Customer Reviews

Sings Woody Guthrie

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This album first came out in the late l950's, not long before Cisco died and after Woody was incapacitated by Huntington's Chorea. Woody's songs were reaching a mass audience for the first time, thanks to Kingston Trio records and Pete Seeger concerts. This is just wonderful. Cisco is somewhat forgotten now, and one can argue as to who does Guthrie songs best...another forgotten non-commercial performer, Logan English, put out a great Woody album on 20th-Century Fox records around the same time Cisco did this one for Vanguard. Sadly, Mr. English's work has not been transferred to CD. Happily, these Cisco performances for Vanguard are available. It's hard to deny that Arlo Guthrie performs his dad's songbook rather well, but my vote goes to Cisco. He knew Woody better than Arlo did, because of Woody's final decade of illness. Some fans think these versions are a bit overproduced, but I've heard just about every recording Cisco ever made, and I like this collection a great deal. I used to play my vinyl copy nearly every week for 25 years. Any serious fan of Woody's material needs BOTH his own versions, and Cisco's. A more pleasing singer and more skilled guitarist than Woody, Cisco's performances wear well, while Woody singing Woody makes the lyrics come to life with incredible emotional power. The more one knows about both men, the more one can appreciate their differences and enjoy each for his unique strengths.

Everyone agrees that Cisco Houston is one of the great interpreters of Woody Guthrie's work. Almost always overlooked on this album, however, is the phenomenal fiddle and mandolin accompaniment by Eric Weissberg. Weissberg is better known as a banjo soloist -- he was one of the "dueling banjos" in Deliverance -- but on this album his backup riffs alone are worth the price. He accentuates Houston's voice perfectly, especially on the fiddle numbers. It's a shame that there is only one CD of Weissberg's work available -- so buy this one if you want to hear a master folk instrumentalist.

Five Huge Stars. In the 1960's in the midst of being throughly captivated by the "Boy Wonder of Folk Singing", young Bob Dylan, the magazine "Hi-Fi Stereo Review" alerted me to a "Recording of Special Merit" by a recently deceased folk singer associate of Woody Guthrie's. I bought it on their recommendation and was blown away by an overpowering work of beauty, imagery, and honesty. Stark beautiful scenes sprang from the vinyl record that were more powerful than those conjured up by Dylan. After all, they were Guthrie's images seen with his own eyes while riding the rails and traveling the country. And Cisco was a unique interpreter.

This CD is loaded with wall-to-wall Pieces D'Resistance. From "Pastures of Plenty", I was captivated by phrases like "we come with the dust and leave with the wind". WOW! "Buffalo Skinners" is a huge dose of trail-riding reality compared to the glamor of slick western movies seen on TV and in movies. Watch out for those stickers, cowboy! When Houston sings the lyric "Cast your eye upon the greatest thing yet built by human hands", you can literally see the Grand Coulee Dam painted in a urgent word-picture that is almost breathtaking. "Talking Fishing Blues" gives the secret of fishing away in a unique folk song art form: talking the lyric in a 'friendly' way. "Sinking of the Reuben James" was enough to keep me away from any thoughts of joining the Navy. LOL.

The wonder of this recording is that it really is a travel-scape that makes you want to jump in the car and go take a look for yourself. Cisco Houston was A MAN among folk singers. I'm sure Bob Dylan was listening. Five Stars? Nah, I would give it SIX Stars.

(Note: Now when can we expect the excellent Verve Folkways album "Passing Through" on CD? We need to hear "Down in the Valley", "Barbara Allen", "...Worried Man", and "Trouble in Mind" in Cisco's unique voice and approach on CD. If you Please!!).

My first exposure to folk music was listening to the popular groups like the Kingston Trio on the radio. By a complete fluke I acquired Tom Paxton's first LP and was amazed. While it included some of Tom's most memorable works, the tribute to Cisco really moved me the most. Learning about Cisco was not as easy back in the pre-google sixties as it is now. I learned of his association with Woody and found this LP.
I can not comment on the CD version. I hope it includes the wonderful notes on the back of my LP. The voice and guitar work of Cisco are awesome as is the work of Eric Weisberg backing on banjo, mandolin and fiddle. Forty odd years later this work sounds as fresh as ever. This recording is a must for any fan of quality folk music.

I agree with Mr. Adams in that this is a great album. I've been playing it constantly for about 41 years now, I'd say, and have just finished transfering the songs from the CD onto my computer so that I can listen to them in my den.

I do disagree with him strongly about one thing, though: I can't *stand* to listen to any Guthrie singing his own songs, either Woodie or the son. I'm afraid that my ear is more attuned to the Kingston Trio or Weavers sort of sound, so that if I could only have these songs sung by Woodie himself I'd never listen to them.

Just the way I can't stand Bob Dylan songs unless they're sung by Joan Baez. Call me eccentric....

But Cisco Houston truly has a wonderful voice -- get this album!