"Songs from the Heart" 2001 CD anthology

This is a CD compilation mainly featuring songs of the very early folk stalwarts of American Folk Music such as Woody Guthrie, Dave van Ronk, Elizabeth Cotton, Cisco Houston and Leadbelly (Huddie Leadbetter) but also featuring the later comers Phil Ochs and Mike Seeger.
The notes to the CD give a very apt description:-

The History of American Folk Music taps the mother lode of American folk music - Appalachian ballads, folk blues, mountain music, gospel songs, topical commentaries, protest songs and rootsy hybrids. Banjo pickers rub shoulders with blues guitarists, high lonesome hillbilly wailers with earnest protest singers, country blues gals holler next to old timey revivalists.

There would not have been any folk revival without many of these musicians providing the basic foundation for the later performers.  All good clean tracks.

Track List:
1. This land is your land - Woody Guthrie
2. Down South - Dock Boggs
3. Freight Train - Elizabeth Cotton
4. Darlin' Cora - Mike Seeger
5. Twelve Gates to the City - Dave van Ronk
6. House of the Rising Sun - Roscoe Holcomb
7. Linin' Track - Leadbelly
8. In my Time of Dying - Josh White
9. The Death of Queen Jane - Bascom Lamar Lunsford
10. What did the deep blue Sea say - Cisco Houston
11. Malted Milk Blues - Lucinda Williams
12. Ballad of Alfred Packer - Phil Ochs
13. The Intoxicated Rat - Ciscxo Houston
14. There's a Man going round taking Names - Leadbelly
15. Country Blues - Dock Bloggs
16. Little Birdie - Roscoe Holcomb
17. Sawanahana Tunnel - Bascom Lamar Lunsford
18. Wabash Blues - Mike Seeger
19. Spaceman - Phil Ochs
20. Please see that my Grave is kept clean - Dave van Ronk
21. There's a new World coming - Bernice Johnson Reagon

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Johnny Mann Singers "Golden Folk Song Hits Vol 2" LP 1963

This was the second of this series (see previous posting for the first volume).  This album is very much a continuation of the approach with the first volume.  The tracks are of relatively "modern" composition with known authors with the exception of  the English traditional "(Kept her from the) Foggy Foggy Dew".
Other tracks are as shown on the front cover.
Again, this was a nice, clean LP that was a pleasure to rip.

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The Johnny Mann Singers "Golden Folk Song Hits" 1962 (vol 1)

The Johnny Mann Singers were highly active between 1956 and 1974 mainly recording covers of popular hits in a brilliant chorale style winning five Grammy Awards.
Fortunately for us, Johnny Mann did not let the folk revival pass unnoticed putting out three volumes of "Golden Folk Song Hits".  This was the first in 1962.  His focus was on satisfying lovers of great singing rather than on producing an authentic folk music sound so his albums truly fit the theme of this blog - "folk for all".
Most folk fans will readily appreciate their renditions of folk songs but it will also appeal to all lovers of good singing. The songs are mostly of 'modern' composition e.g. Tom Dooley, Scarlet Ribbons, The Boll Weevil Song, Where have all the Flowers Gone with some traditionals.  For those who fondly remember The Kingston Trio, The New Christy Ministrels, The Journeymen, The Brothers Four and their like will love this album.  It has ripped nice and clean and is in proper stereo.  MP3s @ 192-224 VBR. Enjoy.

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Harry Belafonte "Belafonte at Carnegie Hall" 1959 performance

Harry Belefonte became so well known for calypso music that it is often overlooked that he was, and always remained, primarily a folk singer albeit one who often adopted a populist approach to all his music for general concert goers.
On the 19th and 20th April 1959, he gave two performances at Carnegie Hall both with an identical program. Both concerts were recorded in full and tracks taken from each to produce a two LP set featuring all the concert numbers - a total of 19 tracks.  This LP set was issued the same year. It was sub-titled "The Complete Concert"
In 1989, a "Belafonte at Carnegie Hall" CD was issued but four original tracks were omitted presumbaly because they would not all fit on the one CD.  One of those tracks was"All my Trials"(described as a West Indies lullaby but it's also very much a lament) which seems a strange exclusion as it was quite a popular track in the 1960s receiving a lot of air play.
I stumbled over both the CD and the two LP set recently and I've used them both to again present the "complete concert".  Also included are images of the LP and CD covers and of the original LP liner notes.  There are also notes on the CD contents  Tracks are in the original LP order as follows:

