Folk Music 101, Part VII: Essential CDs and Books

date: 06/27/00

Going to the record store these days can be a harrowing experience. Even if you have an idea of what you want, it can be overwhelming. You know you finally want a Bob Dylan album, but which of the 35 do you buy? Which are the classics, the ones that built an artist's reputation, the ones that don't have a single wasted track? Which compilations not only have good songs on them but constitute a statement, create a context for the songs that can teach you something.

And going to the bookstore is no easier. Which books will be the best references. Which ones will you really use?

Here is my annotated list of investments - or gifts. You can't go wrong with these.

Top 10 Things to Own

1. Rise Up Singing (Blood & Patterson © 1988 Sing Out! Publications (Bethlehem,PA) paperback or cardboard/spiral bound). The ultimate book for campfire singing. You'll never need anything else.
2. Music Hound Folk: The Essential Album Guide (paperback, 1400pp.)
   Walters/Mansfield © 1998 Visible Ink Press (Detroit, MI)
   Bios and discography of nationally and internationally recognized folk artists, with intelligent articles on artists and movements, plus hard-nosed, candid CD reviews. Invaluable reference, makes great reading.
3. Beatles Complete Songbook (book)
   There are many versions of this, from a two-volume set with complete piano arrangements and guitar chords to a new, small paperback book. Endless fun.
4. Smithsonian Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music (CDs)
   The collection of Lomax recordings edited by Harry Smith that started the whole folk revival. Now available in a boxed 6-CD set. This is truly American heritage.
5. Bound for Glory, by Woody Guthrie (book)
   Woody Guthrie's famous autobiography.
6. Dust Bowl Ballads, by Woody Guthrie
   A truly classic collection of songs.
7. Essential Joan Baez (Vanguard)
   Joan singing traditional ballads is Joan at her best - and most important.
8. A Vision Shared, songs of Woody Guthrie and Ledbelly.
   Classic songs performed by well-known performers including Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Cisco Houston and more.
9. A folk instrument.
   Whether you choose an old beat up guitar, a fiddle, a mandolin, a harmonica, a squeeze box or an autoharp, get something and learn to play a few tunes. (If you're a musican, always have an instrument on which you can be a beginner again). Find one online.
10. Any album by the following contemporary artists: Richard Shindell, Richard Thompson, Kate Rusby, Andrew Calhoun, Jack Hardy, Dar Williams.

Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com