Josh White - Free And Equal Blues

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Time: 73:55
Size: 170,7 MB
Released: 1998
Styles: Folk Blues, Piedmont Blues
Art: Full

1. One Meat Ball (3:11)
2. In My Time Of Dying (3:14)
3. Free And Equal Blues (4:29)
4. Number 12 Train (3:39)
5. Jim Crow (2:48)
6. Landlord (2:37)
7. Betty And Dupree (3:46)
8. Trouble (2:40)
9. Beloved Comrade (2:03)
10. Hold On (2:13)
11. Jelly Jelly (2:27)
12. When I Lay Down (2:36)
13. The House I Live In (2:31)
14. Fuhrer (3:10)
15. Minute Man (2:06)
16. Take A Gal Like You (3:10)
17. Whatcha Gonna Do (1:13)
18. Don´t Lie Buddy (2:21)
19. Motherless Children (2:30)
20. No More Blues (No More Blues Lines) (2:45)
21. Meam Mistreatin´ Woman (3:10)
22. Freedom Road (2:20)
23. Miss Otis Regrets (2:58)
24. Careless Love (3:22)
25. T B Blues (3:21)
26. Outskirts Of Town (3:02)

Josh White (1914-1969) was a brilliant musician whose vibrant guitar and rich vocals captivated audiences for decades.
The material on this album is from White's heyday in the mid-1940s, when he was one of folk music's most influential stars. An accomplished guitarist with a beautiful, warm voice, his topical protest and rallying songs anticipated the marriage of folk and social issues of the '50s and '60s. He blended the folk roots of Leadbelly with politics of Paul Robeson and Pete Seeger. In fact, on this album, he's accompanied by Burl Ives, Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, Brownie McGee, Sonny Terry, and Leadbelly himself. But because the material is from the '40s, White was equally concerned about oppression by landlords, fascists, and segregationists. Free and Equal Blues is a fascinating snapshot that captures White's righteous dignity and stellar artistry. --Richard Price

Free And Equal Blues

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Jeff Ray - Last Great Winter

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Time: 49:48
Size: 114.0 MB
Released: 2007
Styles: Piedmont blues, Acoustic delta blues
Art: Front

1. Dear Grenadine (2:42)
2. Low Wage Mood (5:35)
3. Higher Hilltops (3:51)
4. This Land Is Your Land (5:00)
5. Cindy Sang (5:32)
6. Human Hillsides (5:18)
7. Valley (4:24)
8. Crane (6:26)
9. Maggie's Farm (5:38)
10. My My My (5:19)

Jeff Ray's third and most compelling album to date. A blues-influenced tour de force of resonator slide-guitar, Ray weaves the grit of the Mississippi Delta into a tapestry of poetic americana.
Since the release of his rockin' multi-instrumental 2004 sophomore release, JUNE GENERATION, Ray embarked on a life of touring solo from the Midwest to the South where he found the inspiration for LAST GREAT WINTER. Influenced by the Midwest resonator guitar scene, Ray picked up a National steel guitar and eventually landed opening slots for some of his biggest influences, including Chris Smither.
Drawing from those performance experiences, Ray left behind the studio band and found his solo groove on LAST GREAT WINTER. On the album, he weaves his stylistic diversity with unmatched simplicity using only a resonator guitar, his voice, and a stomping foot that blends seamlessly into each song. Jeff reveals with great clarity his unique style that he calls Zen Blues - a style marked by alternate guitar tunings and songs that unsuspectingly shift between thumb-thumping slide-guitar ballads to worldly folk-inspired jams.
Ray even throws in a few surprises, including a bluesy rendition of Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" and a catchy version of Woody Guthrie's timeless anthem "This Land Is Your Land", one of the most surprising versions ever recorded. Originally a protest song, "This Land Is Your Land" eventually morphed into a childhood sing-along, stripped bare of it's most controversial verses. But Ray returns this song to its original purpose and gives it new life by altering the melody, changing the rhythm, accentuating the forgotten verses, and even altering the final lines to give new meaning.
Jeff Ray continues to gain recognition as an emerging influence in the acoustic roots music scene.

