Tucker Zimmerman was born February 14, 1941, San Francisco California.

He studied violin at young age

At age 7 he was moved to Healdsburg (a rural town in Northern California) where he lived until the age of 17. He attended and graduated from both the grammar school and high school there. During this time he studied piano and trombone with private teachers. In 1956, through 1958 he was selected to play trombone in the California State High School Orchestra. Also in those same years he formed a 4-piece rock and roll band in which he sang and played piano (sax, bass and drums). This group played for local weddings and school dances.

In 1958 he returned to San Francisco and studied music for two years at San Francisco City College. Theory and history. He began composing at this time and studied privately with Robert Morton. He also played trombone in various jazz ensembles and big bands in the city. In 1959 He received an AA (Associate of Arts) degree from San Francisco City College.

From 1961 to 1966 he attended San Francisco State College (now University) where he studied theory and composition. He received at BA (Bachelor of Arts) in Music in 1964 and an MA (Master of Arts) in Theory and Composition in 1966. Private lessons in composition with Henry Onderdonk.

In 1965 he began writing songs (words and music) for his own voice with harmonica and guitar and to date has written over 800 such songs.

In 1966 he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study composition in Rome, Italy with Gofredo Petrassi. both privately and in master class at Santa Cecilia Academy. In 1967 the scholarship was renewed for a second year. During this time he began to perform his solo songs in various folkclubs in Rome.

In 1968 he left the academic world and moved to London where he began to seriously pursue his songwriting and singing. He lived in England for two years, first in London and then in Oxford, playing gigs under assumed names, posing as a Canadian, since he was not granted a work permit. He also worked in various recording studios as an arranger and musician. In 1969 he recorded his first album “TEN SONGS BY TUCKER ZIMMERMAN” produced by Tony Visconti for Regal Zonophone Records, EMI.

This first album was released with Rick Wakeman (Organ), Aynsley Dunbar (drums), Shawn Phillips (guitar) and Tony Visconti (bass and producer)

David Bowie says this is one of the best albums of al times.

In 1970 he returned to the continent and love brought him to Belgium where he lives to the present day. From 1970 to 1984 he played hundreds of solo concerts all over Europe, especially in Belgium, Switzerland and Germany, where he is still regarded as a “song poet.” During this period he also he continued to write songs and recorded 5 more LPs

TUCKER ZIMMERMAN (the self-titled “BLACK” album) on Autogram, Germany, 1971, is his second album and is included here

In 1984 he stopped touring as a solo performer and only rarely appeared in public for single concerts. He also stopped writing songs.

He still writes and performs and makes music for films.

In 2002 he contributed to the Derroll Adams tribute album “Banjoman”

Here are his first two albums

http://lix.in/801ba2e9

Fill your ears with love

Posted by Joski at 8:16 PM | 1 comments  
Labels: Tucker Zimmerman

The New Lost City Ramblers is a contemporary old time string band that formed in New York City in 1958 during the Folk Revival. The founding members of the Ramblers, or NLCR, are Mike Seeger; John Cohen, , and Tom Paley. Tom later left the group and was replaced by Tracy Schwarz.

The New Lost City Ramblers not only directly participated in the old time music revival, but has continued to directly influence countless musicians who have followed. Indeed, except for The Kingston Trio, the NLCR may well be the longest-running popular music group still performing, albeit irregularly.

The Ramblers distinguished themselves by focusing on the traditional playing styles they heard on old 78rpm records of musicians recorded during the 1920s and 1930s, many of whom would later appear on the Anthology of American Folk Music. The NLCR refused to "sanitize" these southern sounds as did other folk groups of the time, such as the Weavers or Kingston Trio. Instead, the Ramblers have always strived for an authentic sound. However, the Ramblers did not merely copy the old recordings that inspired them. Rather, they would use the various old time styles they encountered while at the same time not becoming slaves to imitation.

