Mississippi Records - I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (1927-1948)

This record is immigrant music recorded in America that’s barely, if at all, touched or infected by American music. It opens with Marika Papagika’s Greek masterpiece “Zmirneikos Balos” (she was a singer who “died of disappointment” in New York in 1943). It also has a beautiful sad song by the Blue Sky Boys called “Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone” and a bunch of Hawaiian and French recordings.  - VICE Magazine

Listen Here:

 

 Get It Here: Mississippi Records - I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore

Eduardo Falu - Falu Plays Falu Vol. 3

More Argentine folklore. A friend and contemporary of Atahualpa Yupanqui.

Get It Here: Eduardo Falu - Falu plas Falu Vol. 3

Angola Prisoners' Blues (1959)

"In 1959, a young folklorist and musicologist, Harry Oster, traveled to the State Prison in Angola, Louisiana to collect folksongs. He made a number of field recordings while at the prison, but his biggest discovery was undoubtedly the Louisiana Blues Hall of Famer, Robert Pete Williams, a truly gifted musician and blues writer, who was serving a life sentence. Of the 9 songs on this album, four are by Williams, who sings heart-wrenchingly about prison life and being down and out. Thanks to Oster, Williams was eventually released from prison, and was able to have a fairly successful career as a bluesman in the 60s and 70s, appearing at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival and touring the US and Europe. The other musicians featured here, fellow inmates Robert “Guitar” Welch and Matthew “Hogman” Maxey, are both extremely gifted musicians, but in the words of Dr. Oster, “they are primarily the heirs of a clearly defined and standardized blues tradition, rather than innovators.” In any case, this is acoustic prison blues at its finest, and includes such detailed liner notes as well as an annotated track listing that it is equal parts musical and historical document."


Tracks:

1. Levee Camp Blues (Robert Pete Williams)

2. Stagolee (Hogman Maxey)

3. Electric Chair Blues (Guitar Welch)

4. Prisoner's Talking Blues (Robert Pete Williams)

5. Motherless Children Have a Hard Time (Robert Pete Williams)

6. Black Night Fallin' (Hogman Maxey)

7. Some Got Six Months (Robert Pete Williams)

8. I'm Gonna Leave You Mama (Guitar Welch)

9. I'm Lonesome Blues (Robert Pete Williams)

Re-issued by Doxy Music 2010
Get It Here: Angola Prisoners' Blues 

Joseph Spence - Happy All the Time (1964)

Get it here: Joseph Spence - Happy All the Time

A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Self-Titled

Recent Stars of the Lid side project, Adam Wiltzie (Stars of the Lid) and Dustin O'Halloran team up to create wonderfully spacious and droning harmonies accompanied by melancholy piano and strings. Headphones are definitely warranted for this one.

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A Winged Victory For The Sullen - A Symphony Pathetique (Montauk In February Remix) by erasedtapes

Get it Here: A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Joseph Spence - The Complete Folkways Recordings (1958)

"Like many musicians whose playing is uniquely individual, Spence also felt himself as part of a long tradition of Bahaman folk. He was one of the rare musicians whose own abilities are so unusual that they, in turn, reshape the tradition from which they've come. It isn't possible to think of Bahaman music— and finger-picked acoustic guitar music— without thinking of Spence, and at the same time, there is no one like him. There isn't much more a musician can accomplish than this, but Spence, with his friendly laugh and his characteristic shake of his head when he was praised, certainly wouldn't think he'd done even that much." - Sam Charters

Just for the novelty:



Get it here: Joseph Spence - The Complete Folkways Recordings (1958)

Mississippi Records - Been Here All My Days (From the George Mitchell Archives)

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, GEORGE MITCHELL recorded extensively in the South. Mitchell concentrated mainly on local blues traditions recording some famous bluesmen and many otherwise ignored artists. The George Mitchell Collection was originally released as a series of forty-five EPs on Fat Possum, this LP contains Mississipi’s favorite fourteen tracks. This LP represents songs from many well known blues musicians such as FRED MCDOWELL, FURRY LEWIS and JOE CALICOTT, as well as some from criminally under represented artists like JESSIE MAE HEMPHILL, ROSA LEE HILL and JOHN LEE ZIEGLER. 


Track List:
1. Who's Gonna Be Your Man / John Lee Ziegler 4:47
2. Bullying Well / Rosa Lee Hill 4:47
3. Shake 'Em On Down / Fred McDowell 3:03
4. What Makes Grandma Love Grandpa / Jimmy Lee Williams 4:15
5. Old Country Rock #1 / James Davis 3:56
6. Big Road Blues / Houston Stackhouse 2:39
7. Search Me Lord / James Shorter 2:44
8. Home Going / Jessie Mae Hemphill 2:34
9. Georgia Buck / Precious Bryant 2:34
10. Country Blues / Joe Callicott 3:37
11. Rabbit On A Log / Lonzie Thomas 2:33
12. Trouble Brought Me Down / Greeb Paschal 1:47
13. Good Morning Judge / Furry Lewis 5:50
14. Hold My Body Down / Robert Johnson 2:51


Get it here: Mississippi Records - Been Here All My Days

Atahualpa Yupanqui - El Canto de la Tierra

Yo quiero un caballo negro,

Y unas espuelas de plata,

Para alcanzar a la vida,

Que se me escapa;

Que se me escapa.

Atahualpa Yupanqui is a hero of mine. Arguably the most important figure in Argentine folklore, ranging from the poetic to the political - because the two merely cannot exist as one - he was revered for his lyrics and exiled for his Communism. After taking part in a failed uprising against the Argentine state, he was exiled to France where he met and toured with Edith Piaf.

Even if you don't have the means to enjoy his lyrics in the original language, any listener can bathe in the beautiful rhythms of folklore and appreciate his grace on the fretboard. And if you do understand the his poetic verses you'll end up yearning for more.

Give it a listen:



Get it here: Atahualpa Yupanqui - El Canto de la Tierra

Grayson & Whitter - Recordings (1928-30)

An extensive list of some of the most famous American folk tunes. These guys stayed true to the tradition of old-time stomps and ballads. In this set you'll find hits like 'Train 45', 'Tom Dooley', 'Short Life of Trouble', and 'Nobody's Darling'.

Get it Here: Grayson and Whitter - The Recordings

Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (2011)

Colin Stetsons' latest release via Constellation Records. Highly experimental, these tracks add a contemporary color to a vast layering of sounds leaving the listener unable to categorize the album. It's definitely worth a listen.

COLIN STETSON - Judges (preview) by Constellation Records

Get it here: Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2