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The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4

Woody Guthrie - The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4 Audio CD

A fair review of the Woody Guthrie "The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Woody Guthrie reviews here, or go back to the Woody Guthrie tabs.

Band: Woody Guthrie
Title: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-08-17
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: This Land Is Your Land 2: Riding in My Car (Car Song) 3: Ramblin' Round 4: Talking Fishing Blues 5: Philadelphia Lawyer 6: Lindbergh 7: Hobo's Lullaby 8: Pastures of Plenty 9: Grand Coulee Dam 10: End of the Line 11: New York Town 12: Gypsy Davy 13: Jesus Christ 14: This Land Is Your Land 15: Do-Re-Mi 16: Jarama Valley 17: Biggest Thing Man Has Ever Done 18: Picture from Life's Other Side 19: Jesse James 20: Talking Hard Work 21: When That Great Ship Went Down 22: Hard, Ain't It Hard 23: Going Down the Road Feeling Bad 24: I Ain't Got Nobody 25: Sinking of the Reuben James 26: Why Oh Why 27: This Land Is Your Land (Reprise) 28: Mule Skinner Blues 29: Wreck of the Old '97 30: Sally Goodin' 31: Little Black Train 32: Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet? 33: Baltimore to Washington 34: Rubber Dolly 35: 21 Years 36: Sowing on the Mountain 37: Bed on the Floor 38: Take a Whiff on Me 39: Stepstone 40: Put My Little Shoes Away 41: Hen Cackle 42: Poor Boy 43: Stack-O-Lee 44: Johnny Hart 45: Worried Man Blues 46: Danville Girl 47: Gambling Man 48: Rye Straw 49: Crawdad Song 50: Ida Red 51: Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy 52: Train 45 53: Hard Travelin' 54: Farmer-Labor Train 55: Howdjadoo 56: Ship in the Sky 57: I Ain't Got No Home 58: Mean Talking Blues 59: Better World A-Comin' 60: Miss Pavlichenko 61: So Long (It's Been Good to Know Yuh) [WWII Version] 62: New Found Land 63: Oregon Trail 64: Vigilante Man 65: 1913 Massacre 66: Talking Columbia 67: Two Good Men 68: Sally Don't You Grieve 69: Talking Sailor Blues 70: What Are We Waiting On? 71: Railroad Blues 72: Ludlow Massacre 73: Ladies Auxiliary 74: Miner's Song 75: When the Yanks Go Marching In 76: Union Maid [Excerpt] 77: Rubaiyat [Excerpt] 78: Many and the Few 79: Hanukkah Dance 80: Ranger's Command 81: Buffalo Skinners 82: Billy the Kid 83: Cowboy Waltz 84: Pretty Boy Floyd 85: Along in the Sun and the Rain 86: Whoopie-Ti-Yi-Yo, Get Along Little Dogies 87: Froggie Went A-Courtin' 88: Buffalo Gals 89: I Ride an Old Paint 90: Dead or Alive (Poor Lazarus) 91: Slipknot (Hangknot, Slipknot) 92: Cocaine Blues (Bad Lee Brown) 93: Go Tell Aunt Rhody 94: Chisholm Trail 95: Stewball 96: Wild Cyclone 97: Train Blues 98: Red River Valley 99: Fastest of Ponies 100: Stewball - Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Leadbelly 101: Snow Deer 102: When the Curfew Blows (Curfew Blow) 103: Little Darling (At My Window Sad and Lonely) 104: Blowing Down That Old Dusty Road (Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad) 105: Return of Rocky Mountain Slim and Desert Rat Shorty

WOODIE GUTHRIE ASCH RECORDINGS V 1-4
BUY THESE FIRST. A TREASURE OF WOODIE WITH EXCELLENT SOUND QUALITY IN MOST ALL CASES. YOU WON'T REGRET. .

An American legend, captured on scratchy tape.
I'm happy to say that listening to Woody has enhanced my appreciation for him as a singer and songwriter, and also has made me appreciate Dylan more once I was aware with what elements of Guthrie's influence he incorporated into his art and which he expanded upon. Like countless others, I started listening to Woody Guthrie's recordings as a fan of Bob Dylan. I highly recommend purchasing this entire collection (rather than just one or two discs, since they're available individually) along with the essential Dust Bowl Ballads as a strong foundation for a Woody Guthrie collection (not to mention his amazing autobiography, Bound for Glory).

What can you say about a 4-disc retrospective of such a prolific, improvisational songwriter? In my reviews I generally talk about some specific songs, but there are so many here that I'll try not to get boring and long-winded with too many details. The discs are each loosely-based on a different theme and are named (1) "This Land is Your Land," (2) "Muleskinner Blues" (3) "Hard Travelin'" and (4) "Buffalo Skinners. " Although the track sequencing isn't too strict, the songs on each generally do fall in the categories of patriotic, interpretive ballads (mostly classic folk covers), topical/working class ballads, and cowboy ballads. As you'll find out, though, these labels aren't too exclusive, and Woody writes and sings about pretty much anything you could imagine, and he sure was good at it.

