The Early Years (1958-1962)

by The New Lost City Ramblers

Overview

Moses Asch had a unique method of recording artists back in the '40s and '50s. Someone like Woody Guthrie, for instance, would just drop by Folkways when he had an idea and record. Asch might pay him five dollars for the session, and in this way he accumulated a vault full of material. Perhaps this explains the incredible fact that the New Lost City Ramblers recorded 12 albums between 1958-1962. The Early Years (1958-1962) collects 26 songs, over 70 minutes of music, from these dozen discs, creating an excellent document of the band's years with Tom Paley. Paley, John Cohen, and Mike Seeger formed the New Lost City Ramblers in 1958 with the idea of playing old-time music recorded between the late '20s and 1940. While it has often been stated that the trio intended to copy -- phrase for phrase, lick for lick -- the old 78s, Jon Pankake points out in the liner notes that this wasn't the case. Instead, the New Lost City Ramblers wanted to insert the same vim and vigor into "The Battleship of Maine" and "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" as the original players. What stands out now, some 40 years after these recordings, is the band's versatility. Whether cutting loose on an instrumental like "Colored Aristocracy" or singing tight harmony on "Brown's Ferry Blues," the three comrades form a tight unit. While the arrangements never outgrow the number of persons in the band, each player's ability to play multiple instruments lends diversity to the material. The Early Years (1958-1962) offers a very good introduction to an innovative and influential band. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/13/1992
Label:	SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS
UPC:	0093074003626

Tracks

1. Colored Aristocracy
2. Hopalong Peter
3. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down
4. When First Unto This Country
5. Sales Tax on the Women
6. Rabbit Chase
7. Leaving Home
8. How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
9. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Back Again
10. I Truly Understand You Love Another Man
11. The Old Fish Song
12. The Battleship of Maine
13. No Depression in Heaven
14. Dallas Rag
15. Bill Morgan and His Gal
16. Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
17. The Lady of Carlisle
18. Brown's Ferry Blues
19. My Long Journey Home
20. Talking Hard Luck
21. The Teetotals
22. Sal Got a Meatskin
23. Railroad Blues
24. On Some Foggy Mountain Top
25. My Sweet Farm Girl
26. Crow Black Chicken

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The New Lost City Ramblers   Primary Artist
John Cohen   Banjo,Guitar,Vocals,Bass (Vocal)
Mike Seeger   Fiddle,Guitar,Vocals,Autoharp,Falsetto,Mandolin,Tenor (Vocal)
Tom Paley   Banjo,Guitar,Vocals,Autoharp,Tenor (Vocal),Hawaiian Guitar
Harry Rich   Fiddle
Elmer Rick   Mandolin
Rensel Rich   Guitar
Sanford Rich   Fiddle

Technical Credits

Jon Pankake   Compilation Producer,Annotation,Liner Notes
A.P. Carter   Composer
Mike Seeger   Engineer,Remastering
Moses Asch   Engineer
Anthony Seeger   Supervisor
Malcolm Addey   Remastering
Matt Walters   Supervisor,Remastering
Peter Bartok   Engineer
Carol Hardy   Cover Design
Robert Frank   Photography,Cover Photo
Traditional   Composer