On a recent trip to Sydney I stumbled on, and bought, a box set anthology of southern rural U.S. gospel music. The set covers the whole spectrum of styles, black and white, and concentrates on the period 1925-1950 although the earliest track is a cylinder recording from 1902 and some later recordings are included if they are in older styles.
The set is entitled Goodbye, Babylon and is exemplary in every respect. It contains five CDs of music and one of recorded sermons. Sound reproduction is state of the art, each CD is as full of goodies as it possibly could be (nearly 30 tracks), track selection and programming is wonderful—although enthusiasts will inevitably play the ‘why did they include this rather than that’ game. It comes with a booklet that is a joy to read, packed full of photos and information about the artists and their backgrounds and the compilers even supply the Biblical context that inspired the lyrics for each song.
It is really hard to compile a great anthology. Selecting great tracks is only the first step. Programming here is wonderful; IMO this is the Harry Smith Anthology of rural gospel music. Sacred harp music is followed by string band accompanied music and then by a jublilee quartet with a kind of inevitability that is as surprsising as it is enjoyable. Artists range from the thoroughly predictable, Thomas Dorsey, The Carter family, the Golden Gate Quartet, to the hopelessly obscure. When I call this a box set I really mean it; it’s packaged in a wooden box.
Just in case somebody thinks I should have designated this OT, I happily inform you that fife is clearly audible on several tracks.
I’m not bumping this for any other reason than to share the URL to website with a complete track listing and sound samples from disc 1 on the offchance that the handful of people with an interest in this set might want to hear some of it and check out the contents.
Wombat,
I missed this thread the first time around due to my late, lamented tooth. This is an incredible compilation. The price is a bit of a shock but then it’s 6 CDs. Thanks for the url too.
Mike
Wombat,
I missed this thread the first time around due to my late, lamented tooth. This is an incredible compilation. The price is a bit of a shock but then it’s 6 CDs. Thanks for the url too.
Mike
Sorry to hear about your tooth Mike. I paid about $A180 which is sadly about what you would pay were each CD full price. Of course you get the 200 page booklet and the wooden box as well. What makes it worth the outlay is the incredibly good sound quality—even the 1902 cylinder recording of the Dinwiddie Quartet is extremely clear—the stunning track selection and the fact that you get nearly 30 tracks per CD.
This compilation sounds wonderful. I’m especially interested in the Sacred Harp music–I have a few field recordings and they send me soaring, and I’ve sung some too, in the hollow square. A stirring experience.
Really, I mean the whole 7-shape Gospel singing movement, of Kiefer-Ruebush, that bridged Moody-Sankey and Sacred Harp (really Southern Harmony-type) in the postwar 1800’s, and on into the 20th Century.
The Stamps-Baxter Melody Quartet doesn’t appear although their earliest recordings would fall within the right time frame.
Quite a few of the tracks feature singers taught in the Stamps-Baxter schools and/or using the Stamps-Baxter (or similar) hymn books. So, off hand, I’d say that tradition is as well-represented as any other major tradition, but no more so. My impression is that the compilers have made a very big effort to give a balanced representation of all the styles that would have been recorded between 1925 and 1950 and they’ve certainly teased out a quite a lot of rather obscure material that might have enjoyed only very brief and local popularity.
Check out the track listings in the link I gave in my second post. You’ll almost certainly find things missing you think should be there—I certainly did. But I’m enjoying it for what it is and not for what it isn’t.
I actually play in a gospel/blugrass band, but don’t advertise it here much. We’re out playing in churches nearly every weekend. There must be several different kinds of Gospel. Southern Gospel is probably the main menu…a combination of black protestant blues/jazz. I like it a lot.
