JOHN
McCUTCHEON
This
Land: Woody Guthrie’s America
Appalseed
Productions
This
coming July 14 will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of Woody Guthrie, one
of the most important and influential folksingers and songwriters of the 20th
century. A number of CD projects celebrating Woody’s centennial have already
been released and there are more to come – including Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection, a 3-CD box set from Smithsonian Folkways which
will include 21 previously unreleased performances, among them six previously
unheard songs.
While
both of the Woody centennial CD projects I’ve already reviewed – Note of Hope
and New Multitudes – have concentrated on settings of unknown or unheard songs
from the Woody Guthrie Archives, most of John McCutcheon’s collection, This Land:
Woody Guthrie’s America, is devoted to songs from the canon of classic Woody
Guthrie songs. John also includes two songs from the Archives that he set to
music; another that was set to music by Slaid Cleaves; and a recitation taken
from Woody’s writing.
This
Land: Woody Guthrie’s America is an apt title for this collection. Woody’s writing
is deeply patriotic. But Woody’s is not a blind – ‘My country right or wrong’ or ‘America:
Love it or leave it’ – kind of patriotism. No, his kind of patriotism, as seen
in many of the songs in this collection including “Pastures of Plenty,” “I Ain’t
Got No Home,” “Deportees,” “Pretty Boy Floyd,” “Ludlow Massacre,” “1913
Massacre,” and, perhaps most significantly, in “This Land is Your Land,” is a
patriotism centered on compassion and justice, on righting the wrongs that make
America less than it could be, as well as love of country.
While
these songs date from 60 and more years ago, it’s amazing how relevant most of
them still are to contemporary society. Woody was writing back then about how migrant
workers are anonymously imported and deported; about the way the economic
system creates an underclass; about how the rich exploit the poor for
profit with no regard for human dignity – issues that are still with us today.
While the event documented in “Deportees” took place in 1948, it could just as
easily have been 2012.
But,
as John notes in his liner essay, Woody Guthrie’s America was/is also a place with
“children to put to sleep, lovers to serenade, outrageous boasts to shout,
heroes to celebrate,” so the collection includes songs for those things too.
I’ll
call special attention to the two songs from the Woody Guthrie Archives set to
music by John. “Harness Up the Day” is a beautiful, poetic love song – a precursor
by 20-something years to Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow is a Long Time; and “Old Cap
Moore,” a delightful tribute to a neighborhood hero.
John
uses a wide range of musical settings on this album from his solo vocal and
banjo version of “Pretty Boy Floyd,” to the rootsy band setting of “Biggest
Thing That Man has Ever Done,” to the chamber-folk arrangement of “I Ain’t Got No
Home.”
The
most elaborate arrangement is certainly the stirring rendition of “This Land
is Your Land,” in which John trades verses with Maria Muldaur, Tom Paxton and
Willie Nelson. The spoken recitation with concertina accompaniment to “This is
Our Country Here” is a perfect lead-in to “This Land.”
Among the other musicians featured on various tracks are Tim O’Brien, Tommy Emmanuel, Bryn Davies and Stuart Duncan.
From
beginning to end – the album ends with Goebel Reeves’ “Hobo’s Lullaby,” often
cited as Woody’s favorite song – This Land: Woody Guthrie’s America is a terrific
collection.
My
only quibble is that there’s no acknowledgement that some of the songs have
been taken from previously released albums. The all-star version of “This Land
is Your Land” is from a various artists collection for children called This Land
is Your Land (Songs of Unity). “Pastures of Plenty” is from a duo album John
did with Tom Chapin, and the versions of “Mail Myself to You,” “Harness Up the
Day,” “Howjadoo” and “Old Cap Moore” are from John McCutcheon albums dating as
far back as 1988. I certainly don’t have a problem with the inclusion of the older
recordings – I just think it should be made clear that the album includes both
new recordings and previously released material.
Quibble aside, I have no hesitation in offering this album my highest recommendation.
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