Thursday, April 21, 2011

VA ~ High Atmosphere: Ballads & Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina, collected by John Cohen in 1965 [Rounder, 1995] 320/FLAC



Rounder CD-028

01. Remember and Do Pray for Me Lloyd Chandler 1:22
02. The Silk Merchant's Daughter Dellie Norton 1:55
03. Rambling Hobo Gaither Carlton 1:41
04. Apple, Blossom Gaither Carlton :50
05. Pretty Crowing Chicken Frank Proffitt 3:44
06. Forkey Deer Sidna Myers 2:03
07. Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down Frank Proffitt 1:49
08. Cumberland Gap George Landers 1:59
09. Rolling Mills Are Burning Down George Lander 3:03
10. Half Shaved Wade Ward 2:09
11. Shady Grove Wade Ward 1:18
12. Old Joe Clark Wade Ward 1:27
13. Nitches over the Hill Wade Ward 1:02
14. Twin Sisters Myers Sidna :56
15. Fortune Fred Cockerham 1:38
16. Little Satchel Fred Cockerham 3:36
17. Barker's Creek George Landers 2:36
18 Young Emily Dellie Norton 2:05
19. Early, Early in the Spring Dellie Norton 2:03
20. Warfare Ball, Estil C. 3:18
21. Pretty Polly Ball, Estil C. 3:15
22. The Fox Ball, Estil C. 2:56
23.. A Conversation With Death Lloyd Chandler 4:08
24. I Wish My Baby Was Born Dillard Chandler 1:01
25. The Carolina Lady Dillard Chandler 4:24
26. The Scotland Man George Landers 3:37
27. Alabama Girls Sidna Myers 1:26
28. No Place Like Home George Landers 2:05
29. June Apple Fred Cockerham 2:36
30. Frankie Baker Fred Cockerham 1:20
31. Jennie Jenkins Orna Ball, E.C. Ball 2:24
32. Little Sadie Gaither Carlton :58
33. Cumberland Gap Frank Proffitt 1:24



'High Atmosphere is, as its subtitle notes, a collection of "Ballads and banjo tunes from Virginia and North Carolina, collected by John Cohen in November of 1965," and it is one of the finest compilations of old-time field recordings available. Originally conceived as a documentation of Appalachian banjo tunings, Cohen's recording project expanded to accommodate the unaccompanied ballad singers discovered along the way, as well as the fiddling of Wade Ward and the guitar playing of Estil C. Ball. While the broadened scope significantly enhances the collection, the initial intent also remains clear and powerful, the banjo pieces providing an effective structural framework for the set, underscored by Cohen's plentiful and informative notes. While the overall tone of the disc is wonderfully warm, characterized by Sidna Myers' gentle clawhammer banjo or Wade Ward's chuckle, the peaceful, rolling lull of the album is punctuated by opposite strains of stark and unsettling doom. Lloyd Chandler's unaccompanied "A Conversation With Death" has appeared as "O Death" in the repertoires of Dock Boggs, Ralph Stanley, and others, but has never been more harrowing than in this incarnation; Chandler's ancient, unaccompanied voice booming with Calvinist dread, "Oh Death, oh Death, please let me see -- if Christ has turned his back on me," and concluding: "As long as God in Heaven shall dwell, your soul, your soul shall scream in Hell." Like Chandler, each of the performers in the collection sings and plays with amazing and sober intensity, manifesting a kind of religious fervor even on purely secular or light-hearted tunes; each also performs with a deeply personal aesthetic freedom, adapting tunes and traditions to fit his or her own sense of timing and tone. The personalities of the collection's 11 singers and musicians resonate throughout the performances, creating a substantial testament to these remarkable individuals as well as the traditions they encompass. Originally released in 1974, Rounder's 1995 reissue includes over 20 additional minutes of music from the 1965 trip, accounting for 33 superb tracks. The updated High Atmosphere should be of equal interest to academics, musicians, and the merely curious, and belongs in any collection of old-time music or traditional field recordings & for the record it should be noted that this is a primary well from which t-bone burnett & wilco have drawn from to make millions for their water-down renditions of these initial visionary contributions to the akashic records of the american folk music canon.' ~ Burgin Mathews

here goes an upgrade of one of me very favourite springtime records, originally dropped here exactly one year ago. i especially want my friends from north carolina & virginia to take note if ya slept, as these amazing performances are yer birthrite & bonafide intangible kultural heritage. the folks presented here hail from what could only be the backwoods; places with evocative names like Deep Gap [that works on so many levels], Low Gap, Sodom, Vilas, Independence & Rugby. if you live way out in the country, don't miss this sublime offering, as it can only enhance & amplify the ambiance. often cited as THE holy grail fer most anyone trying to learn how to pick a banjo, fer what it's worth [millions evidently?], this publication owlso inspired scenes in the Oh Brother Where Art Thou & Cold Mountain films & the band Wilco drew heavily from these recordings, appropriating at least three of the numbers, or so i'm told. as real as it gets folks, 320 er FLACK
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