Goodbye, Babylon [BOX SET]

Various Artists - Country

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 27, 2003)
• Original Release Date: October 27, 2003
• Number of Discs: 6
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Dust-to-Digital
• ASIN: B0000DBOCB
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,175 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

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Editorial Reviews

David Fricke, Rolling Stone, January 22, 2004

This fantastic box of holy ruckus is the greatest anthology of antique Southern sacred song and oratory ever assembled.

Product Description

Goodbye Babylon is a 6 CD gospel reissue collection. 5 CDs contain 135 songs from 1902-1960 and the 6th disc is comprised of 25 sermons recorded between 1926-1941. Also included is a 200 page book complete with Bible verses, lyric transcriptions, and notes for each recording, plus over 200 illustrations. - Art direction and design by World of anArchie, the Grammy® winning team behind "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton," and other fine works such as "Dock Boggs Country Blues," and "Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, Volume IV." - Sound restoration and mastering by Airshow Mastering, the team that restored the "Anthology of American Folk Music" (Smithsonian Folkways, 1997), and won a Grammy® for their work on "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton" (Revenant, 2002). - Reverently packed in raw cotton and housed in a deluxe 8" x 11" x 2.5" cedar box. Notes and essays by musicologists and scholars, including several Grammy® winners. - Contributors include Lynn Abbott, David Evans, Ray Funk, Anthony Heilbut, Kip Lornell, Luigi Monge, Paul Oliver, Opal Louis Nations, Bruce Nemerov, Guido van Rijn, Ken Romanowski, Tony Russell, Doug Seroff, Dick Spottswood, Warren Steel, David Tibet, Gayle Dean Wardlow, and Charles Wolfe.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A piece of America, December 9, 2005

By	BP Mills (Boulder County, CO) - See all my reviews

I have had this set for over a year and I still have not listened to it all. 135 songs of such diverse and interesting variety and styles. The music is so raw in most cases that it speaks to the gut first, then the heart.
Dust to Digital is the best outfit in the world for locating and assembling such massive historical recordings. This is the most pleasureable set of gospel (if you can limit it to that genre) music, ever. Thank you DtoD.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is A Must-Have, May 13, 2006

By	Alias (USA) - See all my reviews

This set includes 5 music CD's plus 1 preaching CD. All six are good ones and each individual CD is put together according to a single theme; salvation, judgement, etc. I listen to this over and over again and I never tire of it. Maybe this is a bit pricy, but still it's worth every cent.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly splendid collection, January 4, 2007

By	Nicholas McPhee "Unhindered by Talent" (Morris, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of the most wide-ranging and wonderful collections of early roots music I've found. The performances range from gospel quartets and choirs through blues and jug bands, pulling together influences from gospel, bluegrass and country, jazz, and blues. And then there's an entire disc of sermons, with such gems (no pun intended) as "Black Diamond Express to Hell". Great stuff, and a wonderfully eclectic collection of early roots music, gospel or not.

The sound quality is very good, especially given the age of many of the sources.

There's not a ton of historical/biographical info in the 200+ page book, but the inclusion of all the lyrics of every song is a huge win. The packaging is as cool as it looks, but isn't terribly practical for day-to-day use. That wasn't a problem for me, as I ripped all six CDs and have primarily played them off my computers, but could be a nuisance for some.