Arhoolie Records 40th anniversary (Patreon)

This is brandon.
I thought I'd share some of the music from that Arhoolie Records collection I mentioned a couple episodes ago. What's wild is that collection was released 20+ years ago so we're now past the 60th anniversary. The guy I was talking about who did all the research is still alive, he's 90 years old now: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Strachwitz

He's been living in the bay area since before I was born which is how I knew him. He's got a record shop in el cerrito that I've been to a few times, and Les Blank (Werner Herzog documentarian, "burden of dreams" https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0087511/ when he was alive, had his office upstairs.

Anyway here's some of that music. I'll start with the unbeatable "Brother James" by Big Joe Williams, who was straight out of jail when he recorded this. I think he went right back afterward. That voice is a force!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XdAekD_HWw

Here's Black Ace, who I mentioned specifically, this was the guy who Strachwitz had to track down strings for.  I chose to link the original 1937 recording because it's a bit quicker, but the one on the collection is from the late 50s or early 60s. That's what Strachwitz was doing, tracking down all these older musicians who had recorded one or two tracks (back when you didn't make albums, just individual songs), and getting them to record anew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2NYLnWFfog

Now this is the kind of music I basically avoided listening to all my life (lol) but has its own kind of charm. Specifically I liked the story of how the Hodges family all lived in a single-room shack and kept chickens that roosted in the trees. They called themselves the Hodges Brothers but the whole family got involved if I recall correctly. They'd recorded a couple songs much earlier in their careers and I think had occasional radio spots around the time Strachwitz recorded them. The reason I say I avoided listening to this kind of music is I worked at the oldest folk club west of the Mississippi from age 8-25 or so, but I basically also grew up there from age 0 because my parents worked there. I just heard too much of this kind of music and don't like the comping on the mandolin as a rhythm element, it just bugs me. Anyway I have to admit I like the line "my gal don't wear no perfume at all, but you can smell her just the same."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka0PeUHsbKY

I didn't talk about this one in the show at all but you wanna see some real as heck zydeco, you can't beat this. Albert Chevalier performed at like... shrimp fries and stuff at restaurants, and that's where Strachwitz caught him, which is why you can hear rumblings of people talking in the background. I don't want to say it "lends authenticity" because it's authentic as heck, there's no lending involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp76FXlMShw

I don't remember the story of this one. I think it was something like these guys were street performers. What I like about it is how every instrument is out of tune and they are just blasting away on whatever they got. As a metal connoisseur (lol) I feel like some of this music is way more hardcore than metal can ever get in terms of vibe and instrumentalism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2Yr8nRSmE

I was gonna show you all the Eibisberger Duo song, the one up in the austrian mountains where they had to bring a specific bottle of wine, but it doesn't appear to be on youtube. So I'll leave you with this wild track from George Coleman / Bongo Joe. It gets a bit long but it leaves an impression that's for sure. I forget the circumstances of how Strachwitz got hold of this guy but when you talk about folks like Moondog with their "snake rhythms" Bongo Joe was already doing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpMl35Zq3Hg

Well, enjoy! What's great about this collection is the stories involved, so I hope some of you can check that out with the liner notes that accompany this collection. It doesn't look like you can get it on the Arhoolie website anymore but you can find it out there. Visit the Arhoolie foundation anyway and give them a look. https://arhoolie.org/

there's audio interviews, photo galleries, all kinds of stuff.
well there you go, that's what I got!!!