http://lix.in/64556f89

Peace

Posted by Joski at 12:08 PM | 3 comments  
Labels: New Lost City Ramblers

"Over coffee and liqueurs we would sometimes listen to John Jacob Niles' recordings. Our favourite was 'I Wonder As I Wander,' sung in a clear, high-pitched voice with a quaver and a modality all his own. The metallic clang of his dulcimer never failed to produce ecstasy. He had a voice which summoned memories of Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere. There was something of the Druid in him. Like a psalmist, he intoned his verses in an ethereal chant which the angels carried aloft to the Glory seat. When he sang of Jesus, Mary and Joseph they became living presences. A sweep of the hand and the dulcimer gave forth magical sounds which caused the stars to gleam more brightly, which peopled the hills and meadows with silvery figures and made the brooks to babble like infants. We would sit there long after his voice had faded out, talking of Kentucky where he was born, talking of the Blue Ridge mountains and the folk from Arkansas..." --Henry Miller, Plexus pp. 366-367.

"Like the legendary characters of his ballads, John Jacob Niles seems to have lived down the centuries, and through his collection of folk music and his incomparable recorded performances will live through generations to come." -Nelson Stevens, 1957

Rare American folk connoisseurs rejoice! If you saw the recent Dylan documentary by Martin Scorsese, you won't forget the clip of Niles singing Go Away From My Window.

John Jacob Niles (b.1892 - d.1980) was an American composer, singer, and collector of traditional ballads. Called the "Dean of American Balladeers" Niles was an important influence on the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, with Joan Baez, Burl Ives and Peter, Paul and Mary, among others, recording his songs.

Niles learned music theory from his mother, and began writing down folk music as a teenager. He became a serious student of Appalachian folk music by transcribing traditional songs from oral sources while an itinerant employee of the Burroughs Corporation in eastern Kentucky, from 1910 to 1917.

After serving in the Army during WWI, in which he was injured, he studied music in France. Returning to the United States in 1920, he continued his studies at the Cincinnati. He sang opera in Chicago and folk songs on early radio. In 1925, he moved to New York City and held various jobs in the entertainment industry. In the 1930s, he toured Europe and the United States with contralto Marion Kerby. He performed at the White House in 1938, and on occasion at the Newport Folk Festival during the 1950s.

In the 1920s, Niles began publishing music. He made four extended trips into the southern Appalachians as an assistant to photographer Doris Ulmann, again transcribing traditional songs from oral sources, including the ballads "Pretty Polly" and "Barbara Allen." On other occasions, he transcribed songs he heard sung by African Americans and by fellow soldiers in World War I.

Niles is also a noted songwriter. His songs, many of which are based on traditional sources, include "Venezuela," "Black is the colour of my true love’s hair," and the haunting Christmas song "I wonder as I wander."

Henry Miller’s Plexus includes a powerful tribute to Niles's recording of this song. Niles composed "Go 'Way From My Window" when he was a mere 16 years old, but did not perform it until 1930. Marlene Dietrich recorded it and sang it on stage. Bob Dylan quoted its first line in his song "It ain’t me babe”.

Starting in 1938, he recorded a number of his compositions and transcribed songs, performing the material in an intense, dramatic manner. He employed a trademark very high falsetto to portray female characters, and often accompanied himself on an Appalachian Dulcimer, Lute, or other plucked stringed instrument.

In 1936, he married Rena Lipetz. They settled on the Boot Hill farm in Clarck County Kentucky, where they spent the rest of their lives. He is buried at the nearby St. Hubert's Episcopal Church.

Niles, old beyond his years, accompanied by handmade dulcimer, had an intense other-worldly fallen angel like voice that perfectly captures the hauntingly lonely and creepy hill country feel where the bulk of his catalog of songs originated. Niles, like Jean Ritchie, was a folk musicologist and performer from Kentucky who spent his time wandering through isolated American mountain communities collecting folk songs, or scraps of melodies and lyrics, embellishing them with his own inventive arrangements and often fleshing them out by writing additional verses. For example, his version of "Black Is the Colour of My True Love's Hair" has become the definitive arrangement for all versions following (from Nina Simone to Patty Waters), because while he loved the verse he disliked the original tune. This is why folk historians have had a famously difficult time classifying which songs in Niles repertoire are originals or reinventions of songs in the public domain.

http://lix.in/93ca0b99

Love

Posted by Joski at 11:28 AM | 0 comments  
Labels: John Jacob Niles

This collection of old-time social and instrumental string-band music spotlights instrumental prowess. Old-time music features playing styles that pre-date bluegrass, emerging from the string band tradition stretching back to the early years of United States history. Both African-American and Anglo-American ingredients are at its core, the banjo having African origins, the fiddle European.

