Album Reviews

Before the folk revival of the 1950’s and ‘60’s fomented by the likes of The Weavers and later The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, there were the originals like Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Leadbelly. He was born in the 1880’s (exact date unknown) and he died in New York City, December 6th, 1949 of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as “Lou Gehrigs Disease.”

In between, he lived a rough life and wrote some enduring classics like “Take This Hammer,” “Goodnight Irene,” made famous by The Weavers and “Rock Island Line” covered by Glasgow, Scotland born “Skiffle King” Lonnie Donegan, who had a big unlikely American pop chart hit with the tune back in 1956 backed by a washboard. The song was really about the slave escape route known as the “Underground Railroad.” Donegan also had an equally big and equally unlikely hit in 1959 with “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s (sic) Flavour (on the Bedpost Overnight)?” Of course adolescents at the time changed the name to “Does Your Screwing Sperm Lose It’s Flavour….,” which made the song doubly gross because of the line “can you catch it on your tonsils and heave it left and right”) but that’s another story, as is the fact that Donegan’s “Skiffle” beat music led directly to the Merseybeat sound of The Beatles.

Leadbelly was in and out of prison throughout his early life and led a rough existence. He was found in one by John Lomax and his son Alan who were recording prison songs for the Library of Congress. A Lomax recording of Ledbetter singing for a pardon on one side and “Goodnight Irene” on the other bought him a pardon and freedom from the Governor of Louisiana.

In 1944 Ledbetter sat down before a microphone in Capitol’s Hollywood Studio and recorded the twelve songs on this album, accompanying himself on 12 string guitar (and on piano on two tracks), after auditioning for Capitol executive Lee Gillette in country star Tex Ritter’s home, accompanied by flat picker legend Merle Travis. Capitol was two years old at the time! Of course there was no tape to record to at the time, and these were done the old fashioned way, “direct to disc” at 78rpm.

You may ask then, what does this record have to do with high fidelity or with audiophilia? Well, the recording is surprisingly “high fidelity” and transfer to tape (the date is not made clear in the accompanying notes) is extremely well done. So well done that only occasionally can you hear a slight bit of noise in the background. If you’re thinking “hissy, tinny, primitive,” forget it. The sound is immediate, remarkably wide band and inviting. Ironically, the co-producer and one of Leadbelly’s strongest supports was the much reviled Dave Dexter, Jr, who, having decided that what George Martin and EMI delivered to Capitol was not ready for teenaged American ears, added lots of reverb and re-EQ’d The Beatles. In retrospect, some of what Dexter did to those tapes made them sound bright, shiny, fun and exciting and may have contributed in some ways to the group’s success in America. On the other hand, some of it just plain sucked.

This collection of a dozen Leadbelly tunes, remastered by the team of Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray (cut by Gray) sounds remarkably good, especially given the recording’s vintage.

Because so much of the folk, rock and pop created during the second half of the 20th Century and beyond springs from the authentic music of Huddie Ledbetter, this collection belongs in any serious music library. Whether it's worth getting on an expensive LP as opposed to some lesser format is a decision you'll have to make for yourself.