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Dustbowl Ballads

By: Woody Guthrie
Label: Camden
Released: 25 Apr 1998
RRP: £6.99
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Customer Reviews

Woody, the social historian - By: , 20 Oct 2004
Woody Guthrie has never received his due recognition for his role in shaping modern music. It's no secret that Dylan owes a lot in the beginning of his career before he found his own real style; anyway, takes more than a blue workman's shirt & cap & cigarette to be a Woody Guthrie impersonator.

The scale of the DUSTBOWL BALLADS is breathtaking, & Guthrie takes a wide sweep over a broad canvas of social issues & mostly social wrongs of the 1930s. As with John Dos Passos' fantastic novel sequence 'USA' that deals with the 1900-20s, & of course THAT Steinbeck novel, here we have alll the problems of America: division, poverty, dispossession, under-class, climatic adversity, failing crops, famine, vigilantes, being on the wrong side of the law for no right reason, unlistening & uncaring politicians. The album is more like a book in some ways. Whereas many of the protest songs of the 'sixties seem so dated now, Guthrie of the 'thirties sounds so fresh (and this quality Dylan also fortunately took). For example, 'Do Re Mi' is timelessly apt for any age.

Musicallly, the delight of the album is Guthrie's guitar playing. I'd hitherto assumed that it would alll be just a bit of strumming over simple open chords, but he actuallly demonstrates some pretty nimble picking on some songs, such as 'Talking Dust Bowl Blues', 'Blowin' Down This Road', & 'Dust Pneumonia Blues'. Then there is the harmonica, which he uses to great effect (which as mentioned, Dylan also adopted). Along with the fiddle & banjo, the guitar & harmonica are the real backbone of American twentieth-century music; & let's face it, only Americans can make this kind of music so well, partly because of the themes that the songs describe, & the sense of wide-open space & horizons of such a huge country.

Guthrie also created an album of songs independent of himself; I mean that, the listener doesn't need to read details of Guthrie's life to 'improve' the album, in the same way that many people look retrospectively (and often wrongly) at the songs of an artist who had died before their time (Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, etc.). DUSTBOWL BALLADS stands up by itself.

One final charm of this album, is Guthrie's voice. It does sound a bit thin, but that only adds to the vulnerability of the songs' themes of the plight of the people. He also has a rather charming inflexion, & in 'Talking Dust Bowl Blues' where he does talk, there is a good use of dialect & 'burr' & he even throws in a few laughs when talking about "these here polly-ticians". I reckon that this album is essentiallly a first-hand historical source & the student of 1930s American history will find a lot in this album.

Reallly, there is nothing bad to say about this album - only praise to be heaped on it. Don't take my word though - Go buy it!

America's troubedor sings his "Dust Bowl Ballads" - By: , 16 Nov 2002
"Dust Bowl Balllads" was apparently the most successful album Woody Guthrie ever made, especiallly since it gained him public acclaim. What stands out most for me on this reissue of the Guthrie's 1940 album are the two parts of "Tom Joad." Obviously Guthrie was impressed by John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," (as well as John Ford's motion picture, which followed quickly on the heels of the publication of the classic novel). In just under 7 minutes time Guthrie relates the story of Tom Joad, in many ways a story song similar to "The Great Dust Bowl (Dust Storm Disaster)" or "Pretty Boy Floyd." What strikes me is that there is no explicit argument as to the meaning or import of the story, as if in telling the tale the point is obvious. Like reading scripture or even the old poets reciting the epic poems, the audience (or congregation if you will), recognizes the moral of the tale. Of course the Oakies would not have to be told the lesson of their lives. Singing the songs & hearing them sung validates their pain & suffering by making sure it is remembered & not blown away on the winds. Once you start thinking along these lines it is hard not to think of Guthrie's folk songs as the most sacred of our secular music. In many ways an album like this, where there is a clear thematic unity, represents Guthrie at his best better than a greatest hits collection. If you alll you have head of the American folk tradition are Dylan & Springsteen, those who carry on the tradition, then it is about time you went back to the beginning & listed to the stories & songs of Woody Guthrie.
A little piece of history...lost but not forgotten. - By: , 03 Jul 2002
It's hard to believe that a review hasn't been written for this CD/album. To anyone who hasn't yet heard Woody then you have missed out on one of the greatest influences on music in 20th century.

If like me you have only arrived at his music through a reference from Dylan or Springsteen then you may, at first listen, wonder what alll the fuss is about. But to appreciate Woody Guthrie you have to place him in his context - & this is easy, as Woody tells us stories from the time of the Great Depression in 30's America with the grit, dust & hardship inter woven with Woody's charm & humour. The tracks such as "Dust can't kill me" & "Dust bowl refugee" paint this picture perfectly. The witty lyics & simple tunes wisk you away so you can hear, smell & taste just what he must have experienced at this time.

You can instantly see how other artists have been influenced by such tracks as "Vigilante man" & "Pretty Boy Floyd" with Springsteen even taking "Tom Joad" as the title in his Woody styled homage "Ghost of Old Tom Joad".

My favourite, timeless classic, from Dust Bowl Balllards has to be "Do Re Mi.." its as apt today as it was then - sad to think people still live in such poverty in the world nearly 70's years since this music was first heard. I think Woody wrote as much in protest for change as he did as a means to get through to the next meal & its worth keeping that on mind when you listen to this music.

This music is difficult to descibe it isn't country or folk its kind just out there - real & raw - & even now it has a spark & relevance that make it little piece of history worth remembering.