Disco de Woody Guthrie: “Buffalo Skinners: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 4”

the more of Woody's music I hear the more I understand what a national treasure he is. I reccomend all the Asch recordings very highly.

As I have mentioned on early reviews concerning the music of folklorist Woody Guthrie if any of the older generation, the "Generation of `68" needs an introduction to Woody Guthrie then I ask what planet have you been on. Woody's "This Land Is Your Land" is practically a national anthem (and in some quarters is treated as just that). Not as well known, but which now should be rectified with the production of this fourth volume of Woody's work from his most prolific Asch Recording period of the 1940's, is his rather large compilation of Western cowboy-oriented material. This, as the title of this entry notes, reflects those Oklahoma hills back home from whence he came.

Woody as a folklorist, as well as a singer and songwriter, was not interested in the cowboy as created by the movies, especially the one-dimensional one created in the hey day of the cowboy movie in the 1930's, but the real one. The one who spend many a lonely night out on the trail herding cattle to market; who went hungry and dusty for long periods; and, who was nicked up, kicked up and busted up by man and animal alike. And the one who liked his entertainments short and sweet, a little simple music, a lot of simple liquor and plenty of women on those raucous Saturday nights off the range. Not much room in those tales, either for 1930's Hollywood or Woody's for that matter, for the ones portrayed in literature by Larry McMurtry or Cormac McCarthy or on film by "Brokeback Mountain" or those not recognized until much later like those of the black cowboys of the Oklahoma range, but those are stories for another day.

This compilation covers a wide variety of songs that pay honor, justifiably or not, to the norms of the cowboy profession. "Ranger's Command" and "Buffalo Skinners" give a sense of the hard life on the trail and the pitfalls of ignorant cowboys being taken in by primitive agrarian or industrial capitalists or their agents-and, as in the case, of "Buffalo Skinners" the quick and sure retribution when the rank and file cowboy got his dander up. Songs of the trail and its travails get a workout here, as well, in "Little Dogies" and "Chisholm Trail". The loneliness of the life and the vagaries of love in such a transient profession are reflected in "Cowboy Waltz" and "Red River Valley". The theme of 'rough and ready' justice is revealed in songs like "Slipknot" and "Billy The Kid". Overall these twenty- six tracks, several of which also have Woody's long time traveling friend Cisco Houston accompanying him(a man whose career and place in the folk pantheon deserves more attention separately), bring to life the `real' cowboy experience as it was known in Woody's time.

As always with a Smithsonian/Folkways production the CD includes a booklet of copious liner notes that detail, for the folk historian or the novice alike, the history of each song and its genesis. I am always surprised by the insightful detail provided and as much as I know about this milieu always find something new in them. Moreover, the information here provided inevitably details the rather mundane genesis of some very famous songs like "Pretty Boy Floyd".

Note: I want to address separately the subject of one of Woody's most famous songs, and perhaps one of the first of his songs that I remember hearing back in the days, the above-mentioned "Pretty Boy Floyd". I have reviewed Larry McMurtry's novel of the same title elsewhere in this space. That novel details the actual `exploits of this notorious murderer at the tail end of the Old West period (and maybe, really, the post-Old West period). Woody's version reflects a 1930's romantic notion of this primordial outlaw as a modern day Robin Hood. Thus, even a realist like Woody, who could write with compassion and wit about the real sufferings of his beloved Okies and others, got caught up in the myths of the Old West that have sustained generations of Americans, including this reviewer, eagerly looking for a heroic past. For all its false premises though, Woody's "Pretty Boy" has a line that still has a kernel of folk wisdom that is what drew me to the song in the first place-"some men will rob you with a six gun, and some with a fountain pen". Sounds prophetic, right?

Few singer songwriters have such an indisputable lineage of influence as Woody Guthrie. Though he didn't invent the topical or protest song, his wavering leathery voice raised it to new heights. A young Bob Dylan's life was changed forever after a friend put on some Guthrie 78s in the early 1960s. Guthrie's legacy traced right through this gruff young poet and impacted twentieth century music like a sledge. Since then, Guthrie has become solid Americana as indispensable as Francis Scott Key, Stephen Foster, or Lead Belly. His "This Land is Your Land" will forever echo as a kind of alternate national anthem. The hundreds of songs he penned examined the nooks and crannies of America, including the dispossessed and the down and out. His years on the road also exposed him to cowboy culture, which this, the final, volume of the Asch recordings focuses on.

Some famous songs appear here: the moving but highly romanticized "Pretty Boy Floyd" and the eerie "Buffalo Skinners." Both became Guthrie staples. Country western standards bookend these classics, such as "Whoopie Ti Yi Yo, Get Along Little Dogies," "I Ride an Old Paint," "Froggie Went A-Courtin'," and "Chisholm Trail" ("Come a ti yi yippee yippee yea"). Raucous party songs evoke the spirit, and spirits, of the day. "Buffalo Gals" and "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" would get a modern dance floor quaking. They groove. "Along in the Sun and the Rain" provides a haunting musical analogy to Guthrie's own life. He sings about shaking a lot of hands, kissing a lot of lips, and getting the job done. "Slipknot" speaks out against lynching in classic mocking protest music style. Even a few heart tuggers, "Red River Valley," "Little Darling," and "Snow Deer" get thrown in here and there to showcase Guthrie's shocking range. The disc ends with a satirical skit by Guthrie and Cisco Houston as stammering radio peddlers ("business is business you know"). Like previous volumes, everything included was recorded in the mid to late 1940's.

The four volume Asch recordings showcase Guthrie's importance like no other set. Anyone searching for a good sampling of this fascinating and significant American artist should begin with this collection. Not only do the CD booklets contain voluminous song notes and citations, they also tell the story of Guthrie. Add the music and the entire phenomenon unfolds. Guthrie continues to influence American music and attitudes to this day. Each new generation rediscovers the message. This keeps his songs ringing out from concert halls, coffee houses, radio stations, mp3s, and street corners. Wherever one finds America, one finds Woody Guthrie. This remains true.