Folkways: The Original Vision
was released in 1988 as a complement to the
Columbia
album
Folkways: A Vision Shared
(which featured modern performers doing interpretations of
Leadbelly
and
Woody Guthrie
songs), which in turn was done to help provide funds for the Smithsonian Institution to incorporate the
Folkways Record Company
into its archives.
thus became the debut release on the new
Smithsonian Folkways
record imprint. This expanded version adds six more tracks and greatly extends the liner notes, making what was an impressive introduction to
Guthrie
an even more impressive one. Both of these men had a detailed knowledge of American
folk
music, but what places them at the edge of modern
is how both took melodies and motifs from the past and recast them with new lyrics and arrangements, personalizing their songs to particular needs while still retaining the
lineage of the original tunes. The songs included here (all drawn from
Moses Asch
's
Asch
,
Disc
, and
Folkways
imprints) will be familiar to most Americans in one version or another, but there are some surprises, like
"4, 5, and 9,"
which has guitarists
Brownie McGhee
and harmonica player
Sonny Terry
join in a loose
blues
jam with a
jazz
rhythm section of
Pops Foster
on bass and
Willie "The Lion" Smith
on piano, and the set closer,
"We Shall Be Free,"
which features
together, along with
Terry
again and
Cisco Houston
, improvising lyrics to a version of
Chris Bouchillon
"Talking Blues,"
originally recorded in the 1920s. Other highlights include
"Gallis Pole"
(a furious and dynamic version of
"The Maid Freed from the Gallows"
) and
"Hobo's Lullaby"
(which was actually written by
Goebel Reeves
, the so-called "
Texas Drifter
"). This expanded edition of
The Original Vision
is a fine starting point to get to know the work of both of these men, whose ageless songs formed such a vital bridge between what was and what was becoming. ~ Steve Leggett