Products

Edie's album features her gorgeous singing, in a vocal style and sound which will remind you of Emmylou Harris and Joan Baez. Some of these songs are intimate, gentle, acoustic "folk" numbers. Others are passionate, driving rockers. This is uplifting music that reminds us all to live by "the truth of the heart."

New West 6262 Another fine release from our restless troubadour, still on the highway, while settling into New York City. He treats us to his blend of hard scrabble vignettes of American life, like "Calico County" and "Burnin' It Down", philosophical whimsey like "Warren Hellman"s Banjo" & "21st Century Blues" and poignant heart hitters like "Love's Gonna Blue My Way" & "Remember Me". Usual fine backing to his husky earnestness, as his saga continues to entrance us. (John McCord)

New West 6278 Patty follows her fine gospelish "Downtown Church" from 2010, with a diverse set of songs, a pleading "Don't let Me Die In Florida", the whimsical, dance hall-like "Get Ready Marie", a burning "Go Wherever You Wanna Go" and other tunes she throws her voice and her heart into. With a fine band including Cody & Luther Dickinson on percussion and guitars, and new friend Robert Plant helping on vocals. Another fine one from Patty. (John McCord)

9 Below NBP 003 Great new CD of blues done old-style. A trio of vocal, guitar, and harmonica featuring our local favorite Alabama Mike, with his always passionate and soul stirring vocals. Anthony Paule backs him with searing, mostly acoustic guitar, while Scot Brenton brings it home with driving harmonica. The songs, mostly originals by the Hound Dogs (except for a fine "You Gotta Move" and Mercy Dee's "Red Light"), portray love and the economy ("SSI Blues" & "Recession Blues"), the need to be "The Real McCoy", and a plea to "Don't Drag My Love Down". Another winner from Alabama Mike.

The great Texas bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins is captured brilliantly in this deeply moving film. Blank reveals Lightnin’s inspiration, and features a generous helping of classic blues. Includes performances at an outdoor barbeque and a black rodeo; and a visit to his boyhood town of Centerville, Texas. This powerful portrait is among Blank’s special masterworks. 31 minutes.Video also contains: The Sun’s Gonna Shine (1969) / By Les Blank with Skip Gerson 31 minutes.

Arhoolie CD/LP 544 / HowellDevine is the kind of blues you don't hear anymore. The raw slide guitar played by Joshua Howell evokes the Mississippi Hill Country greats like Fred McDowell and RL Burnside. The rhythm section of drummer and percussionist Pete Devine, along with the bass of either Safa Shokrai or Joe Kyle Jr., breaks from the norm in blues, providing rich and complex textures integral to the music rather than a simple backing section for a soloist. The result is a sound which stands in stark contrast to the typical blues heard in bars these days and would more likely be shaking the floors of a Southern juke joint some 70 years ago. HowellDevine brings life back to that sound, infusing the rural blues with their own unique style.

Arhoolie CD 541 / Artists: Lawrence "Blackie" Fruge, Cleveland Crochet, Nathan Abshire, Lawrence Walker, Sandy Austin, Virgil Bozman String Band, Jimmy Choates, Vincent & Cagley, Amar Devillier, Elise Deshotel, Shuk Richard, Musical Four Plus One, The Oklahoma Tornadoes, Ernest Tipidoe French Band, Wilson Granger, and Tan Benoit.

NOTE: THE LISTED PRICE OF THIS ITEM HAS CHANGED TO REFLECT THE ACTUAL RETAIL PRICE OF $25.98. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE CONFUSION. Bear Family CD / 24 songs Recorded in 1912. An extraordinary reissue, mastered from new test pressings of the original metal parts. Exceptional sound quality. Chris Strachwitz writes: "these acoustic recordings sound almost electrical... For anyone who has any interest in music form the Caribbean, this is a must-have item. "
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Spanish language autobiography of Miguel Martinez, the premier mariachi trumpeter who started with Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán. This work would have never been completed without the important help of Jonathan Clark, who has played in mariachis for decades and has become one of the primary historians of the genre. The book not only contains of course the life and times of this amazing trumpeter, but also an index that lists all of his many compositions and who they have been recorded by. I am amazed at what a prolific composer he has been. There is also an appendix listing the huge number of Mexican movies he appeared in from 1942-1978. The only sad thing about this book, is that it is printed on relatively poor transluscent paper, which makes black and white photos appear in less than ideal quality. This edition is limited to 2000 copies, and Jonny has brought me five copies for resale. Get yours quickly! (CS)

