'long way to travel 1944-1949' is a collection of previously unreleased material acquired by the Smithsonian from its purchase of Folkways Recordings.
My only regret with this album is that it is not released as part of a complete series of CDs, covering all the unreleased material. My regret comes from the fact that my experience with Woody Guthrie albums on both CD and vinyl is mixed. I have acquired many over the years which left much to be desired in either recording quality or in the quality of the original performance. Like all musical icons, recording companies dredge up any material they can get their hands on and release it with fanfare worthy of the latest hip-hop sensation.
And, Woody Guthrie deserves the very best treatment we can give him, as, with Scott Joplin, Louie Armstrong, and George Gershwin, he is easily one of the greatest American musical originals. Just as virtually no Jazz figure of the 20th century can be totally free of Armstrong's influence, every American singer / songwriter in practice from 1950 and onwards, lead by Bob Dylan, Tom Rush, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, and Richard Farina owes their genre and much of their inspiration to the life and career of Woody Guthrie.
None of the cuts on this album are of new versions of his best-known songs. Most seem to be 'ad hoc' recordings in an amateur Folkways studio and many deal with hitching rides on freight trains and the romance of same. All are sung by Guthrie, accompanying himself on guitar. Some include accompanyment by comrade Cisco Houston.
Recommended.
