Woody Guthrie "The Ultimate Collection" 2007

Perhaps the most influential singer-songwriter ever in Folk music, Woody Guthrie's music has inspired generations of musicians and continues to influence to this day with the likes of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen frequently performing his songs. Featured here on this 'Ultimate Collection' are 50 of his best recordings.Woody Guthrie. The man who founded the tradition of the American protesting folk singer/songwriter which gave us Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. Indeed, Dylan made his name with the `talking blues' style patented by Guthrie. Guthrie's music, it is not too much to say, was one of the greatest influences on 20th century popular music. It was a prime influence on the British Skiffle movement (Lonnie Donegan covered a huge number of Guthrie songs), out of which came the Beatles. It also gave us Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and countless others.

This album collects together 50 (yes, FIFTY!) classic tracks, and demonstrates just why Guthrie is such a major figure in the history of music. All the classics are here, `This Land is Your Land', `John Henry', `Gypsy Davy', `Mule Skinner Blues', `Wreck of the Old 97', `Jack Hammer Blues' and `We Shall Be Free', and that's just disc 1! In all of these Guthrie uses an eye for detail and an outrage at social injustice to craft catchy, yet involving lyrics which have a story to tell. Mixed with a distinctive guitar / harmonica style and compelling rhythmns and hooks in the music, these really are great songs, that almost anyone will find something to enjoy in. Personally, I find Guthrie's work more accessible than some of the other greats o the time, such as Ledbelly, partly due to his singing style - he had excellent diction, meaning that every word could be heard clearly.

This 2 CD set is a steal at the price being asked. The 50 tracks sound good for their age. I don't know if there has been any remastering, I suspect there has as the recordings all sound quite clean. There is a short, disposable, essay about Guthrie and that's about it. My only gripe is that there is no information about the recording dates (or even the years!) for the tracks presented. But hey! At this price that is a minor quibble, it's the music that matters! And you get a lot of excellent music here.

A set well worth getting. Recommended for all fans of Dylan, Early Paul Simon, Early Springsteen, Billy Bragg and the like. --Amazon customer review

trax Disc 1:

01. Pastures Of Plenty 02. This Land Is Your Land 03. House Of The Rising Sun 04. Hard Ain't It Hard 05. I Ride An Old Paint 06. Blow The Man Down 07. John Henry 08. Hard Travellin' 09. Car Song 10. Talking Dust Bowl Blues 11. Do Re Mi 12. Gypsy Davy 13. Vigilante Man 14. Pretty Boy Floyd 15. Buffalo Gals 16. Mule Skinner Blues 17. Wreck Of The Old 97 18. Oregon Trail 19. Jack-Hammer Blues 20. Better World A-Comin' 21. I Ain't Got No Home 22. Blowin' Down This Road Feeling Bad 23. Dust Pneumonia Blues 24. The Biggest Thing Man Has Ever Done 25. We Shall Be Free

trax Disc 2:

01. Sinking Of The Reuben James 02. Sally Don't You Grieve 03. Talking Sailor 04. Two Good Men 05. Grand Coulee Dam 06. Chisholm Trail 07. Ranger's Command 08. Jesse James 09. Dead Or Alive 10. Whoopee Ti Yi Yo, Get Along Little Dogies 11. 1913 Massacre 12. Jesus Christ 13. When That Great Ship Went Down 14. Cumberland Gap 15. Ramblin' Round Your City 16. New York Town 17. Tom Joad (Part 2) 18. When The Curfew Blows 19. Jarama Valley 20. New Found Land 21. Slipknot 22. Talking Columbia 23. Bury Me Beneath The Willow 24. Ship In The Sky 25. So Long It's Been Good To Know You

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