Anthology of American Folk Music (Edited by Harry Smith)
This impressive--and frankly, fun--musical document is still sending out shock waves almost 50 years after its original 1952 vinyl release. The Smithsonian's six-CD reissue is painstakingly researched, annotated, and packaged (even boasting an enhanced disc for the techno-capable). Unlike field recorders, eccentric filmmaker/collector/musicologist Harry Smith assembled theAnthologyfrom commercially released (though obscure) 78 rpm discs issued between 1927 and 1935. Its broad scope--from country blues to Cajun social music to Appalachian murder ballads--was monumentally influential, setting musicians like Bob Dylan down the path to folk fandom. The White House started its own national music library with theAnthology; anyone with more than a passing interest in American roots music should do the same.--Michael RubyMore from Smithsonian FolkwaysThe Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute To The Anthology Of American Folk MusicClassic Maritime Music from Smithsonian Folkways RecordingsSmithsonian Folkways American Roots CollectionClassic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian FolkwaysClassic Blues From Smithsonian FolkwaysFolkways: The Original Vision