Field Recordings Volume 5: Louisiana, Texas, Bahamas 1933-1940 (Document, 1997)

The third installment in this round of reviews on Document's Field Recordings series, Volume 5 compiles an eclectic mix of folk music collected by John and/or Alan Lomax while they conducted research during visits to Louisiana, Texas, and the Bahamas in 1933, 1934, 1935, and 1940. Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter completists will especially enjoy this CD since it contains some of his relatively obscure tracks as well as performances by two of his relatives. Moreover, much of the other material from Louisiana consists of the remaining Library of Congress recordings by three of the musicians featured on I Can Eagle Rock - Jook Joint Blues from Alabama and Louisiana, making it a perfect complementary listening experience. The remaining selections will also be of interest to anyone who enjoys music with roots in the African diaspora.

LEAD BELLY (OUTLINED IN RED) PHOTOGRAPHED AMONG OTHER CONVICTS
IN COMPOUND NUMBER ONE AT ANGOLA STATE PENITENTIARY, JULY 1934

Most, if not all, of the titles by Lead Belly will be familiar to even the most casual of his fans. What makes these particular versions significant is their status as his earliest recordings. The CD's second and third tracks are comprised of fragments of the very first songs he performed for the Lomaxes during the legendary 1933 sessions at Angola State Penitentiary. The deteriorated condition of the original discs unfortunately renders much of them nearly unlistenable. Nevertheless, they retain their historical importance. The a cappella "Shake, Shake Mattie" by an anonymous female inmate also comes from the folklorists' initial visit to the infamous Louisiana prison, although no other information is available. "Mr. Tom Hughes' Town," "I Got up This Morning, Had to Get up Soon," "Western Cowboy," "Blind Lemon Blues," and "Matchbox Blues," which date from a follow-up visit to Angola in 1934, feature considerably improved sound quality as a result of using more advanced recording equipment and are arguably the best renditions of these songs that Lead Belly ever did.

LEAD BELLY PERFORMS FOR JOHN LOMAX WHILE TWO
OTHER ANONYMOUS ANGOLA INMATES OBSERVE, 1934

The remainder of the Louisiana tracks also include "(Don't) The Moon Look Pretty," an appealingly ragged piece from the "spasm band" (which consists of harmonica, kazoo, washboard, and various homemade percussion instruments) Curtis Harton & Group, and the French vocal performance "Les Haricots Sont Pas Sales" by an aggregation that Howard Rye's booklet notes refer to as as "Jimmy Peters And Ring Dance Singers." Whereas the previously-cited I Can Eagle Rock focuses on the blues songs of Joe Harris, Kid West, and Noah Moore (Lead Belly's cousin), the still-worthwhile "Railroad Rag," "Nobody's Business If I Do," "Bully of the Town," "Old Hen Cackled and Rooster Laid an Egg," and "I Done Tole You" represent the folk material that the elder Lomax preferred gathering for the Library. Moore accompanies his grandfather (and uncle of Lead Belly) Bob Ledbetter on another version of "(Goodnight) Irene", which proves interesting for the sake of comparison despite the latter's suspect recollection of how he learned it. A stark version of the well-documented "Boll Weevil" by unaccompanied singer Willie George Albertine King concludes the field recordings from Louisiana. The irresistibly-named Sin-Killer Griffin and his congregation represent Texas on the sanctified titles "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" and "The Man of Calvary," which were both recorded during a visit to Darrington State Farm in Sandy Point on Easter Sunday 1934. The featured musicians from the Bahamas - David Pryor, Elizabeth Austin, the Nassau String Band, and others - perform a variety of material including a launching tune ("Roll 'im on Down"), gospel ("Dig My Grave"), sea shanties ("Round the Bay of Mexico," "Bowline"), a ring game song ("Sail, Gal"), a dance number ("Hallie Rock"), and a relatively sophisticated ensemble performance ("Bimini Gal"). Although these selections possess some similarities to the material by the American musicians on this CD, they remain distinctively Bahamian enough to be interesting on their own merits, even if the notes somewhat dismissively describe them as "mainly functional."

UNCLE BOB LEDBETTER, 1940

LOUISIANA
1. Shake, Shake Mattie - Unidentified Female Singer
2. a) The Western Cowboy b) Honey, Take a Whiff on Me c) Angola Blues d) Angola Blues e) Frankie and Albert - Huddie Ledbetter
3. a) Irene b) Take a Whiff on Me c) You Cain' Lose Me, Cholly d) Irene e) Irene f) Ella Speed - Huddie Ledbetter
4. Mr Tom Hughes' Town - Huddie Ledbetter
5. I Got up This Morning, Had to Get up Soon - Huddie Ledbetter
6. Western Cowboy - Huddie Ledbetter
7. Blind Lemon Blues - Huddie Ledbetter
8. Matchbox Blues ("Hawaiian Blues") - Huddie Ledbetter
9. Don't the Moon Look Pretty - Curtis Harton & Group
10. Les Haricots Sont Pas Sales - Jimmy Peters
11. Railroad Rag - Joe Harris & Kid West
12. Nobody's Business If I Do - Joe Harris & Kid West
13. Bully of the Town - Joe Harris & Kid West
14. Old Hen Cackled and Rooster Laid an Egg - Joe Harris & Kid West
15. I Done Tole You - Noah Moore
16. Irene - Uncle Bob Ledbetter & Noah Moore
17. Boll Weevil - Willie George Albertine King

TEXAS
18. Wasn't That a Mighty Storm - Sin-Killer Griffin
19. The Man of Calvary (Easter Service) - Sin-Killer Griffin

BAHAMAS
20. Roll 'im on Down - David Pryor
21. Dig My Grave - David Pryor
22. Round the Bay of Mexico - David Pryor
23. Bowline - David Pryor
24. Sail, Gal - Elizabeth Austin
25. Hallie Rock - Group from Nassau, w/drum
26. Bimini Gal - Nassau String Band