Search - Odetta :: Best of the Vanguard Years

Odetta
Best of the Vanguard Years
Genres: Country, Blues, Folk, Pop

Track Listings (21) - Disc #1
1. Midnight Special
2. Special Delivery Blues
3. Special Delivery Blues - Odetta, Traditional
4. Rambling Round Your City
5. Cool Water
6. Down On Me
7. I've Been Driving On Bald
8. Saro Jane
9. Battle Hymn of the Republic
10. If I Had a Hammer
11. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
12. Meetin' At the Building
13. No More Auction Block for Me
14. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
15. Spoken Intro: He Had a Long...
16. Another Man Done Gone
17. He's Got the Whole World In His Hands
18. Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor
19. Livin' With the Blues
20. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
21. House of the Rising Sun

CD Details

All Artists: Odetta
Title: Best of the Vanguard Years
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Vanguard Records
Original Release Date: 1/26/1999
Release Date: 1/26/1999
Genres: Country, Blues, Folk, Pop
Styles: Classic Country, Contemporary Blues, Traditional Blues, Traditional Folk
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 015707952224

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Odetta is one of the last American folk singers with ties to the authentic folk tradition. Mentored in the early '50s by Woody Guthrie cronies Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Pete Seeger (whose "If I Had a Hammer" is covered here in a strangely unmelodic manner), as well as Harry Belafonte, Odetta is easily identified by her husky voice--a strong influence on both Joan Armatrading and Tracy Chapman. While with Vanguard, she made a spiritual claim to tunes already associated with Leadbelly ("Midnight Special," "Cotton Fields"), not to mention slave spirituals, pop gospel ("He's Got The Whole World"), and even "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Classic rock fans will recognize "Down on Me," which was later electrified by Janis Joplin. The best tracks here, however, are the four unreleased gems that close the CD, running from terrific jazzy blues and R&B (including the great standard "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out") to her take on "House of the Risin' Sun." --Bill Holdship

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CD Reviews

I prefer Odetta the folksinger

J. C Clark | Overland Park, KS United States | 04/20/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you own the Essential Odetta you do not need this one. The Essential is the full version of her glorious live performance; on this we have 8 cuts from that CD, and not necessarily the best ones. The other studio work ranges from pretty good to wonderful, but it is only 9 cuts. Odetta is a breathtaking performer who too often allows herself to perform second-rate material. With the best stuff, she's unbeatable. Saro Jane is a favorite song of mine; she is just fantastic on that one. And her performance of Woody's Rambling Round Your City is a winner. But I find her Battle Hymn rather dated, and the backup chorus by Milt Okun suffers from the same flaws the backup chorus on the coeval Cisco Houston LP does. Cool Water also fails. And personally, the final four performances fail to make my cut. All performed much better by others, all sounding contrived and obligatory, all very much uninteresting to me."