Last Great Winter

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J.P. Reali - Bottle Of Blooze

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Time: 39:23
Size: 91,1 MB
Released: 2010
Styles: Piedmont Blues, Delta Blues
Art: Front

1. Crazy 'bout A Barbeque (3:17)
2. I Can't Love You Like Your Mama (3:18)
3. The Wiggle Tight Rag (2:58)
4. Ode To A Caboose (3:30)
5. The Powder Blues (4:16)
6. Workin' In A Minefield Blues (4:11)
7. Struck By Lightnin' (4:57)
8. Blind Whiskey's Blues (2:55)
9. She Likes To Ride (2:49)
10. The Presidential Blues (3:18)
11. Sinner Man (3:50)

A veteran of the DC music scene for almost thirty years, J.P. Reali has played in numerous venues throughout the city. From his days as the lead guitar player in the psychedelic blues band The Next Step in the 1980’s, to his days as half of the acoustic blues/roots duo The Reali Brothers in the 1990’s, through his current solo career, J.P.’s playing has electrified listeners. He has performed extensively throughout the east coast, and spent 16 weeks in residence in Japan thrilling listeners with his musical prowess.
In April 2007, J.P. released his long-awaited solo acoustic blues debut recording “Cold Steel Blues.” The album, which features nine originals and six cover songs by such blues greats as Robert Johnson and Reverend Gary Davis, showcases J.P.’s proficiency in both the delta and piedmont styles. The independent recording was well received by local “guide to fun” magazine On Tap.
While J.P.’s repertoire is steeped in the traditions of Piedmont and Delta blues and includes such classics songs as Statesboro Blues, and Walkin’ Blues, it also showcases his original blues compositions in a conscious effort to keep these traditional styles alive in the 21st century.
In July of 2010 J.P. released his second self-produced album, “Bottle of Blooze." This album features nine original songs by J.P. and two by his brother Chris Reali. On Tap said of “Bottle of Blooze”– “Reali’s acoustic guitar picking is crystal clear and at times mesmerizing. In a city where real blues can be hard to find Reali is a solid purveyor of the form.”
J.P. won the D.C. Blues Society’s Battle of the Bands in the solo category in 2010 and 2011, and went on to compete in The International Blues Challenge in Memphis Tennessee both years. He also received Washington Area Music Association nominations for Best Blues Instrumentalist, and Best Traditional Blues Recording for 2010 and 2011.
He is currently performing at a variety of venues and events in and around the D.C Metro region, and has an exciting new 2012 release of original music “The Road To Mississippi” available now.
He is a member of The D.C. Blues Society, The Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, The Washington Area Music Association, and The Baltimore Blues Society.

Bottle Of Blooze

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Etta Baker - Railroad Bill

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Time: 48:07
Size: 110.2 MB
Styles: Piedmont blues
Released: 1999/2012
Art: Front

1. Carolina Breakdown (3:12)
2. Railroad Bill (2:42)
3. I Get The Blues When It Rains (3:04)
4. Careless Love (3:26)
5. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down (2:37)
6. Sunny Tennessee (1:47)
7. Mint Julep (3:09)
8. Brown's Boogie (2:33)
9. Lonesome Road Blues (2:14)
10. Goodbye Booze (1:59)
11. Nobody's Business (1:53)
12. One Dime Blues (1:42)
13. Going Down The Road Feeling Bad (2:38)
14. Candyman (2:22)
15. Miss A Little Miss (2:11)
16. Baby Let Me Lay It On You (2:52)
17. Chilly Winds (2:22)
18. John Henry (3:17)
19. Cripple Creek (1:56)

The "premier woman Piedmont blues guitar instrumentalist" is a wordy but accurate description of 87-year-old Etta Baker of Morganton, NC. One of the last pickers who was around when the music was first being recorded, Baker's 83 years of practice is manifested in these wonderful recordings of traditional folk ballads. One highlight follows another, and although "Brown's Boogie" trips up the album's gentle flow, the rest is front-porch perfect. This is music you never get tired of listening to. Newcomers to guitar should buy this album, both to marvel at the intricate technique and to amuse themselves with how frustratingly difficult it can be. ~ Jim Smith

Etta Baker of Morganton, North Carolina, was born in 1913 and has been playing guitar since the age of four. She is the premier woman Piedmont blues guitarist. Her only contemporary was the late Elizabeth Cotton of Carrboro, North Carolina. Etta maintains a beautiful garden - an Eden of flowers, herbs, shrubs, healing plants, and fruit trees. She works in her yard every morning, coming inside only for lunch. Etta is constantly working on new arrangements as she plays the guitar every day.

"Because she was a stunning beauty, Etta's husband refused to let her travel and perform away from home. She never stopped playing the music! This gracious grandmother was the source of a great deal of joy and surprise when I found that she still played guitar after I had heard her early recordings in the sixties. One of the signature chords of my guitar vocabulary comes from her version of "Railroad Bill." This was the first guitar-picking style that I ever learned." ~Taj Mahal

Recording information: Morganton, NC (05/1995-06/1998).

