"Black Diamond Express To Hell" An Amazing Ride Along The Railroads Of America Featuring Hot & Blue Tunes From The 1920's - 1960's

The icon of the locomotive and the train it pulls has been firmly embedded in artistic and popular culture since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century harnessed steam and encased it in metal to produce the first mammoths of power, movement, speed and beauty. These incredible machines opened up land, sea and, subsequently, air travel to an ever widening populace eager to exploit the New Century and its celebration of Modernism. Little wonder that the railroad has been the subject of setting for numerous stories in films, books and of course music. No more so than in the USA where the train has been used within a variety of musical forms and contexts: as a symbol of freedom - the means of escape from the hardships of the South to the Northern streets of gold - the way back home again; the means of getting to both Heaven and Hell - sexual metaphor; a free ride for the migrant escaping the Great Depression as well as the travelling songster and of course – disaster - the inevitable wreck with its incompetent driver (or brave engineer)! This 29-track compilation covers the above via an exciting mix of Pre- and Post-War Blues, Hillbilly, Jazz, R 'n' B and Rock 'n' Roll. It includes 2 previously unreleased tracks and a wealth of rare material, some of which has not been available re-mastered for digital audio. (Roots & Rhythms)

There are few more iconoclastic images of progress than the locomotive, preferably steam-powered. An obvious symbol of industrialization, the train replaced the chariot as the mode of transport to heaven or correspondingly to hell, brought lovers together or sped them apart, and offered a one-way ticket out of poverty to the promised land of freedom and prosperity. Its rail lines could be lonely or feted, its conductors and engineers idolized. Trains were the ultimate metaphor and the enduring image of a fast-growing and even faster-moving country. No wonder then so many artists memorialized the train in song. Black Diamond Express to Hell takes listeners on a scintillating journey back in time and across the musical landscape. 27 songs strong, bookended by the title track sermon, this set is a musical train spotter's dream come true. Stopping off to visit hillbillies and country stars, big-band legends and blues greats, and careening merrily from jazz to boogie, R&B to blues, mountain music to classic country, and speeding around the decades, this is one hell of a trip. Thankfully, Ozit Records has hired an expert conductor, Steve Hardstaff, for the journey. His exceptional liner notes not only annotate every song, but make sense of the seemingly jumbled sequencing, scattering nuggets of information for train enthusiasts along the way. Considering all the detail and knowledge he includes within, we may perhaps be seeing the beginnings of a fascinating book in the making. The music itself is equally riveting in its diversity and the myriad ways in which trains are addressed. A phenomenal trawl through the express lines to fame and the forgotten routes through forlorn pastures of Americana. (Allmusic)

trax:
1. Intro: Black Diamond Express To Hell - Rev. A. W. Nix 2. Hell Bound Train - Frank Hutchinson 3. Flying Crow Blues - Washboard Sam 4. Beyond Black Smoke - The Dixon Brothers 5. When The Train Comes Along - Norfolk Jubilee Quartet 6. Railroad Boogie - Pee Wee King 7. Wreck Of The Old 97 - Vernon Dalhart 8. Pullman Porter - Cousin Joe 9. Traveling Blues - Ma Rainey 10. Orange Blossom Special - The Drifting Cowboys 11. Train 45 - Grayson & Whitter 12. One Way Ticket - Bobby Crown 13. Southern Casey Jones - Jesse James 14. Daybreak Express - Duke Ellington 15. C. C. & O. Blues - Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley 16. Night Train - Jimmy Forrest 17. Lonesome Frisco Line - Darby & Tarlton 18. Johnny B Goode - Al White & The Hi-Liters 19. Gone Dead Train - King Solomon Hill 20. Engine 143 - The Carter Family 21. Boxcar Shorty And Peter Blue - Sammy Price 22. Life's Railway To Heaven - The Blue Sky Boys 23. Late Freight - Sonny Thompson 24. The Brave Engineer - The Carver Boys 25. Sun Beam Blues - 'Billikin' Johnson & Fred Adams 26. Waiting At The Station - Cousin Leroy 27. Cannonball - Nora Lee King 28. Sinner's Dream - Eugene Fox 29. Outro: Black Diamond Express To Hell - Rev. A. W. Nix
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