was featured in the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon “Steamboat Willie;” the Grateful Dead recorded “Deep Ellem Blues;” and every American surely knows “Yankee Doodle.” The impact of these songs can still be heard today as “Shady Grove,” played here by W. Guy Bruce, just recently appeared on Mudcrutch’s debut album.
The real highlight is the inclusion of the performers talking before and after the song, offering perspective, ambiance, and authenticity. When asked for a blue song, it’s charming to hear Jack Bean act the gentleman and refuse multiple times not wanting to offend anyone until finally relenting with “Ring Ching Ching”.
Art of Field Recording shows the importance and universality of music to the human spirit. Neal Patman sings “Mama Whoopin’ The Blues” while playing the harmonica, an impressive feat considering a childhood accident took his right arm. Rosenbaum’s first field recording, “Carabina Treinta-Treinta,” was at an Allegan County general store in 1956 performed in Spanish by migrant worker Epifanio Sanchez and others. Even Rosenbaum’s father, who helped plant the seed for this endeavor, gets in the act in 1962 with “One Saturday Night When I Came Home,” a version of “Our Goodman,” sung to “Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall.” This collection can be appreciated as is or even more so for the door into the past it opens.
Article comments