Deep River of Song: Black Texicans: Balladeers And Songsters of the Texas Frontier

Alan Lomax | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder Select
• ASIN: B00000I5K7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,788 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #68 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Delta Blues

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "I ain't gonna tell you no lies", August 7, 2003

By 

Pharoah S. Wail (Inner Space) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Deep River of Song: Black Texicans: Balladeers And Songsters of the Texas Frontier (Audio CD)

I have noticed that this website doesn't bring up every disc in this series with just a "Deep River Of Song" search. In the interest of helping people find these discs here, I'll name every other disc in the series.

South Carolina

Bahamas 1935

Bahamas 1935 Volume 2

Mississippi: The Blues Lineage

Mississippi: Saints and Sinners

Georgia

Big Brazos

Black Appalachia

Virginia and the Piedmont

Alabama


I bought the entire Deep River Of Song series all at once. So many surprises awaited me! Some discs I thought about not buying because maybe I wouldn't be into them, and some I assumed I'd love. This was one of the discs I was iffy on. Until I heard it.

This and Big Brazos are two of the best discs in the series, in my opinion. They are also two I originally thought maybe I wouldn't like. Moses "Clear Rock" Platt is great. I particularly love his Old Chisholm Trail, which happens to be the source for Mike Seeger's Whoopin' Up Cattle on his excellent solo cd, Southern Banjo Sounds. James "Ironhead" Baker's St. James Hospital, which was clearly the source for Doc Watson and Tony Rice's excellent versions (on the Doc Watson and Native American albums, respectively), haunts me. Ironhead is a true highlight of this disc.

This disc also contains my one exposure to "eephing". An odd vocal thing that defies description. In terms of musicianship... guitar playing... Smith Casey is the hidden gem of this collection. His East Texas Rag is sublime acoustic slide guitar. He certainly could have earned more tracks here. I also particularly enjoy Phineas "Flatfoot" Rockmore's Boll Weevil done to a familiar Frankie & Johnny melody.

Of course if you are into American history (the true history, not the white-washed garbage that still gets taught in American schools) then these recordings become all that more meaningful. Imagine a song that dates back to slavery being sung by a group of prisoners in the 1930s, one of the harshest eras within the Jim Crow Era.

I love this disc, but the official review on this site is correct. It may only appeal to roots fanatics. I fear most of it is just too rough for the modern listener who is used to everything being more polished. I just want people to take that into account. I'd hate to recommend something and find out someone was disappointed when they heard it for themselves. If you don't like field-recordings of true real-people folk musics, then this is probably not for you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addendum, January 31, 2008

By 

S. Franz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Deep River of Song: Black Texicans: Balladeers And Songsters of the Texas Frontier (Audio CD)

In addition to the above comments, there is also a Louisiana volume (for those seeking to complete their collection)

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, September 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Deep River of Song: Black Texicans: Balladeers And Songsters of the Texas Frontier (Audio CD)

This collection is fantastic and shows a great respect for men who were forgotten in the history books.