The songs featured on Smithsonian/Folkways' Classic Old-Time Music were mostly recorded in the late '50s and early '60s (with a few scattered throughout the '70s) and celebrate many of the performers who not only toured the festival circuits at that time, but many who sowed the seeds of the entire folk revival. Old-timey legends like Dock Boggs, Roscoe Holcomb, Doc Watson, Wade Ward, , and a segment of the Carter family all make prominent appearances, but the real uncut gems come from lesser-known folkies like the Irn Mountain String Band, J.E. Mainer's Moutaineers, Sam & Kirk McGee, and Lee Sexton, whose version of "Pretty Polly" may be among the most spine-tingling on record.

The later recordings by the New Lost City Ramblers, the Spare Change Boys, and a trio of college students performing "Ship in the Clouds" unfortunately feel a little too studied and reserved, and certainly not as natural as the performers who lived and breathed the music as a part of their daily lives, but their inclusion proves that the music is still alive today. Excellent liner notes are a hallmark of Smithsonian/Folkways recordings, and Classic Old-Time Music continues that tradition, providing a fascinating history behind each song and performer, ensuring hours of listening and re-listening pleasure.

http://lix.in/45bde37b

Enjoy the Masters

Posted by Joski at 10:59 AM | 1 comments  
Labels: Old Time

"Even though the music's being played right in front of you, you expect to hear crackles and hisses as if the sounds were being torn from a salvaged 78."

One day not long ago, the Carolina Chocolate Drops formed out of the ether. Well … not really. But the ether is where two of the three hung out, so to speak, chatting on a listserv with other Black Banjo enthusiasts.

Over the course of the next few months, Dom Flemons and Rhiannon Giddens of the string band Sankofa Strings met up with Justin Robinson, then Joe Thompson, followed quickly by Etta Baker and Algia Mae Hinton. Flemons, Giddens and Robinson eventually became the Carolina Chocolate Drops, while Thompson, Baker and Hinton influenced and furthered the already-substantial musical education of the three. There’s a distinct difference between learning the music formally, or by “transmission,” growing up with it. Transmission is more of an osmotic process than an educational process, and that’s what the frequent visits by the CCD to their adopted mentors hope to achieve.

The name Carolina Chocolate Drops is an homage to the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, a 1920s band led by a somewhat well-known fiddle and mandolin player of the time who went by the name of Louie Bluie, and whose brothers joined him in the band. Since two of the three CCD members are from North Carolina, the name choice became rather obvious.

They are proud to carry on the tradition of black musicians like Odell and Nate Thompson, Dink Roberts, John Snipes, Libba Cotten, Emp White, and countless others who have passed beyond memory and recognition.

http://lix.in/5983bc68

This is what America's done best

Posted by Joski at 2:46 PM | 1 comments  
Labels: Carolina Chocolate Drops

An unjustly overlooked masterpiece, Sammy Walker's excellent 1975 debut album "Song for Patty" stands the test of time to remain one of the most interesting -- and still relevant -- records of its day.

However, the history of this work has perhaps overshadowed its actual artistic content, and that is unfortunate because the songs that Walker wrote and performed here are almost uniformly perfect. Of course, it is worth noting that the late, great folksinger Phil Ochs produced "Song for Patty" for "Broadside" magazine, right around the time that he was spiraling down into mental illness, and it is a testament to Ochs's fine musical judgment that he was able to recognize Walker's immense talent even when his own life was so tormented.

