Before Kerouac or Dylan he was out on the road
OAKSHAMAN | Algoma, WI United States | 01/19/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"_I bought this soundtrack recording after I had seen the documentary film from which it is drawn. I almost never do that, but these songs are something special. They conjure up an American time and spirit long past. You can tell that these songs meant also something to the top-shelf talent that recreated them here.This is still one of my favorite all time collections- especially if I'm out on the road.
_Woody Guthrie was out on the road long before either Kerouac or Dylan. If you like his music, then try reading his autobiography-_Bound for Glory_."
In Honor OF Woody Guthrie
Alfred Johnson | boston, ma | 03/05/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is a 2000 release of long missing tracks from soundtrack to the movie "Woody Guthrie- Hard Travelin'". As of this date I have not been able to find the DVD to review along with the music.
As I have mentioned on early reviews concerning the music of folklorist Woody Guthrie if any of the older generation, the "Generation of `68" needs an introduction to Woody Guthrie then I ask what planet have you been on. Woody's "This Land Is Your Land" is practically a national anthem (and in some quarters is treated as just that). This tribute has the further virtue of highlighting the considerable talents of Woody's son ( from his second marriage), Arlo Guthrie, also a name that should be familiar as a folk artist in his own right if for nothing else then the classic 1960's cult song "Alice's Restaurant". Add in a few fellow folkies as accompanists like Joan Baez, Ronnie Gilbert (most well known as that great female voice from The Weavers), the old cowboy (from Brooklyn) and Woody aficionado Ramblin' Jack Elliot, the well-known folk traditionalist Pete Seeger and you have a virtual who's who of the 1960's folk revival on this one.
As mentioned above these are tracks from the soundtrack to "Hard Travelin'" and have the virtue (at least on this kind of album) of being done apparently from memory. So you have Woody's songs here, warts and all. That seems about right for a folk album. Highlights here are Hoyt Axton and Arlo on "Deportee" the hard luck tragic story of an earlier group of Mexican immigrants who didn't make it. Sound familiar? Pete Seeger and Arlo on "Hobo's Lullaby is an excellent way to pay tribute to a man who has been seen by some, influenced by his autobiographic (and its film version) "Bound For Glory, as `king of the hobos'. Arlo (with The Oklahoma Swing Band) on "Oklahoma Hills" tips the hat to Woody's long ago roots out in those then dusty prairies. A nice finish is an apparently transposed version of Woody's voice along with Arlo's on the above-mentioned super-classic "This Land Is Your Land". Arlo, kudos on this on. You did well by your dad here.
"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
