Woody Guthrie - Muleskinner Blues: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 2
List Price:
Our Price: $5.99
You Save: $10.99 (65%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.94 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: Woody GuthrieBrand: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 1997-09-16
Model: SFW40101
Music Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Soundtracks:
- Muleskinner Blues
- Wreck Of The Old 97
- Sally Goodin'
- Little Black Train
- Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet
- Baltimore To Washington
- Rubber Dolly
- 21 Years
- Sowing On The Mountain
- Bed On The Floor
- Take A Wiff On Me
- Stepstone
- Put My Little Shoes Away
- Hen Cackle
- Poor Boy
- Stackolee
- Johnny Hart
- Worried Man Blues
- Danville Girl
- Gambling Man
- Rye Straw
- Crawdad Song
- Ida Red
- Keep My Skillet Good And Greasy
- Train 45
Free Music Notes for Muleskinner Blues: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 2
Free Music Review: The songs that influenced Guthrie...
Hit: 5 Stars
Woody Guthrie influenced loads of singers, songwriters, folk singers, poets, activists, and storytellers. In turn, he also had his own influences. When he popped onto planet earth in 1912, nineteenth century culture, with its vast repertoire of popular songs and stories, still lingered in people's everyday lives. Some of the songs Guthrie grew up with date back to that previous looming century, and he recorded many of them later in life. This second volume of Moses Asch recordings compiles some of these songs as well as other traditional songs Guthrie picked up in his wanderings throughout the 1930s. Many of them also showed up on his popular California radio shows. Guthrie penned none of the tunes on this disc, but he arranged most of them to his own style and added his own lyrical touches here and there. Nonetheless, his indefatigable style shines on every track.
The title track, "Muleskinner Blues", shows Guthrie taking on a Jimmie Rodgers song (also known as "Blue Yodel #8). But Guthrie, unlike Rodgers, rarely yodeled (though he yodels with gusto on "Bed on the Floor"). The stylings of the immensely popular Carter family instead influenced his development. And many of Guthrie's early melodies came from Carter family compositions. Folk music tended to work this way. Tunes and lyrics radiated through the multitudinous regional music scenes scattered throughout the country. The composers and origins of some songs remain forever obscured in murky mystery. But some musicians won writer's rights through the legal system. Recording technology truly changed music forever. Guthrie came of age in this era, and so borrowed many songs and tunes for his own purpose. This wasn't unusual.
Some of the songs nonetheless do possess recorded histories. "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet" traces back to a Scottish ballad from the 1790s. And the heartstring tuggers "Stepstone" and "Put my Little Shoes Away" date to 1880 and 1873 respectively. Some songs have eyebrow raising origins. "Take a Whiff on Me" comes from an era, according to the CD booklet, "...when opium and cocaine could be purchased at the drug store, and songs about cocaine, like 'Rye Whiskey' about alcohol, were known nationally." The song celebrates the sharing of a good snort between pals. Times change.
Guthrie also played fiddle, but his skills apparenly remained somewhat unremarkable on this particular instrument. Three tracks nonetheless feature Guthrie's fiddling: the rousing "Sally Goodin'", "Hen Cackle", and "Rye Straw".
Accompanying Guthrie on many of these tracks is Cisco Houston (Guthrie even backs Houston on the Biblical "Sowing on the Mountain"). Their long partnership lasted for over a decade and helped spread the popularity of folk music. The influence of these songs on them, and their subsequent influence on twentieth century music remains incalculable. Out of this era evolved country, folk, and eventually rockabilly. Most modern music has its roots in folk music and African-American spirituals. This great collection of songs emphasizes the folk side of the spectrum, though many of these songs do originate from spirituals ("Little Black Train", "Bed on the Floor", "Stackolee", "Crawdad Song", and the haunting "Train 45"). Though most know that Guthrie influenced such twentieth century musical giants as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, this CD offers a rare and underappreciated glimpse at the songs that influenced Guthrie.
