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| Artist: Various Artists
Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Category: Music
List Price: $84.98
Buy New: $57.28
You Save: $27.70 (33%)
New (23) Used (7) from $9.99
Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 6491
Format: Enhanced, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 6
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.4
Dimensions (in): 12.4 x 12.4 x 0.9
MPN: 40090
UPC: 093074009024
EAN: 0093074009024
ASIN: B000001DJU
Release Date: August 19, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All products brand new and factory sealed.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 26-28 of 28
totally essential listening February 15, 2007
Elliot Knapp (Seattle, Washington United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This CD compilation set is more than just an album of music--it's a historical document. I first heard of the AAFM in a Bob Dylan biography--after buying this and listening to it, I can understand how Bob was inspired to ditch his Little Richard aspirations and travel the rugged road of folk. Through the three sections--Ballads, Social Music (mostly instrumentals), and Songs (kind of like ballads, but less story-oriented), this collection not only contains some great, timeless music and performances, it's also steeped in pure humanity--the real essence of true folk music. The people Harry Smith collected and anthologized were mostly just that: folk. People like you and me who love music, and play the songs they've been handed down. You don't have to be Bob Dylan to appreciate and be moved by songs that have been passed down through the generations and soulfully interpreted by many different artists.
Aside from some essential listening ("Coo Coo Bird," "Stackalee," "Mississippi Boweavil Blues," "I wish I Was a Mole in the Ground," etc. etc.), the package has some great supplementary material. It's very interesting to learn about the song information and performer information that Smith collected with his anthology, but it's also interesting to get a glimpse into his project, seeing how he relentlessly collected and chose which songs to represent. He was a true lover of music, and that love is reflected in his project.
Please don't come to this compilation expecting pristine sound quality--it was assembled in the 50's, which means that the recordings come from then as well as much earlier--it's about the music and performers anyway, and a little bit of scratch really doesn't detract that much from the organic, down home experience. It IS a bit of a shame that there are 6 CDs, but really only about 4 full CDs worth of music--it would have been OK with me if the Ballad/Social Music/Songs organization was not cleanly divided between discs to save space, since the division isn't very efficient, but I suppose the reissuers wanted to emulate the original vinyl collection. I don't really find the material to be homogeneous like the second spotlight reviewer does, although I do agree that Roots N' Blues: Retrospective 1925-1950 is also a great compilation (though it's getting harder and harder to find)--I'd recommend getting both for a great complementary experience.
Hopefully this set never goes out of print, as it's a great piece of art that any music fan or musician can learn a lot from--and enjoy, too! It's a shame that Smith had to preserve this music as it was beginning to die out even as he was collecting it, but it's also heartwarming that such classic sounds can be preserved for us to hear so many years later and keep the tradition alive. Enjoy the living history!
Lust, Murder, Redemption ... June 28, 2001
Sean Smith (Freehold, New Jersey, United States)
and it is all damned fine. This is a remarkable anthology and makes the case that compiling the works of others can be a work of art in and of itself. The liner notes point out the way that Harry Smith arranged the songs so that they built on each other, either by repeating melodies or subject matter or just the general vibe. Listening to this in one sitting takes a serious investment in time but it pays dividends by allowing you to see the Anthology as a whole as opposed to a collection of unrelated songs.Someday, someone may put out the "The Anthology of American Hardcore Music 1980-1988" and pay tribute to those forgotten bands who toiled in obscurity, releasing singles (or just cassettes) of their tunes. That person could do no better than to use Harry Smith's work as their template.
THE Chronicles July 12, 2007
Joseph Elizondo (Las Vegas, NV United States)
Great stuff. Yet some of the singing is almost too real, too raw. Bob Dylan cites this album as a main inspiration, and you can hear his singing and songwriting style in a lot of the songs. Not for everybody, and may be even too much for casual folk music fans. Has to be listened to in the context of a historical document.
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