- Deep River Of Song: Bahamas 1935 (Rounder) 1999
- Deep River Of Song: Black Appalachia (Rounder) 1999
- Deep River Of Song: Black Texicans (Rounder) 1999
- Various – A Warrior On The Battlefield (A Capella: 1920’s – 1940’s) Rounder 1997
Three more titles from the massive Alan Lomax collection. As with the bulk of the series, these discs capture a sound long gone. Recorded on primitive equipment, it’s somewhat akin to taking an audio trip to a lost world. The majority of material was recorded during the early 30’s, a time when, owing to the availability of radio and phonographs, regional differences were just beginning to fade.
The Bahamas disc consists of accappella chanteys and anthems sung by spongers from Andros Island. These are the earliest recordings to come out of the region, in a style called ‘rhyming spirituals.’ Not tropical music as is popularly defined, and certainly nothing a tourist agent would use to entice potential travelers to tropical beats. Only 3 of the 24 tracks here have been previously released.
Black Appalachia treads more familiar territory. Subtitled String Bands, Songsters and Hoedowns, the disc contains quite a few upbeat numbers and instrumentals, although there’s nothing here that’s gonna end up on the Nashville Network.
The lyrics on the Texas disc may be about riding the range, but these were not the songs of Gene Autry or Roy Rogers. While you’d never guess from the western movies, it’s estimated as much as a quarter of all cowboys were black. Guitars and harmonica provide minimal accompaniment.
A Warrior On The Battlefield collects 25 samples of a cappella quartets between the wars. The style was evolving rapidly, and ranges from almost barbershop harmonies to the more sophisticated to jubilee style, most notably by the Golden Gate Quartet. The sound originated in the deep south, and by the middle of the century was at it’s most popular. With the practitioners now gone, the tradition continues today in Bluegrass. On the surface that may seem odd, but listening to this disc, outside of accompaniment, there’s not much difference between the Bethel Quartet Davis Bible Singers and Bill Monroe.