The times they were a-changing, though, and the era of topical songwriting was ending. Radio stations might still play something like Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" but they wouldn't touch this title track about the controversial kidnapped heiress-turned Symbionese Liberation Army fugitive Patricia Hearst. Sadly, as a result, most people never got to hear just how good these tunes were when they first came out.

And these songs are fantastic. "My Old Yearbook" is a sly, witty little number that takes an amusing look at how life holds surprises for all of us. "Closin' Time" is a powerful piece of social commentary wrapped in stirring poetry. "A Simple Hour Operation" and "Funny Farm Blues" both offer catchy lines, and if the former seems a bit dated with its reference to ex-President Richard Nixon, the rest of its verses remain as thought-provoking as ever. On the other hand, "Testimony Of A Dying Lady" still rings so true that it could easily describe the state of health care and our criminal (in)justice system even today. The cover of the Ochs' classic "Bound for Glory" is nicely handled, and the Woody Guthrie tune "I Ain't Got No Home (In This World Anymore)" is genuinely haunting. It's hard to listen to Phil singing harmony on the chorus and not shiver to realize he would be dead by his own hand less than a year after that recording session. Elsewhere, in spite of its descriptive charms, "Little New Jersey Town" is more of a minor track, while "Ragamuffin Minstrel Boy" is a ballad that Walker obviously intended as his tribute to a certain ex-folkie superstar from Hibbing, Minnesota. Both are OK but nothing special.

Overall though, Walker's lyrics are extraordinary, and his delivery works well with his material. Because of his background story and the sound of his voice, many reviewers inevitably compare him to Bob Dylan, but stylistically he owes as much to other singer-songwriters of that age, such as Eric Andersen, Harry Chapin, John Prine, and Patrick Sky.

The bottom line is that "Song for Patty" is an undiscovered treasure and a diamond in the rough that anyone who appreciates strong songwriting should enjoy. This gem of an album has been neglected for too long. By all means, do yourself a favor and check it out. If this import version does not fit within your budget, you should know that the same title (without the cover art) is available from Smithsonian Folkways at a much lower price. Give it a listen, and prepare to have your ears peeled back. For a generation bombarded with Britney Spears and brainwashed with Wilco, Sammy Walker is the real deal like nothing else you've ever heard. It's a blast from the past that still packs a punch.

http://lix.in/cc293508

Peace

Posted by Joski at 2:41 PM | 1 comments  
Labels: Sammy Walker

A cutting-edge blues singer, songwriter and slide guitarist Catfish Keith was born on February 9th, 1962 in East Chicago, Indiana. As a child he first heard the blues while living in "The Harbor," a working class steel mill town. Listening to Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Buddy Guy on the radio gave him a love of the blues.

When he first picked up the guitar as a teenager, he was inspired to aim for the deep delta blues after hearing songs by Son House. Following high school in Davenport, Iowa, Catfish Keith hit the road embarking on his lifelong quest as a solo performer of American roots music. His many travels took him to the Caribbean, where in the Virgin Islands he crewed briefly on a sailboat. He absorbed the rhythms of Jazz, Calypso, Reggae and the music of Joseph Spence. This music gave Catfish Keith inspiration to reach new musical heights. Though he grew up on the Mississippi River, Catfish Keith earned his nickname from a West Indian lobster diving partner who, after seeing him swim, dubbed him "Catfish-Swimmin'-Around," and "Catfish-Steel-Guitar-Man."

In 1984, at age 22, Catfish Keith recorded his first album on the Kicking Mule label, “Catfish Blues”. The all solo debut established him as a new force in acoustic blues. It reached number one on independent worldwide radio charts. This enabled Catfish Keith to play and tour heartily.

He was constantly learning directly from legends such as Johnny Shines, David Honeyboy Edwards, and Jessie May Hemptill.

In 1991, “Pepper in my Shoe”, was released to rave reviews, sparking international interest and extensive touring in the UK and Europe. Catfish Keith was embraced as a true blues star. The Guardian called Catfish Keith, "a solo revelation" who was "Breaking new ground for blues." Catfish Keith, headlining major festivals and concerts, was featured on the covers of Blues Life of Austria/Germany, Blueprint in the UK and Block in the Netherlands.

