The Essential Odetta

Odetta | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vanguard Records
• ASIN: B000000EBU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,242 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #60 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Contemporary Blues

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Folk Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 1-JAN-2002

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most powerful voices ever recorded, June 15, 2004

By 

bethtexas (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Odetta (Audio CD)

You have to know Odetta, and this is the best album for getting to know her -- so there you go!

Odetta has one of the most powerful voices ever recorded. Thank goodness we live in an age when we have recording capability! Just think if she had lived a century earlier -- her voice could not have been immortalized for future generations to witness.

She sings folks songs with conviction, humor, and sheer strength.

And she's actually, in my opinion, a little better as a live performer than a studio one -- somehow her passions really cut loose in front of an audience. No restraint. So this is an excellent album to start with.

Best songs to skip to when you first turn her on: TIMBER, FREEDOM TRILOGY, and JOSHUA FIT THE BATTLE OF JERICHO. Once you listen to those, you'll be properly blown away, and you can go back and get started on the rest of the wonderful album. Let those songs be your incentive!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One fine compilation, one fine artist, January 1, 2006

By 

Manny Hernandez "@askmanny" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Essential Odetta (Audio CD)

"The Essential Odetta", consisting of 20 live songs, was recorded and released in the early sixties as two separate albums capturing performances at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall. The full 20 songs showcase her extraordinary singing capabilities, interpreting folk and blues numbers. It is one of the two best compilations of her work, the other one being "Best of the Vanguard Years".

Since her debut in 1954, Odetta served as an inspiration to folk artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, who picked up steam in the mid-to-late sixties. It was, as a matter of fact, thanks to the Martin Scorcese documentary about Dylan, "No Direction Home", that I first heard of her, and I am glad I did. This is one fine artist that deserves to be discovered by the new generations.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Odetta is one of the best, April 7, 2001

By 

Erich E. Geary (Texarkana, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Odetta (Audio CD)

Odetta sings with the voice of folk, blues, and the heart. If you own only one album by Odetta get the christmas album with spirituals. Then you will definately want to make this the second CD of Odetta's you have. I have loved this album, cassette, CD for years. Odetta is one of a kind.