Free & Equal Blues

Josh White

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 17, 1998)
• Original Release Date: March 17, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smithsonian Folkways
• ASIN: B00000611T
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #212,007 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The material on this album is from White's heyday in the mid-1940s, when he was one of folk music's most influential stars. An accomplished guitarist with a beautiful, warm voice, his topical protest and rallying songs anticipated the marriage of folk and social issues of the '50s and '60s. He blended the folk roots of Leadbelly with politics of Paul Robeson and Pete Seeger. In fact, on this album, he's accompanied by Burl Ives, Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, Brownie McGee, Sonny Terry, and Leadbelly himself. But because the material is from the '40s, White was equally concerned about oppression by landlords, fascists, and segregationists. Free and Equal Blues is a fascinating snapshot that captures White's righteous dignity and stellar artistry. --Richard Price

Product Description

Josh White (1914-1969) was a brilliant musician whose vibrant guitar and rich vocals captivated audiences for decades. Recorded at the height of his career by Moses Asch in the 1940s, he performs these 26 blues, gospel, popular, and hard-hitting topical songs solo or accompanied by such contemporaries as Lead Belly, Mary Lou Williams, and the Almanac Singers. Extensive biographical notes, photographs, archivist's remarks, bibliography, and discography. 74 minutes. Produced and compiled by Jeff Place and Elijah Wald. Additional annotation by Kip Lornell.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful--Josh White's Free and Equal Blues, April 2, 2001

By	JoMama (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

Josh White's Free and Equal Blues is a wonderful album, full of personal and political stories. Just the liner notes about Mr. White's life are worth the price of the CD, but the songs are truly glorious. Some are funny, and some are heartbreaking, but all of them are sung with great feeling and a gorgeous, smooth voice. It's been said that some of his songs are predecessors to rap music. Whether that's true or not, Josh White's music is a real treat, even after more than 60 years. Get it!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Free And Equal Man, January 12, 2009

By	Alfred Johnson (boston, ma) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Most of the points that I made in a previous review, the first two paragraphs of which are reposted below, of a Josh White DVD film documentary apply here as well.

"I have spent no little ink over the past year or so reviving memories of various folk and blues artists whose music helped me pass away my youth, a youth that otherwise would have been cluttered solely with little things like the fight for a more just society, attempts to understand history and, maybe as importantly, the individual's role in it-mine. As a part of that past I had spent more than a few Sunday evenings listening to a folk program on a local radio station. As a result I became very familiar with the name Josh White as an exemplar of soulful folk and blues tunes. And the first song that I recall hearing from this iconic figure?- "You, Can't Get No Bread With One Meatball". Go figure, right?

That oddly funny selection (not played here, although it would have been nice to hear it again), fortunately, does not reflect the very serious nature of Josh White's work, his personality and his struggle as a fighter for black liberation. We are treated to all aspects of that work in this one hour film of rare clips; mostly it appears to be material from early television performances. We are favored with the smooth voice, the strong guitar work (when required to give urgency to songs like the anti-Jim Crow ones presented here early on) and the sense of showmanship and professionalism that I remember the folk historian Dave Van Ronk mentioning concerning Josh's approach to performing. But what stand out here are the songs- from the intense "Strange Fruit" (an anti-Jim Crow song also covered in a different way by Billie Holiday) to a crowd-pleasing "Danny Boy". If this is your first exposure to this legendary figure in the folk and blues world then I would only state you have found a good place to start."

That said, it is only necessary to make a few extra comments here about the range of material that White was capable of delivering depending on audience and other circumstances but first this political comment. Smithsonian Folkway almost be definition provide great liner notes accompanying its productions. According to those provided here, written by folk historian Elijah Wald who has already more recently written a biography of folk singer Dave Van Ronk, Brother White ran afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee during the heart of the McCarthyite "red scare" campaign of the 1950's. While it is unclear whether White named names he did not, as was necessary, refuse to co-operate. This tarnished his reputation in the New York left-wing community. And it should have.

One can nevertheless understand why the various anti-red committees and others would have an interest in Brother White. I mentioned his version of the anti-lynching "Strange Fruit" above, for one. How about Langston Hughes' "Freedom Road" for another. Or "Jim Crow". Or "Landlord". But, you get the drift. The there is the less political stuff that still would have to be a little suspect once you realized this was someone trying to be a black liberation fighter, before it was fashionable (or safe). Here Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets" is fine. As is "Careless Love" and Victoria Spivey's "T B Blues". And, of course, that above-mentioned "One Meatball". I wish Brother White had held up better politically but he has no problem standing up musically.