Customer Reviews

Woody Guthrie and Songs of My Oklahoma Home

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Those of us who know Woody Guthrie's music can be excused for wondering why we should be asked to listen to James Talley's covers rather than Guthrie's readily available originals. The answer is in the listening. Talley's interpretive gifts are such that very soon into the CD the issue fades into inconsequentiality. This is, let there be no mistake, a Talley, not a faux-Guthrie, record. Talley's readings are subtle, nuanced, original, unexpectedly moving. No one -- and I've heard them all -- has done "Deportee" and (especially) "This Land Is Your Land" better. Where the latter is concerned, you'd think you'd never heard this well-traveled song before. Talley reinvents it and goes deeper into its American heart than any artist, including Guthrie, has ever managed to do. If there were any justice in this world, it would be played on every radio from California to the New York island. Talley has blessed us with a very fine record, and if you miss it, it's your loss. My advice: don't.

I know James Talley by great songs like "I Can't Surrender" and "Working Girl", but nothing knocked me out more than listening to his latest album of Woody Guthrie's songs. It's the most brilliant tribute album of Woody's songs ever and a very subtile, great work of Talley, the work that succeeds to be his best work and probably one of the best albums of the year. I enjoyed the whole album very much, but the three songs that left me completely stunned were "Deportee", "I Ain't Got No Home" and "Dust Bowl Refugee" which is my favorite songs of Woody Guthrie. This album is highly recommended and, sure as hell, you'll enjoy it!

Woody Guthrie was without a doubt the Godfather of Folk (alongside of Ledbelly, who was also a top contender for the title). This collection of songs will play every possible emotion, from the rousing "This Land is Your Land" to very sad "Pastures of Plenty" and "Deportee." (those two always did bring a lump to the throat -- they are very moving folk ballads).

Woody Guthrie is the voice for everybody, the voice for all issues whether the issue is freedom, fairness in the unions (I thought of Lech Walesa and his successful goal to secure a democratic government in Poland and in the Polish Labor Unions during the 1989-1990 period whenever I heard these rousing freedom songs)or a tragic disaster, like "Reuben James." Guthrie was and remains topical to this day. His songs can be applied to just about any given case or scenario. From the 1930s labor unions to the current union workers' rights in Poland, Woody Guthrie could be counted on to provide the right song. From racial discrimination issues past and current, there is a relevant Woody Guthrie song.

The real gift of Woody Guthrie (he died in 1967) is unity. He has unified generations with his messages and he also called for unity during his life time.

This is such an outstanding collection. It is something to listen to and treasure.

James Talley never ceases to surprise and amaze me. His poetry, his music, his orchestration, his phrasing, the way he consistently puts his words and music together to give just the impression or mood he wants to make, is phenomenal. In the space of one album he can bring you from laughter to tears or the other way around. Now, after he has proven his versatility andcraftsmanship with his own, original compositions, he surprises with the same kind of genius, performing the works of one of America's great folk singers. James Talley's new album, Woody Guthrie and Songs of My Oklahoma Home, I believe, surpasses Woody's own recordings which I have listened to many times. And I think there is a reason for that. Talley, whose father was a working man and a casualty of plutonium plant labor, (listen to Richland Washington on the Ain't It Somethin' album) worked among the poor people of New Mexico, seeing and feeling the pain, sorrow and anguish that those people felt, and through his artistry transforming all that intoan epic poem set to music titled The Road to Torreon. Professional reviewers have long noted Talley's passion for righting the wrongs of society and his tenderness in presenting vignettes of their lives. You must listen to all his works to fully appreciate his contribution to American folk music. James Talley is a poet of tremendous breadth and scope and the true troubadour of American life. He is an artist who paints with words and music, making broad canvases of American life with small poetic strokes.

I love this CD! Folk music seems to be a link to our collective past, our country's checkered and bumpy history. James Talley has an audible respect and reverence for Woody Guthrie's well-loved lyrics and music. However, he does his own thing, too - without introducing (forcing) his own style onto someone else's work. This can't be easy, yet this CD sounds effortless.

It strikes me that here's an artist who simply loves to tell a story, and tell it in his gentle and personable way. I would wholeheartedly recommend this CD to all folk fans - even diehard Woody Guthrie fans. Give it a try - it's respectful, joyful and beautiful.

Listening to Talley's honest, straight-up, cleanly played, expressive versions of some Guthrie classics brings a real lump to the throat. A worthy tribute to one of the greats. Guthrie's music was a direct product of his times and experiences. Talley reminds us of what we've lost in gaining our present day world where music is now a "product" rather than a cry for freedom, and also what it cost in the lives of the dust bowl refugees, the migrant fruit-picker deportees, the sailors of WW11, the builders of the Grand Coulee Dam, and those who really did have no home in this world any more. Listen to his version of "Pretty Boy Floyd", and hear him - with a perfectly chosen backing of acoustic instruments traditionally picked - carefully transform a simple story into something special.

I don't know how these tracks stack up against the originals, but they are simply exquisite. Makes me want to revisit Woody's recordings.

I find it hard to believe any fan of Woody's work could not love James Talley's "Woody" album. At some time after I first heard this CD I had the good fortune to see James perform here in the Mid-Columbia where he lived as a youth. He did one whole set of songs from this CD and it was so touching. It is not always the case that an artist's passion for songs comes across in a studio recording. I feel James does that on this recording. As a fine songwriter he understands the songs but also, as an artist, has the ability to perform them with great passion.

Woody was the poet and genius-the genuine article. Talley understands the music and he sings better than Woody. I feel very much the same way about Cisco Houston who had a great voice and a feel for the music that made Woody's music even better. Talley is the real thing, too, and this is a very good recording. If you love the music you will love this recording.

If you are familiar with Woody Guthrie's performances of his own songs, listen to any of the available tracks here and compare Talley's well-intentioned work with Guthrie's -- or with performances by such singers as Pete Seeger. Sadly, Talley's performances are stunningly tuneless. I bought the CD because of a rave review in The New York Times. I now suspect that, unless the reviewer was tone-deaf, he had never heard Guthrie.