Customer Reviews

Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still (Warner Collection, Vol. 1)

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This is the first time that material from the Anne and Frank Warner collection has been easily available to the listening public. The Warners collected songs and tunes from singers and players in the Carolina's, New York and New England starting in the 1930's, and the body of material that they brought to the world through their relationships with these tradition bearers forms an important basic framework of folk history. Long hidden away in the Library of Congress, it is at last available for all to enjoy and learn from. Here is where you'll find the original version of "Tom Dooley" (shared by Frank Proffitt) and pure mountain versions of "Whiskey in the Jar" and "Barbara Allen" as well as priceless interview segments with Proffitt and others. These selections were exquisitely chosen, and beautifully remastered and recorded. Whether you have a passing aquaintaince or a deep love of vernacular folk music, put this CD into your collection today.

This collection is a miracle find for me. I am the granddaughter of Martha Ann that sings the title song. I never had the chance to meet her, she died before I was born. To hear her singing, the dialects, and then the funny banter after, brought me and my sister to instant tears. We now know where our humor truly originates. My father used to sing songs to us as kids, but sadly we lost him too when we were teenagers. I am humbled and grateful that technology has allowed us all to access timeless and priceless recordings of our family. Truly a gift. We forget sometimes what it was like without televisions or cell phones. This collection takes me back to a time when everyone sat on the front porch, barefoot, enjoying the cool sea breeze on an old wooden porch swing, waving to all the neighbors passing by. Sadly the house (pictured in the cd) was moved. I highly recommend these timeless songs to anyone.

This collection was an ear-opener even for me, and I grew up on this music in the Appalachian mountains of NC. The voices, dialects, and songs on this CD and its partner will illuminate SO MUCH about the European links to American folk music, and dispell any stereotypes of "hillbilly music." Much of it is so haunting it brings chills to your spine. Other tunes show there's even borrowing from African slave music. Music, sung and played accoustic music, was all these people had to entertain themselves. And entertain it did. It both entertains and educates us, and draws us into the souls of the Appalachian (and Scottish) culture. Wonderful.