"ACT I-MOODS OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO"
   1. "Introduction/Darlin' Cora"
   2. "Sylvie"
   3. "Cotton Fields"
   4. "John Henry"
   5. "Take My Mother Home" (omitted on CD)
   6. "The Marching Saints"
 "ACT II-IN THE CARIBBEAN"
   7. "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)"
   8. "Jamaica Farewell"
   9. "Man Piaba"  (Omitted on CD)
   10. "All My Trials" (Omitted on CD)
   11. "Mama Look a Boo Boo"
   12. "Come Back Liza"
   13. "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)"
"ACT III-ROUND THE WORLD"
   14. "Hava Nagila"
   15. "Danny Boy"
   16. "Merci Bon Dieu" (Omitted on CD)
   17. "Cucurrucucu Paloma"
   18. "Shenandoah"
   19. "Matilda"

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Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger "Classic Scots Ballads" CD re-issue of 1961 LP

Ewan MacColl (1915-1989) was a prodigious performer of traditional folk songs.  He also wrote many modern folk songs, such as "The Travelling People" and "Dirty Old Town", topical songs, and also the Grammy winning "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (when performed by Roberta Flack).
Peggy Seeger (born 1935 New York) was, by 1959, effectively the de-facto wife MacColl (he was still legally married to his second wife). Have a good read of each of their Wikipedia entries - quite complex stories.  Incidentally, Peggy was a younger half sister of Pete Seeger and also younger full sister to Mike Seeger once of the New Lost City Ramblers.
This, the second of their joint albums, was released in 1961.  All tracks are British Isles traditionals either originating in Scotland or Scottish versions of English Ballads.

The tracks are Aikendrum, The False Lover Won Back, The Gairdener Chyld, The Maid Gaed to the Mill, The Elfin Knight, The Banks of the Nile, Hughie Grame, Johnny Lad, Mormond Braes, Glasgowe Peggy, The Moneymusk Lads, The Trooper and the Maid, I Loved a Lass, and Lord Thomas and Fair Annie.

This is a great album.  The tracks were digitally re-mastered for the CD release.  The CD graphics include the original LP notes for each of the songs and are included in the download.

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Harry Belfonte "Belafonte on Campus" LP 1967

Harry Belafonte's three folk albums have been largely forgotten with the exception of "Ballads, Blues and Boasters" which was belatedly released on CD in about 2007.

This album contains a mix of traditional and modern folk music as you will see from the track list.

But do not expect a real "folky" sound - these are "professional" studio tracks with full choral and orchestral backing to provide some very lovely music.  "The Hands I Love" is, IMHO, brilliant.

Graphics are included.

Tracklist:-

1 Roll on Buddy
2 The Hands I Love (Gordon Lightfoot's "Song for a Winter's Night")
3 The Last Thing on my Mind
4 Delia
5 Far Side of the Hill
6 Waly Waly
7 Sail away Ladies
8 First Time Ever I saw your Face
9 Hold on to me, Babe
10 Those Three are on my Mind
11 Dog Song (Your Dog)

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"Best of Scottish Folk" compilation CD 1996

Obviously a sister release to the prior "The Best of Irish Folk" again being a compilation of folk performers and folk songs of the folk revival period but this time having a Scottish theme.
Performers include Matt McGinn, Hamish Imlach, The McCalmans, Alex Campbell, The Ian Campbell Folk Group, Isla Cameron and Billy Connolly, the latter commencing his professional life as a folk singer with a patter later graduating to be the famed stand-up comedian who occasionally sing a folk song.
There are 24 great tracks including such gems as Owen Hand's I Loved a Lass, Archie Fisher's "Three Gypsy Laddies", Matt McGinn's "Rosin the Beau" (Resin the Bow), and Hamish Imlach's "McPherson's Farewell".

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