Railroad Bill

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Carl Martin - Crow Jane Blues

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Time: 57:30
Size: 134.4 MB
Styles: Acoustic East Coast blues, Piedmont blues, Pre-war blues
Released: 1997
Art: Front

1. Crow Jane Blues (2:28)
2. Corrina, Corrina (2:13)
3. Trouble On Your Hand #2 (3:24)
4. State Street Pimp #2 (3:12)
5. Gravedigger Blues (3:36)
6. Worried All The Time (2:12)
7. Liza Jane (2:14)
8. Good Morning Judge (3:11)
9. John Henry (2:13)
10. West Virginia Blues (4:06)
11. Trouble On Your Hand #1 (3:18)
12. Everyday I Have The Blues (3:38)
13. Frankie & Johnny (3:00)
14. State Street Pimp #1 (2:52)
15. Railroad Blues (2:59)
16. You Can't Beat The Syndicate (12:48)

One of the great blues fiddle players, Carl Martin has been unfairly left out of most conventional histories of the blues. This collection should put the record straight. Sixteen killer cuts, covering Martin's own songs, such as the inimitable title track, and various eclectic covers, ranging from "Corrina, Corrina" to the folk standard "John Henry." The artist's range is fabulous and his voice and fiddle playing are unique and amazingly accomplished. Crow Jane Blues is an exemplary collection from a significantly underrated artist. ~Thomas Ward

Crow Jane Blues

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Various - Classic Railroad Songs From Smithsonian Folkways

Size: 171.3 MB
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Time: 72.44
Released: 2006
Styles: Folk, Piedmont blues, Country blues
Art: Front

1. Emory Cook - An Excerpt From "Rail Dynamics" (0:24)
2. New Lost City Ramblers - Train 45 (2:20)
3. Furrie Lewis - Kassie Jones (2:59)
4. Pete Seeger - Jay Gould's Daughter (2:41)
5. Walt Robertson - Railroad Bill (2:11)
6. Leadbelly - Linin' Track (1:18)
7. Elizabeth Cotten - Freight Train (2:47)
8. Cisco Houston - Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill (2:34)
9. L.M. Hilton - Zack, The Mormon Engineer (2:06)
10. Virginia Mountain Boys - The F.F.V. (3:00)
11. Annie Watson - The Ffv (3:55)
12. New Lost City Ramblers - He's Coming To Us Dead (3:17)
13. Doc Watson - The Train That Carried My Girl From Town (2:21)
14. Leadbelly - Rock Island Line (2:06)
15. Sonny Terry, Woody Guthrie & Cisco Houston - Lonesome Train (3:35)
16. Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston - John Henry (2:46)
17. Rosalie Sorrels - The Wreck of the Number Nine (1:40)
18. Brownie McGhee - Freight Train Blues (3:39)
19. Mike Seeger - The New Market Wreck (3:43)
20. Haywire Mac - Jerry, Go Oil That Car (2:40)
21. Rosalie Sorrels - Way Out In Idaho (3:38)
22. Henry Grady Terrell - Old John Henry Died On The Mountain (1:59)
23. John D. Mounce - Casey Jones (0:24)
24. Pop Stoneman - Wreck Of The Old 97 (2:54)
25. Leadbelly - Midnight Special (2:06)
26. Doc Watson - Wabash Cannonball (3:20)
27. Vernon Sutphin - Lost Train Blues (1:17)
28. Iron Mountain String Band - New River Train (4:26)
29. Vinton Wright - Excerpt From "Three Little Engines And 33 Cars" (0:24)

This album features powerful performances by legends Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Brownie McGhee, Mike Seeger, Pop Stoneman, Cisco Houston, and Rosalie Sorrels, among others. Elsewhere, National Heritage Fellowship Award winners Elizabeth Cotten and Doc Watson, who has won six Grammy Awards to date, are represented. Of the 29 tracks on the album, a full 21 appear on CD for the first time, all newly remastered by Grammy winner Pete Reiniger.
Bookended by actual recordings of trains from the 1950s, the compilation evidences the continuing influence of these essential American ballads, work songs, blues and broadsides. "Midnight Special," represented here by Lead Belly, has been covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Paul McCartney, and Van Morrison. Alt-country band the Old 97s named itself after "The Wreck of the Old 97," which has been interpreted by Johnny Cash and John Mellencamp, among many others. The compilation also includes iconic American songs "Rock Island Line," "John Henry," "Wabash Cannonball," and "Railroad Bill," all presented here in riveting performances. Bluesman Furry Lewis, who sings about the legend of "Kassie Jones," actually lost a leg to a railroad accident in 1917.
Grammy winner Jeff Place compiled and annotated Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways, which also contains rare photographs from the Library of Congress.
Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways is the ninth entry in the label's Classic Series and serves as a doorway into Folkways' incredible catalog of recordings. The Classic Series, which has covered blues, bluegrass, folk, and mountain music, among other genres, also illustrates the role Moses Asch and his Folkways label played in preserving a vital piece of American history. December 6, 2005 marks the 100th anniversary of this American documentarian's birth.

Classic Railroad Songs From Smithsonian Folkways

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