Leadbelly - Best of Lead Belly
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Music CD Cover
Artist: LeadbellyEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2000-05-02
Music Label: Cleopatra
Soundtracks:
- The Bourgeois Blues
- Look, Looky Yonder/Black Betty
- Poor Howard/Green Corn
- The Gallows Pole
- Noted Rider
- Big Fat Woman
- Burrow, Love And Go
- Bring Me Li'l Water Silvy
- Julie Ann Johnson
- Line 'Em
- Whoe Back Buck
- John Hardy
- In New Orleans
- Goodnight Irene
- Where Did You Sleep Last Night?
- How Long
- Yellow Gal
- On A Monday
- Blue Tail Fly
- The Boll Weevil Song
Free Music Notes for Best of Lead Belly
Free Music Review: A reasonable entry point into Leadbelly's body of work
Hit: 4 Stars
Born Huddie Leadbetter, this singer was better known as Leadbelly. The liner notes clarify his role in music history: "It would be foolish to try and rank Leadbelly as an influential force on today's modern blues practice. . .[N]either his style of playing or singing is germane to how we do business on the bandstand these days. But Leadbelly was the first rural African-American musician to receive media exposure. . . ." This statement is perhaps overstated a bit. However, Leadbelly's almost primitive art (between vocals and guitar work) is still pretty compelling. One might also note that Pete Seeger spoke highly of him.
A look at a handful of the cuts here can provide a sense of his work.
One of my favorites is "The Bourgeois Blues." He has a rough, unpolished voice; his guitar playing is spare but effective. He sings of his bourgeois blues, facing racism. One nice line:
"Home of the brave, land of the free,
I don't want to be mistreated by no bourgeoisie."
Then, there is "In New Orleans (House of the Rising Sun)." An intriguing song. This is NOT the song made famous by the Animals, although some of the lines are similar. The song has a hypnotic feel. It is a tale of returning home to New Orleans, "'cuz my race is almost run."
"Goodnight Irene" is one of his best known works. A golden oldie. This presents an interesting contrast to some of the songs dealing with darker issues (e.g., "The Bourgeois Blues").
Finally, "Blue Tail Fly." Vocal only, no instrumentation. He begins with "Jimmy cracks corn and I don't care; Martha's gone away." A strange little song. It's pretty loosely sung with an improvisational feel to it.
This doesn't represent all of his best pieces, as some others have noted. But it does provide a nice entree into his body of work.
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