As the legend goes, Woody wrote on anything he could get his hands on, and composed songs on the fly (freestyle rap anyone?), so this historical document is also quite amazing considering Asch told Guthrie he could drop by and be recorded whenever he wanted. These off-the-cuff recordings not only represent the broadness of Woody's musical vision, but also a pretty accurate representation of the spontaneous singing he did while wandering the country, living (and hearing about first-hand) the lives of the characters in his songs.

And what great songs they are. The tracks range from classics you may or may not have known Woody wrote and sang; "This Land is Your Land," "Grand Coulee Dam," "Pretty Boy Floyd," "So Long, It's Been Good To Know You," "Hard Travelin'," and "Car song," to name a few. What makes the wealth of music here extraordinary is hearing Woody come up with social anthems, dark ballads, heartbreaking stories, and hilarious blues time and time again. Although folk music is simple (fans of more complex chord changes and instrumentation may take a few listens to appreciate what it is about Woody's music that makes it so classic), the magic is in the storytelling and lyrics. Some of his talking blues like "Talking Hard Work" and "Mean Talking Blues," for example, are laugh-out-loud funny, especially on repeated listens.

Some people have griped about the sound quality, but I personally wouldn't have it any other way. The scratchy, old-timey production fits perfectly, and that analog sound probably accounts for much of Woody's timbre. I'll bet it wouldn't sound half as good if recorded in digital. Woody's signature flat-picked acoustic and occasional harmonica makes most of the accompaniment, although Cisco Houston and a few others make appearances singing and playing acoustic instruments, so there's not really any complex overdubbing that is in danger of being covered up by the quality. As for Woody's voice, it's like a warm blanket or the familiar sound of a grandfather telling a story. Even though it's simple, there's a warmth and magic, subtle wit there all the time that only Woody could pull off so genuinely.

The liner notes only add to the quality of this treasure, providing info for each song, as well as great, informative biographical info. Taken together, this really is an academic historical document both on paper and on CD, but it's also a real pleasure to listen to.

As you might have guessed, I highly recommend this collection, but if you don't have any Guthrie recordings yet, I'd probably recommend the shorter Dust Bowl Ballads first, since it's not as daunting in size or price. Once you're hooked, though, this is the next place to go. I hope you take the time to discover why Woody's such a legend, and treasure this set for years to come.

America in a boxed set
" The re-mastered recordings are of good quality and the collection is comprehensive. I chose this boxed set over the Library of Congress Collection because the latter did not list "This Land is Your Land. Each of the four CDs contains a booklet of information about the songs and surrounding events.

The real motivation to own this set is, of course, Woody's songs. Using familiar melodies combined with wry narratives and heart-breaking stories, Woody paints a portrait of America from the turn of the century, through the depression and dust bowl years, to WWII and after. The songs are haunting while being deceptively complex and simple at the same time. In this collection, the gravity of his more serious work is artfully countered by his very funny narrative and nonsense songs (one of my favorites in the latter category is "Mean Talking Blues"). Folk music aficionados or not, this collection will contain that will touch everyone's heart.

A final note: Woody Guthrie is perhaps one of the most under-rated guitar players in the genre. The recordings don't do justice to the subtly of his picking style. The same can be said of his abilities with the harmonica.
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Guthrie Box Set
The recordings are great, and there is a lot of information provided in each cd booklet. This is a great collection.

This land was made for you and me.
It is his best known song and one of the most widely sung songs in the United States.
Woody wrote "This Land is Your Land" on 23 February 1940. Woody's stated reason for writing it is possibly open to criticism--he said he was tired of hearing Kate Smith,one of the nation's most popular singers during the 1930's,sing "God Bless America". So he voiced a different perspective on the United States,ending each verse with "God blessed America for me". Later he changed the last line to "This land was made for you and me".
Woody wrote six verses,of which two were about Great Depression
experiences and were not heard when the song was first issued in 1951.
They were:
Was a big high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said:Private Property
But on the back side it didn't say nothing-
God blessed America for me.

One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple
By the Relief Office I saw my people-
As they stood hungry,I stood there wondering if
God blessed America for me.

A seventh verse was added in 1945;the verse is:

Nobody living can ever stop me
As I go walking my freedom highway
Nobody living can make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.
This set of four discs contains 105 of Woody's songs. Each disc is accompained by a 36 page booklet giving all sorts of information and background on the songs and the people Woody worked with. There are many super photos of Woody and others. As an example,one of Woody,Fred Hellerman,Jean Richie and Pete Seeger in the recording studio. Then,how about one of Woody,'s pen and ink drawings from April 23,1946;"Hang down my head and cry".
This fantastic recording was put together by Smithonian Folkways Recordings and no matter how much you try you won't find anything else that comes close to it.
What's your favorite Woody song?
Hobo's Lullaby
Hard,Ain't it Hard
Picture from life's other Side
Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
Worried Man Blues
I Ain't Got No Home in this World Anymore
Pretty Boy Floyd
Blowing Down that Old Dusty Road

Whatever it is,You'll find it here in this collection.
If you like Folk music,and Woody in particular,this is for you. If you have a friend who knows some of Woody's songs,this will make a gift that will be highly treasured.
By the way,if you get it ,never lend it;you'll never see it again!!!.

You can see a complete list of all Woody Guthrie discography, or go back to the Woody Guthrie tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.