Release Date: September 15, 1998.
Recording Time: 140 minutes.
Recording Date: June 24, 1963 - February 10, 1968.
Release Info: Compilation (SFWCD40108) Studio Recording.
Dock Boggs recorded only 12 songs in the 1920s, but his raw, powerful singing and distinctive banjo-playing caused Harry Smith to include him in his Anthology of American Folk Music (SFW 40090) and Mike Seeger to search for him in the hills of Kentucky in 1963. A new series of recording sessions captured the 50 blues, instrumentals, regional and religious songs included in this two-CD set. Originally released to high acclaim on three Folkways Records LPs in the 1960s, they have influenced musicians ever since. Extensive notes by Mike Seeger and Barry O'Connell.
(1998 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, SFW40108)
After Boggs, the Appalachian singer/banjoist who had released a dozen sides in the late '20s, was rediscovered by Mike Seeger in 1963, he did some recording for Folkways Records. This double-CD, 50-song set contains the material from three Boggs LPs for Folkways: Legendary Singer & Banjo Player (1963), Vol. 2 (1965), and Vol. 3 (1970). The unearthly qualities of his '20s recordings that caused critics such as Greil Marcus to get wet were not in such exotic force on these later efforts; Boggs had only recently started playing music again after a gap of about 30 years. He's in fairly good form on this extensive compilation, dominated by old folk and blues tunes (some traditional, some learned from mundane sources such as commercial records and a Banker's Life Insurance ad). His singing and banjo playing are the definition of "stark," an overused adjective when applied to traditional Appalachian music. He's much easier to take than even starker proponents such as Roscoe Holcomb, however, with vocals that are effectively plaintive and rough-hewn without sounding unduly pinched, although they sometimes crack and strain. His best tunes are the ones with a spooky undercurrent, like "Danville Girl," which shares the same melody as the famous standard "St. James Infirmary," and "Oh Death." The reissue has excellent, lengthy historical liner notes from Barry O'Connell and fascinating recollections of Boggs' rediscovery by Mike Seeger. ~ Richie Unterberger
Credits:
Artwork, Design - Scott Stowell;
Guitar, Producer, Liner Notes - Mike Seeger;
Liner Notes - Barry O'Connell;
Mastered By - Charlie Pilzer;
Other (Assistance) - Alexia Smith;
Photography By - Dan Seeger, Frederick Baldwin;
Reissue Producer - Anthony Seeger;
Supervised By (Sound Supervision) - Pete Reiniger;
Vocals, Banjo - Dock Boggs.
Tracklist:
1-01. Down South Blues - Dock Boggs
1-02. Country Blues - Dock Boggs
1-03. Pretty Polly - Dock Boggs
1-04. Coal Creek March - Dock Boggs
1-05. My Old Horse Died - Dock Boggs
1-06. Wild Bill Jones - Dock Boggs
1-07. Rowan County Crew - Dock Boggs
1-08. New Prisoner's Song - Dock Boggs
1-09. Oh, Death - Dock Boggs
1-01. Prodigal Son - Dock Boggs
1-11. Mother's Advice - Dock Boggs
1-12. Drunkard's Lone Child - Dock Boggs
1-13. Bright Sunny South - Dock Boggs
1-14. Mistreated Mama Blues - Dock Boggs
1-15. Harvey Logan - Dock Boggs
1-16. Mixed Blues - Dock Boggs
1-17. Old Joe's Barroom - Dock Boggs
1-18. Danville Girl - Dock Boggs
1-19. Cole Younger - Dock Boggs
1-20. Schottische Time - Dock Boggs
1-21. Papa, Build Me A Boat - Dock Boggs
1-22. Little Black Train - Dock Boggs
1-23. No Disappointment In Heaven - Dock Boggs
1-24. Glory Land - Dock Boggs
2-01. Banjo Clog - Dock Boggs
2-02. Wise County Jail - Dock Boggs
2-03. Sugar Baby - Dock Boggs
2-04. The Death Of Jerry Damron - Dock Boggs
2-05. Railroad Tramp - Dock Boggs
2-06. Poor Boy In Jail - Dock Boggs
2-07. Brother Jim Got Shot - Dock Boggs
2-08. John Henry - Dock Boggs
2-09. Davenport - Dock Boggs
2-01. Dying Ranger - Dock Boggs
2-11. Little Ornie Wise - Dock Boggs
2-12. Sugar Blues - Dock Boggs
2-13. Loving Nancy - Dock Boggs
2-14. Cuba - Dock Boggs
2-15. John Hardy - Dock Boggs
2-16. Peggy Walker - Dock Boggs
2-17. Hope I Live A Few More Days - Dock Boggs
2-18. Turkey In The Straw - Dock Boggs
2-19. Calvary - Dock Boggs
2-20. Roses While I'm Living - Dock Boggs
2-21. Leave It There - Dock Boggs
2-22. Prayer Of A Miner's Child - Dock Boggs
2-23. Coke Oven March - Dock Boggs
2-24. Ruben's Train - Dock Boggs
2-25. Cumberland Gap - Dock Boggs
2-26. Careless Love - Dock Boggs
Notes:
CD reissue of three Folkways LPs: "Dock Boggs, Legendary Singer & Banjo Player" (1963), "Dock Boggs, Volume 2" (1965), "Dock Boggs, Volume 3" (1970).