Customer Reviews

Good For What Ails You: Music of the Medicine Shows 1926-1937 (Digipak with 72-page booklet)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of all the Old Hat projects that I have picked up, this is definately the best. I would even go as far as saying that this is a "high water mark" for reissues of pre-war music. This ranks as high as the Harry Smith Anthology and the Charlie Patton set but better in a few ways. First, the sound quality on this set is unbelievably great. Most of the recordings are warm and deep but also very sharp and clear. I don't know if there is any new technology that improves these old records but this set blows away most other collections in terms of sound. Second, the notes are extensive, articulate & put forth some very complex notions about pre-19th century (and early 20th century) medicine shows, their function in socieity, and how they preserved and changed popular music forms in America. Finally, the actual set itself is a beautiful presentation. The long booklet contains several dozen images & photos, most of which I've never seen before. It seems that this is a work of deep love & respect for the material. I could go on & on about the set but I should just say that if early blues, country and jug bands are your thing, you should have this set.

I've been eagerly awaiting a good compilation album of Medicine Show acts for years, and finally, Old Hat has done it... and boy have they done it! In the tradition of Old Hat compilations, this is packed full of top-quality cuts, some readily available elsewhere, but mostly completely obscure.

The liner notes alone, as with other Old Hat collections, are worth the price of the album. Well-written, highly informative and easy to read... unlike some of the overly scholarly but poorly edited notes in many re-releases, full of great pictures, just wonderful. They make a point of showing the racial issues behind medicine shows, without villainizing or condoning the wonderful musicians but highly misguided racial attitudes of the times.

If you have any folk or jazz connoiseurs in the family, this album will make a wonderful gift, and pick one up for yourself while you're at it.

I must own 40 collections of old timey music and this is the most consistantly delightful and the best annotated of the lot. 48 numbers and each one brings a smile. Each one teaches you just a bit about what Greil Marcus has called "The Old Weird America".
Sure, there's a time for appreciating the hardships of the early 20th century, but how much fun is it to hear the light side that must have helped keep people sane and hopeful. Hooray for Old Hat!

'Good For What Ails You' is a great set of cd's with old songs that were sung at old medicine shows. I remember some of those songs from records and radio programs from my childhood - songs that I had totally forgotten!

I lent the cd's to my father, and they brought back fond memories of his childhood in western OK when the medicine shows would come to town and set up on the square. Everyone would attend the "show" and listen to the music, sales pitches, and go home with something! He truly enjoyed the cd's, also.

Even if medicine shows are new to you, the music is worth the time to listen. Lot's of fun, interesting lyrics, and you might even hear something that has come back again!?

Step right up..ladies and gentlemen...Are you feeling blah listening to those same old CD's you've had for the last several years? Does today's music leave you cold? Well, you've come to the right place. Restore your enthusiasm...bring back the fun, with 50 recordings from the golden age of medicine shows. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Many of these fine artists are obscure names to most people of this generation...but alas...like an old ancient Indian cure...this box set will bring you back to life. Yes friends and neighbors...it also comes with a beautiful full-color booklet with all the songs, dates and stories of old. Uh..excuse me son, don't crowd the stage. IT'S A PANACEA FOR ALL BORING AILMENTS! Yes and considering how old these gems are (1925-36) they are all in remarkable shape...and your sense of humor will be too. So pick one up today. It;s more fun than a brand new Victrola!

This element of American history should never be forgotten, and this anthology ensures that it won't. The accompanying booklet is a textbook of fascinating anecdotes and photographs, and it even includes a small, helpful insert of "spelling errata" to guide the reader through the language of the time. The music itself transports the listener to a time that seems like ancient history, populated by snake oil salesmen who employed fast-picking, fast-talking one-man bands to make their product more appealing to the desperately poor. But this collection also reminds us that times haven't changed all that much since those days of the Great Depression. After all, when was the last time you heard a trendy, catchy song in a commercial trying to sell you something as basic as toothpaste?

Folks, don't let the cover (with a perfomer in blackface) put you off. This is good ole fashioned swing your partner do-se-do type music good for a hoedown and slapping your thighs with delight. Most of these tunes are funny story songs and yes, there is static, but as with silent movies, old fashioned recordings like there are an acquired taste for modern audiences. Jim Jackson, Emmett Miller, Old Uncle Dave Macon (my favorite banjoist), and my homeboy from Spartanburg, SC Pink Anderson (I know his son pretty well) bring much old-fashioned delight to the proceedings. There is an essay in the liner notes about W.K. Kerr another Spartanburg product who was the Ed Sullivan of medicine shows. Overall, this is a history lesson that makes you wanna clap your hands, stomp your feet and say YEE-HAW!

You just can't imagine what the life of a performer on the road in the 20, 30's (or earlier) must have been like. The ups of course was the freedom, and the fun at times. The downs include never knowing what was around the corner, the cold (or heat), some of the boarding houses I would imagine would have been dreadful amongst many others.

But at least we can listen to the music. I've only received this the other day and I've not taken it out of the player, it goes to work with me and takes me home again, it plays in the background when I'm busy about the house. Yes some of the sound quality is hissy, but they are old recordings and besides I would rather hear it like that, it adds to the feel. These are happy songs, even when they are talking about slashing someones throat. If you looking at this you obviously have an interest in this style of music and you would be doing yourself a favour by purchasing this wonderful collection. You get 2 CD's and a wonderful booklet that tells you a little history of the genre and pictures of some the the performers on the CD's as well as a little history on each of the songs.

what a great compilation of pre-war old-timey music, including an informative booklet withlots of pictures. You will not find any of these recordings anywhere else so snatch this one up while it is still available. I don't want to get into the particulars of any one artist or song, 'cause they're all great and listened together in context makes it all that much greater.

This gave us 50 tracks of original music. Along with it you get a nice booklet that tells the history of the medicine shows and individual descriptions of each track and it's performers.