It was soon followed by “Jitterbug Swing” which was nominated for a WC HANDY Award for "BEST ACOUSTIC BLUES ALBUM OF 1992."

The 'British Blues Connection' nominated Catfish Keith for "BEST OVERSEAS ARTIST," naming him "The new slide king of the National steel guitar." Cherry Ball” was released in 1993, further exploring Catfish’s string twanging style to the delight of an ever growing following of devoted fans.

Here are three of his very best

and

http://lix.in/24296563

Love.

Posted by Joski at 2:26 PM | 2 comments  
Labels: Catfish Keith

"The Border" evokes beautifully the feel of the southwest, of a hot night with the radio playing some station from Mexico where legend Freddy Fender sings achingly, plaintively, about the dreams of thousands who long for "the broken promised land" of America. "Across the Borderline," written by Cooder, Jim Dickenson, and John Hiatt, is one of the most gorgeous songs I know.

But Freddy Fender's version is the definitive. The music for the rest of "The Border" keeps that southwestern, Mexican-American, feel and vibe, with one more standout track, "Skin Game", an slinky, ominous growl of a song featuring a great vocal by Hiatt and trademark Cooder slide guitar.



The Border, composed and released in 1982, was the soundtrack to Tony Richardson's film The Border,. The interesting thing about this soundtrack is that it comes immediately after Cooder's successful collaboration with Walter Hill on The Long Riders and Southern Comfort, and as the before-and-after bookends to his enigmatic score for Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas.

The score for The Border is perfectly balanced. Cooder's slide work is always touted, but also noteworthy is his ability to virtually disappear in the mix when collaborating with Flaco Jimenez, Freddy Fender, Jim Dickinson, Jim Keltner, and Sam "The Sham" Samudio.




The haunting title track, "Across the Borderline," sung by Fender, is among the most beautiful and literate cuts Cooder has ever written. The cantina music by Jimenez and Samudio is utterly evocative. Check the tunes with Sam Samudio on vocals, such as "Palomita" and "No Quiero," to get the laid-back, sun-up feel. Then there's John Hiatt.

Hiatt was at the beginning of his association with Cooder. He helped to pen some of the better cuts on the set, including the aforementioned "Across the Borderline" and the bluesy garage rock jam "Skin Game." His high-whine vocals are perfect for the tension between cultures and reflect the conflict of Jack Nicholson's character as a principled U.S. border guard.

I love this record

http://lix.in/e684bfc1


Peace

Posted by Joski at 10:49 AM | 0 comments  
Labels: Ry Cooder

In 1974, Mimi Fariña founded “Bread and Roses”, a non-profit organization, designed to bring free music and entertainment to hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons, initially in the SF Bay area, and later nationally. It still remains in operation, producing 500 shows per year. The organization's name came from a 1911 poem by James Oppenheim, Bread and Roses,

The first Bread & Roses Festival, held in October 1977, established a happy precedent of artistic excellence as well as financial success.

“Human dignity does exist, and I’m determined to make use of it!” Mimi laughs. “There is music that is more civilized than what loud rock and roll has come to represent. There are people who enjoy listening to lyrics, who can respond cerebrally as well as viscerally, and who are receptive simply to a voice and a guitar.

This first Festival proved that that is absolutely true.”

Mimi and Libba Cotten

Mimi Fariña died July 18, 2001.

Pete Seeger

Here are a few excerpts from these concerts I gathered :

Joan Baez & Mimi Farina - Bread and Roses

Joan Baez - Forever Young

Jesse Colin Young - Sugar Babe

Buffy Sainte Marie - The Universal Soldier

Dave Van Ronk - Swinging on a Star

David Crosby - The Leeshore

Joan Baez - There but for Fortune

Malvina Reynolds - Little Boxes

Maria Muldaur - Walkin' one and only

Paul Siebel - Lonesome House

Country Joe McDonald - Save the Whales

Pete Seeger - Acres of Clams

Pete Seeger- Lonesome Valley

Tom Paxton - The last thing on my mind

Elizabeth Cotten - So glad Jesus lifted me & I'm going away

Jackson Browne & David Lindley - For Everyman

http://lix.in/073f5aa2

Love

Posted by Joski at 12:43 PM | 1 comments  
Labels: Bread and Roses, Concert

Harris was born in Denver, CO, on February 21, 1969, and began playing guitar at age 12, when he fell in love with his mother's Lightning Hopkins records.

