Back in September, Matt came up with a brand new idea for a mixtape. He called it ‘Lost And Found’ and it was a brilliant collection of jazz and blues songs which were all over sixty years old. It was a brilliant idea and one which I think deserves more attention, so before you read on follow the link above and listen to it front to back.
I listen to (and write about) quite a lot of what I would describe as folk music and I got to thinking that maybe I could put together a second volume of ‘Lost And Found’ which covered artists that could fit into the category of folk and roots music. Here’s where I enter a disclaimer: I am not an expert in this area, more an interested amateur. This collection of songs does not reflect a definitive collection of any one genre or historical period of music. Instead I have chosen a collection of old songs that I feel have huge influences on the folk music that followed, from Dylan and Cohen to the host of new artists we have covered here at Wake The Deaf.
It features country and bluegrass, gospel and Appalachian mountain music. There’s something here for everyone, from Roscoe Holcomb’s easygoing rambling song ‘Roll On Buddy’ to ‘Down In The Willow Garden’, a murder ballad by Texas Hadden and her brother Hobart Smith. ‘Shine On Me’ is an impassioned and foot-stomping chorus by Ernest Phipps and His Holiness Singers, while ‘I Wish My Baby Was Born’ by Dillard Chandler is as sorrowful an a cappella recording as you’re ever likely to hear. ‘I Am A Poor Pilgrim Of Sorrow’ by The Old Regular Baptists is perhaps my favourite track of all. It’s an incredibly intense congregational hymnody from deep within Appalachian coal mining country. The song has an insistent, almost ominous, drive and continues to build in burning fervour. Mumford and Sons this ain’t.
I urge you to give this mix a listen. I’ve really enjoyed putting it together and constantly found myself amazed at the quality of the songs, some of which were written well over a hundred years ago (although some were recorded much later). If you’re a fan of modern folk music, of the legends of the sixties revival, of the Coen’s “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, or even works of Southern Gothic literature by authors such as Faulkner and O’Connor, I’m willing to bet you’ll like this mixtape.
TRACKLIST:
1. Roll On Buddy – Roscoe Holcomb
2. Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting – Rev. J.M. Gates
3. I’ll Be Washed – The Carolina Tar Heels
4. East Virgina – Buell Kazee
5. I Wish I Was A Mole In The Ground – Bascom Lamar Lunsford
6. Big Rock Candy Mountain – Harry McClintock
7. In The Shadow Of Clinch Mountain – The Carter Family
8. Big Eyed Rabbit – Matokie Slaughter
9. Drunkard’s Special – Coley Jones
10. Shine On Me – Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers
11. Down In The Willow Garden – Texas Gladden & Hobart Smith
12. I Wish My Baby Was Born – Dillard Chandler
13. Jonah In The Wilderness – Henry Thomas
14. Amazing Grace – Horton Barker
15. I Am A Poor Pilgrim Of Sorrow – Old Regular Baptists
The links embedded in the artist names do not link to webpages or Facebook accounts like in our regular mixes, instead I have linked to a picture of the artist in question, just to give you a better idea of who you are listening to as you play the mix.
If this collection of songs piques your interest, then Smithsonian Folkways is a great resource, a nonprofit record label that strives to ensure the conservation of musical history and cultural diversity. Several of the songs featured above can be found on compilations put out by the label, so I would encourage you to purchase if you like what you hear.