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5.0 out of 5 stars
Original recordings that made and are history, November 8, 2001
This review is from: Brother Can You Spare a Dime? (Audio CD)
In the Golden Days of the esoteric LP, the New World label concentrated on American music. Among its best sellers was a single LP titled "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime: American Song During the Great Depression." Most happily, it is again available on CD (80270-2). Using only original recordings of the era, the producers have included 16 numbers. Most of them, naturally, lean towards the pessimistic: the title song, "The Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "All in Down and Out Blues," and "The Coal Loading Machine." Just as naturally, there are songs of either ignoring reality ("We're in the Money," "On the Good Ship Lollypop," "Love Walked In") or hoping for better times around the corner ("The White Cliffs of Dover").
Among the singers, we have Bing Crosby, Deane Janis, Kenny Baker, Dick Powell, and Woody Guthrie. Never mind the fact that educators should pounce on this CD as living history. Perhaps the hopes and fears expressed in these echoes from the past will help us get through our own traumas. (...) Grab this one and soon.
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