In the decade between 1995 and 2005, Corey released a string of critically acclaimed albums which firmly established this young lion as the most versatile blues and roots artist of his time. He has toured in Guinea and Mali, West Africa, as well as South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

Corey Harris has to be the pride of Alligator records. He has since expanded his music to all kinds of blues and Carribbean-style music and has toured with B.B. King, Ben Harper and others. He deserves to be on the front lines when Blues makes an inevitable comeback.

It is BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAY, however, that shows how good the stripped-down blues can be.

His voice is a pleasant mix of low-key electricity, baritone southern soul and backwoods gravel. All he needs is this beautiful voice and a lone guitar to cut out some of the tastiest Delta blues I have heard before or since.

An astonishingly good record, covering a multitude of Delta-based styles and songs from Charley Patton to Muddy Waters, as well as a few originals. It's just Harris and his acoustic guitar, some dazzling finger work and a voice that's about as good as you're going to hear from anyone doing blues and still walking around at the end of the 20th century. The material alternately surges and broods, and once in a while does both at the same time, and it's all worth hearing.

http://lix.in/90cd75c4

Fill your ears

Posted by Joski at 12:38 PM | 0 comments  
Labels: Corey Harris

Can blue men sing the whites ? Can white men sing the blues ?

Here is the answer : this boy truly can !

He can really smoke the guitar and sing. He plays the harmonica very well. Someone that can do all three on an album is terrific. I believe his rendition of crossroad blues is really great.

It's John Hammond as John Hammond should be - blues; raw blues. Look at whose work he's doing: Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Big Bill Broonzy, Lightning Hopkins, Eugene "Son" House.

Maybe he’s never done better !

Here is his first album

- Two Trains Running (McKinley Morganfield) [actually based on 'Still A Fool']
- Give Me A 32-20 (Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup)
- Maybelline (Chuck Berry)
- Louise (Mixed Sources, Plus Robert Pete Williams) [actually 'Louise, Louise Blues' by Johnny Temple]
- This Train (Big Bill Broonzy)
- East St. Louis Blues (Furry Lewis)
- Going Back To Florida (Lightning Hopkins)
- Mean Old Frisco (Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup)
- I Got A Letter This Morning (Eugene "Son" House) [actually based on 'My Black Mama' by Eddie 'Son' House]
- Alabama Woman Blues (Leroy Carr)
- The Hoochie Coochie Man (Muddy Waters)
- Crossroads Blues (Robert Johnson)
- See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Blind Lemon Jefferson)

http://lix.in/6f8c40ed

Fill your ears

Posted by Joski at 12:34 PM | 0 comments  
Labels: John Hammond

Phillips is the singer/storyteller and Santa Claus look-alike with a voice as deep and as comforting as your grandfather's. He was born to a pair of labor organizers and served a tour of duty in the Korean War. Upon returning to the US as a pacifist, he developed his storytelling skills as a way to avoid work in a warehouse in Salt Lake City. In 1968, he ran for the U.S. Senate on the Peace and Freedom Ticket. Later, he would hit the rails as a hobo and traveling folksinger. In 1997, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Folk Alliance and a Lifetime Service to Labor Award from the American Federation of Musicians, Traveling Musicians Local 1000.

Difranco, on the other hand, is a one-woman phenom. After growing up in Buffalo, New York, she moved to New York City to hone her performance skills. She founded her own record company Righteous Babe Records and, since, has repeatedly turned down offers from major labels. Instead, she has sold hundreds of thousands of albums and built her fan base through a constant diet of touring and releasing a new album every year. In the words of one industry insider, she is "every major label's worst nightmare."

