Vanguard: Roots Of Folk [Box]

Performer: Various Artists
Producer: Tom Vickers (Compilation)
Distributor: Welk

Notes: Vanguard was one of the leading folk labels of the 1960s, due both to its own studio releases and its anthologies of performances from the Newport Folk Festivals. This is a three-CD set of Vanguard material from that era, encompassing live and studio tracks by many of the major icons of the time. The list is pretty amazing, in fact: the Weavers, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Doc Watson, Elizabeth Cotten, Buffy Sainte-Marie, the Kingston Trio, Mimi and Richard Fari�a, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Jerry Jeff Walker, Ian & Sylvia, Mississippi John Hurt, Dave Van Ronk, Skip James, Reverend Gary Davis, Son House, and John Lee Hooker make up only a portion of the lineup. It's divided into thematic discs that make sense and make the package more listenable, with "Roots of Folk" concentrating on the more traditional folk revivalists; "Singers & Songwriters" on the more contemporary folk-based performers, including a little folk-rock and even teetering on the edge of psychedelia with Country Joe & the Fish's "Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag"; and "Folk Blues," focusing on acoustic blues for the most part, though there are also some electric tracks by the likes of the Chambers Brothers and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (and an odd collaboration between Pete Seeger, Willie Dixon, and Lafayette Leake on "Midnight Special"). A few of the selections are quite well-known classics, like Judy Collins' version of "Turn, Turn, Turn" (a live one, not the Elektra studio recording), Buffy Sainte-Marie's "The Universal Soldier," Mimi and Richard Fari�a's "Pack up Your Sorrow," Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train," the Weavers' "If I Had a Hammer," Eric Andersen's "Violets of Dawn," the Rooftop Singers' number one single "Walk Right In," Donovan's "Catch the Wind" (a live duet with Joan Baez), Tom Paxton's "Ramblin' Boy," Mississippi John Hurt's "Candy Man," and Skip James' "I'm So Glad." There's also room for some interesting lesser-known names and performances, like Sandy Bull's "Little Maggie" and the Chambers Brothers' live covers of "People Get Ready" and "See Rider," though Joan Baez and Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" demonstrates that their live duets were more cultural events than musical milestones. The big drawback to this set? Unbelievably, the annotation provides no original release or recording dates, which is especially vexing given that a bunch of these are live. That leaves even experts to guess as to when and even possibly where much of this was recorded, though it's safe to say that most or all of the live cuts are from the Newport Folk Festivals. ~ Richie Unterberger

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