The Tradition Masters | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | September 3, 2002 | |||
Genre | Folk, blues | |||
Label | Tradition | |||
Producer | Tom Vickers (compilation) | |||
Odetta chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
The Tradition Masters is an album by American folk singer Odetta, released in 2002.
The title refers to the label for whom Odetta recorded her first two solo releases. The songs she recorded during that time period have received multiple releases in various configurations. This two-disc compilation re-issues both Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues and At the Gate of Horn .
The early Everest LP compilation (1963) of the Tradition recordings, Odetta , used tracks from both albums as well as The Tin Angel . Another compilation, Absolutely the Best , focuses on the same master tapes, but does not include both complete albums. The Best of Odetta: Ballads and Blues uses tracks from the same two albums, including 18 tracks compared to this set's thirty-one.
The songwriting credits for these traditional folk songs vary widely from one compilation to another.
All songs Traditional unless otherwise noted.
The Tin Angel is Odetta & Larry's only album, and the first recording by Odetta, originally released in September 1954 on Fantasy Records.
Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues is the debut solo album by American folk singer Odetta, first released in March or April 1957.
Odetta is a 1963 compilation album by American folk singer Odetta. Odetta is the first official compilation of Odetta songs. It features songs from The Tin Angel, Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues, At the Gate of Horn and Odetta At Town Hall although not necessarily versions from those albums.
Jack of Diamonds is a traditional folk song. It is a Texas gambling song that was popularized by Blind Lemon Jefferson. It was sung by railroad men who had lost money playing conquian. At least twelve white artists recorded the tune before World War II. It has been recorded under various titles such as "A Corn Licker Still in Georgia" and "Rye Whiskey".
"Rock Island Line" is an American folk song. Ostensibly about the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it appeared as a folk song as early as 1929. The first recorded performance of "Rock Island Line" was by inmates of the Arkansas Cummins State Farm prison in 1934.
The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob Niles, Susan Reed, Paul Robeson, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Cisco Houston had enjoyed a limited general popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. The revival brought forward styles of American folk music that had in earlier times contributed to the development of country and western, blues, jazz, and rock and roll music.
"Take This Hammer" is a prison, logging, and railroad work song, which has the same Roud number as another song, "Nine Pound Hammer", with which it shares verses. "Swannanoa Tunnel" and "Asheville Junction" are similar. Together, this group of songs are referred to as "hammer songs" or "roll songs". Numerous bluegrass bands and singers like Scott McGill and Mississippi John Hurt also recorded commercial versions of this song, nearly all of them containing verses about the legendary spike driver, John Henry; and even when they do not, writes folklorist Kip Lornell, "one feels his strong and valorous presence in the song".
"I'm Alabama Bound" is a ragtime melody composed by Robert Hoffman in 1909. Hoffman dedicated it to an M. T. Scarlata. The cover of its first edition, published by Robert Ebberman, New Orleans, 1909, advertises the music as "Also Known As The Alabama Blues" which has led some to suspect it of being one of the first blues songs. However, as written, it is an up-tempo rag with no associated lyrics. The song has been recorded numerous times in different styles—both written and in sound recordings—with a number of different sets of lyrics.
In the Tradition is a 1963 album by American folksinger Dave Van Ronk and The Red Onion Jazz Band. It is unusual in that the tracks are evenly split between Van Ronk and the Red Onions.
Odetta's discography is large and diverse, covering over 50 years and many record labels.
At the Gate of Horn is the second solo album by American folk singer Odetta, first released in October 1957. It was named for the Gate of Horn club in Chicago.
Odetta at Carnegie Hall is a live album by American folk singer Odetta, recorded on April 8, 1960 and released later that year. It is now out of print.
Odetta at Town Hall is a live album by American folk singer Odetta, recorded at Town Hall, New York, NY, on April 5, 1963 and first released later that year.
Looking for a Home is an album by American folk singer Odetta, released in 2001. It consists of songs written and/or performed by Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Leadbelly.
The Essential Odetta is a live album by American folk singer Odetta, originally released on LP in 1973.
The Best of Odetta: Ballads and Blues is a compilation album by American folk singer Odetta, originally released in 1994.
The Best of the Vanguard Years is a compilation album by American folk singer Odetta, originally released in 1999.
Livin' with the Blues is a compilation album by American folk singer Odetta, originally released in 2000.
Absolutely the Best is a compilation album by American folk singer Odetta, originally released in 2000.
Best of the M.C. Records Years 1999–2005 is a compilation album by American folk singer Odetta, released in 2006. It contains songs she recorded on the M.C. Records label.