Folk

Paul Lansky - Folk Images (1995) {Bridge Records BCD 9060}
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© 1995 Bridge Records | BRIDGE 9060
Folk / Classical / Post-Modern / Electronic / Traditional / Computer Music / Experimental

The instruments are guitar, violin, computer, occasional voice; the music, some settings and arrangements of well-known folk songs as well as several original folk-like pieces. Folk music lovers will undoubtedly say it's not really folk music (they're right); computer music aficionados and cyberspace cadets may not think of it as computer music (maybe they're right too); and guitar freaks will say our guitar is not nearly as good as Leo Kottke's (oh boy are they right). Though it's not a bad thing to defy description, the best way to understand the music is probably found in the title, Folk Images.

In 2001 the U.K.-based Westside reissue label began releasing CD two-fers featuring '50s and '60s folk crooner Jimmie F. Rodgers. His albums for Roulette Records had been out of print for well over three decades. Rather than reissuing the discs chronologically, however, Westside chose a thematic approach. For some artists, such could easily be considered historic hara-kiri. However, this is not the case with Rodgers – as this initial installment amply demonstrates.

Jimmie Driftwood - Sings Newly Discovered American Folk Songs (1958) & The Wilderness Road (1959) {OMNI-174 rel 2013}
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© 1958-59, 2013 RCA Victor / The Omni Recording Corporation | OMNI - 174
Country / Folk / Traditional Country / Folksongs

Jimmie Driftwood (the recording and performing name of Arkansas school teacher, folklorist, and multi-instrumentalist James Corbitt Morris) began writing songs as a way to help his students learn about American history, and by the time all was said and done, he had written or adapted and recomposed over 6,000 folk songs, and his catalog is as rich as any in Americana, perhaps surpassed only by Woody Guthrie.

Roy Acuff - Sings American Folk Songs / Hand-Clapping Gospel Songs (1963) {2004 Ace Records CDCHD 999}
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© 1963, 2004 Hickory Records / Ace Records | CDCHD 999
Country / Country Folk / Gospel / Traditional Country / Honky Tonk

UK twofer combines 'Sings American Folk Songs' & 'Hand-Clapping Songs' (both originally released in 1963), the country legends fifth & sixth albums for the Hickory label. Features 24 beautifully remastered tracks from original first-generation Hickory Records master tapes, making their CD debut. Includes 12-page booklet with extensive liner notes, photos & memorabilia. Two of Roy Acuff's 1963 albums, Sings American Folk Songs and Hand-Clapping Gospel Songs, are combined onto one disc on this CD reissue. Sings American Folk Songs was the third album that he recorded in the early '60s for his own Hickory label, and might be less essential than some of his other work from the era, simply because most of the songs are folk tunes rather than his own compositions. That doesn't automatically mean they're not of interest. But Acuff is simply a more distinctive talent when working with the country compositions of his own and others than he is as an interpreter of folk songs.

Now in their 18th year, the Awards are a key highlight of the folk music calendar and serve to raise the profile of folk music. Talent, new and old, received accolades including Folk Singer of the Year, Best Duo, Best Album, Musician of the Year, Young Folk Award and more. Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Ry Cooder and Al Stewart.

Various Artists - The Folk Years (2003) {3CD Set TimeLife-Warner M18942G rec 1957-1969}
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© 1957-69, 2003 TimeLife Music / Warner / Sony Music | M18942G
Folk / Folk Rock / Pop / Rock

Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. of AMG wrote of the lager 8 disc set: Time-Life's The Folk Years is a massive survey of folk, pop-folk, and folk-rock from the 1950s and 1960s spread out over eight discs. At 15 songs per CD – equaling 120 total – this chronicle offers a healthy sampling of popular folk music covering dozens of known and forgotten singers and bands. The emphasis of the collection is on popular folk and popular music influenced by folk, meaning that most of the songs here charted. This emphasis also gives The Folk Years a broader appeal than the average folk revival compilation, making it as fun as it is educational.