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Friends of Old Time Music: The Folk Arrival 1961 - 1965
Participated by Various Artists
Studio : Smithsonian Folkways
by Smithsonian Folkways
Release Date : 2006-09-26
Publisher : Smithsonian Folkways
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
EAN : 0093074016022
UPC : 093074016022
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 9 reviews)
List Price : $39.98
Our Price : $31.88
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Album Description |
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From 1961 to 1965, New York City's trailblazing Friends of Old Time Music presented 14 concerts that brought dozens of legendary traditional musicians before city audiences for the first time. This "folk arrival" changed the course of American folk music, expanding the vision of the Folk Song Revival and leaving an indelible mark on the musical landscape. For Friends of Old Time Music, Peter K. Siegel, who personally recorded most of the concerts, handpicked 55 tracks from the original master tapes. They include the first concert appearances by Doc Watson, Roscoe Holcomb, and Joseph Spence, and the triumphant return visits to New York by Dock Boggs and Mississippi John Hurt, who had made classic recordings in the city during the 1920s. 3 CDs of live concert recordings, 55 tracks (53 previously unreleased), accompanied by a richly illustrated 60-page book |
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Americancivilwar.com |
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In the early '60s, during the great Folk Scare, an organization called the Friends of Old Time Music (Ralph Rinzler, Izzy Young, Mike Seeger, Jean Ritchie, and John Cohen) brought some of the era's best folk, blues, and bluegrass performers to New York City. A number of them made their debut concerts there between 1961 and 1965, the period covered by this 3-CD set. Some of them are legends (Fred McDowell, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, Doc Watson) while others are lesser lights (Annie Bird, Joseph Spence, Fiddlin' Arthur Smith). Throughout this compilation, the sound quality varies, and not all is optimum. But even then, there's no denying such thrills as hearing Maybelle Carter announce she's about to perform the first song the original Carter Family recorded in 1927 ("Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow"). Often it's the little-known material or artists who deliver the biggest punch: Ed Young and Emma Ramsay running a shiver up your spine on the mostly a cappella blues dialogue "Chevrolet" or Jesse Fuller, the one-man band, proving a big, commanding presence on "Stranger Blues." Of the 55 tracks, only two have been previously released. All of them carry an air of excitement, as if everybody involved knew the winds of change were about to blow. Indeed, these concerts and others in the series made an enormous impression on rising stars of the genre, including a young transplanted Minnesotan born Robert Zimmerman. "You heard records where you could," Bob Dylan said in 2001, "but mostly you heard other performers... Clarence Ashley... Dock Boggs... You could see those people live and in person." Now you can hear what he heard, too. --Alanna Nash |
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Just Plain Good! |
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This box set is a gem, just terrific. The second disc has two songs which I don't like, the third has one, but all the rest are great. The wonderful, ageless music here has really opened up my ears to the meaning of folk. And I wasn't even born when the set was recorded. |
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truly great music |
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This is a beautiful piece of art. The voices are raw and real and the rhythm and tone of the instrumentals are terrific. Sorry am I gushing? The box set itself is gorgeous and the liner notes really tell a great tale. There are some CD's that you just want to download a couple of songs and forget the rest, this set isn't one of those. I love the whole thing. I can remember my father playing some of these songs with his friends, howling some of the harmonies. I remember the words of some of the songs I haven't heard anywhere else and probably would have lost forever if I hadn't bought this. I got one for my brother too, so he could remember. |
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Review -Friends of Old Time Music |
If you like folk music, bluegrass or blues, this is for you. A wide variety of this type of music is presented. All are the originals from 14 concerts that were presented in New York city from 1961-1965.The artists vary from Doc Watson to Mississippi John Hurt and include The New Lost city Ramblers, Bill Monroe and The Stanley Brothers.. Some of the recordings are now collectors items if you could find the originals.
A great addition to any collection of old time music. |
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FOTM - Folk Arrival 1961-1965 |
This is a series or recordings made by the Friends of Old Time Music (FOTM) in NY in the early sixties. FOTM was formed by Ralph Rinzler, Izzy Young, Mike Seeger, Jean Ritchie, and John Cohen. These recordings have several well known people/groups (Maybelle Carter, Fred McDowell, the Stanley Brothers, and Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys), however, there are many "unknowns" like Doc Watson and Roscoe Holcomb. There is also some performers that had played in NY in the 1920's who have returned (Mississippi John Hurt and Dock Boggs). The quality of the recording leaves much to be desired, but these recordings are very up close and personal with the audience. You get the feeling you are back in NY in the 1960's sitting in a smokey club. This works better for the smaller and one person acts, and probably less well for Bill Monroe and his group. The very least known of these artists (Ed Young and Emma Ramsay and Jesse Fuller) put on quite a show playing the blues. I think you will enjoy the banjo, mandolin, and guitar playing of these excellent artists.
I would recommend this album as a slice of the Americana folk scene, but I am not sure you will play them (3 CDs) over and over again. It is more of a one or two time romp! This CD set is best enjoyed at home rather than in your car since the liner notes are excellent and the pictures stunning (unless you can miss all your fellow drivers while reading in the car... :^) |
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Old Time Music Review |
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All-in-all, this is a very good album. I would have preferred that the Mountain Music and the Delta Blues be separated onto their own disks and more of the sponge diver and sea island chants be included. In that there are three disks, there should have been one disk for each genre. |
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