This LP differs from the more familiar
Vanguard Records
or
Elektra Records
accounts of the
Newport Folk Festivals
of the same years, as producer
Moses Asch
reached further, wider, and deeper in his selection of artists. Thus, he opens with then 78-year-old
O.J. Abbott
's haunting unaccompanied rendition of
"On the Banks of the Don,"
before bringing the seemingly heavier-weight artillery of
Abbott
with
Pete Seeger
(accompanying on vocals and banjo) and jumping headfirst into rural folk-blues with
"I'm a Stranger Here,"
performed by
Willie B. Thomas
and
Butch Cage
(who follow it up with the raw, rocking
"44 Blues"
).
Pat Clancy
's beautiful (and wonderfully extended) unaccompanied
"Mighty Bunch O-Roses-O"
Mike Seeger
's gorgeous autoharp-driven
"Fair Ellender"
close out the LP's first side, and the second side is devoted to more high-profile talents:
(banjo and vocals),
Allan Mills
(unaccompanied and amazingly powerful), and
Frank Hamilton
(resplendent in bluesy vocals and guitar);
Hamilton
ends this album on a superb note, with a performance of
"I Am a Pilgrim"
that, as they say, leaves you wanting more. The mix of sounds here hasn't lost its potency one whit in 50 years, and why this material isn't out on CD is a mystery. Indeed, the only flaw that one can find in the content of its 11 songs is that no room was made for any female performers. ~ Bruce Eder