This is not the first time the 29-year-old Difranco and 64-year-old Phillips have teamed together. In 1996, Difranco shocked cultural pundits by signing the elder statesman to her self-made record company and releasing The Past Didn't Go Anywhere" "Past" was born of Difranco culling 100 historical hours of Phillips' performances and overdubbing sonic landscapes in the studio. In contrast, Fellow Workers is a true interactive collaboration, not only in name, but musically, as well. It was recorded live in a New Orleans living-room theatre during two December 1998 shows in front of roughly 40 people. Whereas Past was primarily Phillips' biography set to Difranco's soundtrack, Fellow Workers is about what Phillips calls "the history you don't read in history books." In other words, history-book history is that of "the ruling class, the generals and the industrialists, and the presidents who didn't get caught: the people who own the wealth of the country, but none of the history of those who created it." This rationale is spelled out in The Long Memory, a reflective story underlain with appropriate music by the band and a guest appearance by Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum) on trumpet.

Only six of the tracks are true songs with Phillips singing melody: Stupid's Song, Bread and Roses, Pie in the Sky, I Will Not Obey, Joe Hill, and Dump the Bosses ('boss' is double SOB spelled backwards, Phillips proudly states), many of which are traditional or old protest songs. Difranco and her band provide genuine background harmonies on several tracks, as opposed to the vocal wailing found on Past. Fellow Workers opens and closes with two instrumentals. In between, Phillips weaves in and out of stories about ordinary people who made extraordinary sacrifices to give us the things we now take for granted: the federally mandated minimum wage, the right to a safe workplace, and the creation of child-labor laws. One example is Joe Hill, who was executed by the State of Utah in November 1915 for writing pro-labor songs (so much for the First Amendment!). Also, there was Mother Jones, who, at age 83, was dubbed "the most dangerous woman in America" by Theodore Roosevelt for her organization of labor groups during the strikes that led to the creation of the 8-hour work day in Colorado.

There were few practice sessions that led up to the recording sessions. "I find it's much more useful to just jump in and follow my instincts," says Difranco. "Once I've given birth to an idea, I prefer not to try and dictate what it will become, so much as give it some growing room and respond to the result." An example of this extemporaneous approach comes about at the end of Why Come? with a powerful jam that features Difranco and multi-instrumentalist Julie Wolf trading vocal licks. This approach, however, also leads to a few flubs, such as "The Saw-Playing Musician," when Phillips' gets so wrapped up in telling the origin of the term "Skid Row" that he forgets the reason he got onto that topic in the first place. "I figure, for a record to be life-like, the musicians and participants have to be living in the moment," justifies Difranco.

Despite the 36-year age difference between them, Difranco and Phillips produce a wonderful collaboration. Difranco's teenage fans may shun Fellow Workers as irrelevant to their lives and Phillips' fans may view it as a sell out, but both these groups would be missing the point. Few living performers extol the olden days of labor unions from a firsthand experience as well as Phillips. No matter how articulate, humorous, and passionate he is, if no one hears the message, then who has received it, internalized it, and related it to others? The folk tradition on which Difranco and Phillips both rely depends on this grassroots approach. Difranco appreciates this apparent contradiction and the collaboration is her way of paying homage to those that came before her. Fellow Workers is a CD that should be heard by all, as a means to further their education on how the present America of downsizing, NAFTA, and corporate mergers came to be. As Phillips would say, "Shut up and listen to what came before you and see what use it has."

These are some great old union songs combined with a bit of labor history in between. Yet this isn't dead and sterile history, for nothing could be more timely in today's world. In fact, this is one reason why I'm glad that Utah's voice isn't more polished- it doesn't distract from the lyrics and the message. And the message is that it is the workers that actually make this society run, we have the actual power, and the bosses don't give you anything out of the goodness of their hearts! You have to fight for it! You have to organise to get it! That was true a hundred years ago and it is just as true today.

In a time when workers are constantly being brainwashed by the corporate and political powers-that-be into thinking that they are disposable "losers" and paracites, it is refreshing to be reminded that it is the bosses that are the real disposable paracites. They live off our labor- sing it out! They are nothing without us- or without the workers in the foriegn countries where they are shipping our jobs.

This isn't simple minded nostalgia. It is deep rooted truth.

http://lix.in/08bbd75a

Unite

Posted by Joski at 4:33 PM | 3 comments  
Labels: Ani Difranco, Utah Phillips

The definition of protest is 'a statement or action showing that you disapprove of something'. This is something that we seem to have pushed to one side in this day and age (in Western Culture anyhow). In the first part of the 20th Century, it was a different story, with protest songs coming in all guises and musical genres. Within the confines of this album, we have tried to represent great examples of each. They range from the incredibly emotional and heart breaking : Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit' and Woody Guthrie’s ‘1913 Massacre' - to the light hearted and humorous : The Golden Gate Quartet's 'Atom & Evil ' and Texas Jim Robertson's ' The Last Page of Mein Kampf'- (but still with a serious message).

Subject matters include: Civil Rights, the Atom Bomb, being poor, homeless and unemployed, Prostitution, War and at times all the wrongs of our society.
This subject matter was never going to make for easy listening but surely music and song writing is not just about entertainment! It should also enlighten and if not directly change the world, at least point out a few home truths about the society we have created. Music can be used as an incredibly effective weapon - something it seems we have forgotten about……

Listen and learn.

These days everyone you meet has a strong opinion about something, whether it be the merits of butter over margarine, Diet Coke over Tizer or Gordon Brown over Tony Blair, someone somewhere is blabbering on over some issue or another. Back in the early part of the 20th century though, many people found that the best way to reach the masses was to write a song about it, I mean, there was no internet, no blogging, no podcasts - there was however radio. So when an issue would come up what better to do than fish out your bashed up guitar and sing the blues, show 'the man' that you ain't happy and maybe your brethren will rise up too. This 20 track compilation collects up some of the best American protest songs recorded between 1928 and 1953 and shows a variety of subjects ranging from racism and segregation to nuclear weapons and Hitler. It's moving, political and occasionally humorous, but the best thing about the compilation is surprisingly the music itself, which skates across multiple genres of 'classic' American music. We've got folk and country covered, ragtime and soul, blues. the list goes on and it would be fruitless for me to just name everything. Highlights come unsurprisingly from the always haunting Billie Holiday who's track 'Strange Fruit' is picked here, Woody Guthrie's tear inducing '1913 Massacre' and the opening track 'Old Man Atom' by the Sons of the Pioneers which tells of the horrors of Hiroshima.

1) The Sons Of The Pioneers - Old Man Atom 1947
2) Texas Jim Robertson -The Last Page of Mein Kampf 1942
3) Lee Hays + The Almanac Singers -The Dodger Song 1941
4) Bessie Smith- Nobody Knows You When You're Down &Out 1929
5) Uncle Dave Macon - We're Up Against It Now 1926
6) Big Bill Broonzy - Black,Brown And White 1951
7) Slim Smith - Breadlines Blues 1931
8) Golden Gate Quartet- Atom And Evil 1946
9) The Monroe Brothers - The Forgotten Soldier Boy 1936
10) Memphis Minnie - Husslin' Blues Women 1945
11) Harry McClintock - Fifty Years From Now 1931
12) Mississippi Sheiks - Sales Tax 1934
13) Josh White/Millard Lampell The Almanac Singers-Billy Boy 1941
14) Billy Hughes & his Buckaroos - Atomic Sermon 1953
15) Dave McCarn - Poor Man, Rich Man 1930
16) Gene Autry - The Death Of Mother Jones 1931
17) Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit 1939
18) Furry Lewis - Judge Harsh Blues 1928
19) Ernest V. Stoneman - All I've Got Is Gone 1928
20) Woody Guthrie - 1913 Massacre 1945

http://lix.in/f4238cfa

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Posted by Joski at 4:20 PM | 0 comments  
Labels: Protest