In 1957, at the dawn of the urban folk revival, Moses Asch's Folkways label issued the first of Pete Seeger's “American Ballads” series.

Marketing these albums to schools and libraries, Folkways served to document a range of great American folk songs that had remained popular with children since the previous century.

Recorded during the heart of the great "folk song revival" of the 1950s and 1960s, Pete Seeger's “American Ballads” was and is a classic series of albums.

Ballads contains definitive bits of Americana that have been a part of our lives for more than a half century

His idiosyncratic picking unexpectedly launched a fad among up-and-coming folk groups like the Kingston Trio, and just about every band from the period added a Vega Pete Seeger model banjo to its line-up. Though many of the songs on “American Ballads” will be very familiar, Seeger's unabashed joy in singing them is infectious and will have even the most reluctant listener itching to sing along with him.

This collection reminds us that the ballad's purpose, first and foremost, is to tell a story.

Enjoy the Master

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Posted by Joski at 7:28 PM | 1 comments  
Labels: Pete Seeger

Tony McManus is a Scottish acoustic Celtic Guitar player of Irish descent.

Tony was born in 1965 in Paisley (in the Scottish Lowlands).

Tony’s blinding technique is tempered by with a deep love of traditional music - and Tony counts the music of Scotland, Ireland, Brittany, Galicia, Quebec, Asturias, Cape Breton and Eastern Europe in his definition of traditional music.

He is highly regarded for his exceptional skill and expressive playing.

John Renbourn described McManus as "the best Celtic guitarist in the world".

And if John Renbourn says so….

If you're a fan of Celtic guitar or a guitarist yourself, do yourself a favour by buying this disk. When I hear Tony McManus play, I get vicarious blisters on my fingers. He does this triplet thing with his right hand that is bloody amazing! There's one medley of songs on the album that includes a version of "The Rakish Paddy" that would make Pierre Bensusan sweat. As a guitarist myself, listening to this album is both inspiring and disheartening at the same time...he makes stellar technique sound easy.

Only once or twice a year do I hear something that stops me dead in my tracks and that night it was a piece of genius called "The Milliner's Daughter."

I’m down on my knees

http://lix.in/-26bb0b

Fill your ears

Posted by Joski at 8:23 PM | 1 comments  
Labels: Tony McManus