Muleskinner Blues: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 2 Poster
The songs on this recording, the second in a series of four, represent a selection from the vast storehouse of American folk and country songs that Woody Guthrie learned and incorporated into his early radio career and song books he sold on the air. In the early 1940s, upon coming to New York, Guthrie and frequent partner Cisco Houston recorded hundreds of songs for Folkways Records founder Moses Asch (160 alone in 1944). This series represents the best of these historic recordings. Muleskinner Blues highlights the non-original material that Guthrie recorded for Asch and includes American folk song standards, many of which became part of the American folk song canon due to Guthrie's influence. Running time 67 min, 40-page booklet includes historical and biographical notes on Woody Guthrie. Compiled and annotated by Jeff Place and Guy Logsdon. "Monumental stuff" --CMJ New Music ReportMuleskinner Blues, volume two of the four CD series The Asch Recordings, is important not for its treasure trove of Woody Guthrie originals, but for its peek at the Okie troubadour's own deep roots. Muleskinner collects many of the old songs--"Danville Girl," "Stackolee"--that Guthrie knew and loved from his younger days. These are songs he learned at his mother's knee, at picking parties, and in the hobo jungles; the songs that he would later turn into his own with new lyrics, licks, and arrangements. Selections range from the maudlin "Put My Little Shoes Away" to the hardy "Johnny Hart." Altogether this sprightly collection is an important part of Guthrie's fascinating story. Great notes from historian Guy Logsdon, too. --Michael Ruby
Country Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Country Music CDs
Johnie Lewis - Alabama Slide GuitarRelease date: 1998-01-20; Music CD
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
Lightnin Hopkins - Texas BluesRelease date: 1993-11-30; Music CD
Best price: $11.38
Price in other shops:
Lewis - LegendsRelease date: 1986-11-01; Music CD
Price in other shops:
![Hotel California [Vinyl] Image](/images/Hotel-California-Vinyl-B0000001D6-X.jpg)
Eagles - Hotel California [Vinyl]Release date: 1997-12-05; Music CD
Best price: $229.99
Ccr - Bayou CountryRelease date: 1993-06-18; Music CD
Best price: $84.99
Taj Mahal - Senor BluesRelease date: 1997-06-17; Music CD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Fonte VivaMusic CD
Blackland Farmer-Complete StarBear Family (GE; Published: 2008-02; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $74.98
Taken By Surpriseby Red Hot Burritos
Published: 1992; Music CD
Best price: $19.99
Christmas Joy: Solo Piano for the Holidaysby Deborah Offenhauser
Pba Music Pub; Published: 2005-11-30; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $23.99
Top Rated Albums
Ernest Tubb - Definitive CollectionRelease date: 2006-06-06; Music CD
Best price: $7.05
Price in other shops:
Carter Family - The Carter Family: 1927-1934Release date: 2002-04-30; Music CD
Best price: $21.93
Price in other shops:
Pete Seeger - American Favorite Ballads 5SEEGER,PETE; Release date: 2009-04-21; Music CD
Best price: $27.00
Price in other shops:
Byrds - Sweetheart of the RodeoBYRDS; Release date: 1997-03-25; Music CD
Best price: $44.99
Jimmie Rodgers - Essential Jimmie RodgersRODGERS,JIMMIE; Release date: 1997-04-29; Music CD
Best price: $6.51
Price in other shops:
Woody Guthrie - Dust Bowl BalladsRelease date: 2000-07-11; Music CD
Best price: $32.81
Woody Guthrie - Buffalo Skinners: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 4Smithsonian Folkways Recordings; Release date: 1999-04-20; Music CD
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops:
Woody Guthrie - Hard Travelin': The Asch Recordings, Vol. 3Smithsonian Folkways Recordings; Release date: 1998-05-19; Music CD
Best price: $9.88
Price in other shops:
Woody Guthrie - The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4Smithsonian Folkways Recordings; Release date: 1999-08-17; Music CD
Best price: $37.20
Price in other shops:
Woody Guthrie - This Land Is Your Land: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1Smithsonian Folkways Recordings; Release date: 1997-02-18; Music CD
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops: