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63 of 68 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Some of the songs in this massive collection make you shake your head with wonder - surely this one can't have been released as a record for people to buy in a record shop? Imagine the conversation from 1929 - "Excuse me, have you got I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground, by Bascom Lamar Lunsford?" "Why certainly young sir, it's right here, that'll be 30 cents!" But apparently ALL of these songs, ballads, fiddle tunes, gospel shouts, shape-note choirs, blues, string bands, cajuns and hot sermonising were indeed issued on 78s, and the public did buy them. Well - the rural folk in the Southern states, not those sophisticates in New York.
A guy called Ralph Peer found out by accident that white people down in the South would buy records by Uncle Bunt Stephens in their hundreds and thousands - he couldn't understand it either, being a city slicker himself, but he knew a good thing when he saw it. So what became the country music industry started up. Then Ralph deduced that the black folks would also like the opportunity to buy their own kind of music, and so began to issue country blues. Between 1925 and 1933 an amazing kaleidoscope of country, folk, blues and jazz was released and some of it's right here in this big box.
And at least half is just as enjoyable now as it was then - although you probably need to be a bit of a folkie or a blues fan to really love it. Or maybe you went to see O Brother Where Art Thou and got the brilliant soundtrack album - well, Harry Smith's Anthology is where you find the original recordings of that kind of stuff. It's often raw and harsh, but it cuts through. It has power and magic, and a crazy happiness to it. This music is not show business.
A guy called Ralph Peer found out by accident that white people down in the South would buy records by Uncle Bunt Stephens in their hundreds and thousands - he couldn't understand it either, being a city slicker himself, but he knew a good thing when he saw it. So what became the country music industry started up. Then Ralph deduced that the black folks would also like the opportunity to buy their own kind of music, and so began to issue country blues. Between 1925 and 1933 an amazing kaleidoscope of country, folk, blues and jazz was released and some of it's right here in this big box.
And at least half is just as enjoyable now as it was then - although you probably need to be a bit of a folkie or a blues fan to really love it. Or maybe you went to see O Brother Where Art Thou and got the brilliant soundtrack album - well, Harry Smith's Anthology is where you find the original recordings of that kind of stuff. It's often raw and harsh, but it cuts through. It has power and magic, and a crazy happiness to it. This music is not show business.
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you thought that Bob Dylan's sound was new way back in the early 60's (as I did) then think again. That sound goes back much further to an even wierder time. Harry Smith pretty much bootlegged this cross section of American music ranging from blues through jug and gospel to early Dylan style harmonica howls from recordings on obscure labels, which begs the question, how did this very strange music attract a commercial audience in the USA of the 20's and thirties? The roots of all modern music are here and this stuff certainly did influence a generation or two or three. It's a good game spotting who subsequently ripped off what. To own it is to love it. Peg and Awl defies description, but Smith has a go at it, as he does all of these tunes with wonderfully concise tongue in cheek summaries.
33 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is the collection of songs and music that inspired almost everybody on the hip side of life in the 60's. Published in 1952 by Folkways, this has survived brilliantly and is still a major source of inspiration for roots musicians. This 6 CD set was compiled out of true love to the music, and has made Harry Smith a legend like Ralph Peer, Sam Phillips or Don Law - For the record collector , this is a "MUST HAVE!"
Nils Maaetoft
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Old weird America
The folk music of America at first appealed to rural audiences and only entered the mainstream when it was watered down with hit singles for the Weavers. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Richard
A fabulous package
...but who wants a box set whose box is too big for most shelves?! As other reviewers have said, this is a fabulous piece of musical history. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Doc Strange
Great for any folk lover
Bought this as a gift for my husband who plays it loads - must say even I have started to like it and there it a whole lot to listen to!
Published on 28 May 2010 by Amanda S. Simpson
Anthology of American Folk Music
A truly seminal collection. Unquestionably worth preserving and perpetuating on CD. And good value for 6CDs. Thanks. Dr D. M. Jones
Published on 30 Mar 2009 by Dr. D. M. Jones
Not in Kansas anymore
This collection gives most people a huge culture shock on first hearing. The music comes from a different time and place. Weird does not cover it. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2003 by doublegone
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