Brand new CD from our very own John McCord, longtime manager of Down Home Music Store. Owner Chris Strachwitz writes: "When John started writing songs in 1997, he mostly played for himself and his sweetheart Rosalie. But after Down Home's disastrous 2007 attempt to become more commercial on 4th Street in Berkeley, he decided to really try his hand at the songwriting racket. John has a really nice and pleasant voice, and sings his wide-ranging songs with conviction. On this record, which is produced by Johnny Harper (actually the original manager of Down Home Music), he is accompanied by a nice group of local musicians including: Bobby Black (steel guitar), Tony Marcus (fiddle), Patrick McKenna (bass), Rick Alegria (drums), Johnny Harper (Telecaster), plus additional musicians. A lovely record by a great guy who has kept Down Home going through thick and thin. Congrats to John!"

Flariella Records CD / Considered "one of the finest artists of her generation" (All Music), Iris DeMent has returned with her first album of original music in 16 years, Sing The Delta, out on her own Flariella label. The album brings the delta to life through timeless songs, DeMent's richly evocative voice and support from a cast of first-call musicians including Al Perkins, Reese Wynans, and album co-producers Bo Ramsey and Richard Bennett.
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Tompkins Square 2776 / 3-CD box set with booklet / Work, play, pray – the lifecycle of the rural America that created our greatest generation of country music, 1923 to 1936. These volumes survey songs of labor and occupation, hardship and loss; dance tunes, comic numbers, and novelties that provided distraction and fun; and the hymns and sacred pieces that reached beyond the raw material of daily existence for something enduring. Work Hard, Play Hard, Pray Hard features 19 previously un-reissued sides and is largely drawn from the collection of the late Don Wahle of Louisville, Kentucky. A hillbilly 78 collector for many years, his records were hours away from the dump when producer Nathan Salsburg recovered them. Compiled and annotated by Salsburg with accompanying essays by Sarah Bryan (editor of the Old Time Herald), Amanda Petrusich (New York Times; author of It Still Moves), and John Jeremiah Sullivan (Southern editor of the Paris Review; author of Blood Horses and the essay collection Pulphead).
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Arhoolie CD 429 / These recordings were made in November of 1994 at Revered Wilson's home and church in Mississippi. The CD includes reissues of his 1950s 78 rpm records with his sons on harps. Wilson, 83, is finally winning some recognition for his love of spiritual music. He was named as one of 11 folk artists from across the nation to win a National Heritage Fellowship grant given by the National Endowment for the Arts. Wilson's music has enjoyed recent accolades at the Chicago Blues Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife and other traditional American musical festivals. A tribute album to the legendary blues artist Robert Johnson on which Wilson played his version of the spiritual "This Train (Is Bound For Glory)" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1993.

Arhoolie 540 / Arhoolie's amazing new release! 4 CDs with a 192 page book documenting Arhoolie Records' 50th Anniversary Celebration held at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley in February 2011. Over 175 full color photos by premier Bay Area concert photographer Mike Melnyk, reminiscences by Chris Strachwitz with Adam Machado, reflections by many of the musicians on what Chris and Arhoolie has meant to them, and almost 5 hours of music recorded live at the three-day event, a benefit for the Arhoolie Foundation. Featured artists: Santiago Jimenez, Jr. y La Familia Peña-Govea, Peter Rowan, Ry Cooder, Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands, The Savoy Family Band, Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, David Doucet, Los Cenzontles, Suzy and Eric Thompson, The Goodtime Washboard 3, Toni Brown and Terri Garthwaite, The Campbell Brothers, Coutry Joe McDonald, Barbara Dane and Bob Mielke's Jazz All Stars, Treme Brass Band, The Creole Belles, Any Old-Time String Band, Maria Muldaur, and Taj Mahal.

Shanachie CD 6002
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Yazoo CD 1080/1 / Representing the oldest style captured on record, Henry Thomas was a singular and important figure. Coming out of Texas at the turn of the century, he left behind a total of 23 issued selections that represent one of the richest contributions to our musical culture. Playing panpipes and guitar with a thrusting drive that evokes a country dance, he gives us a glimpse of black music as it existed late in the 19th century.
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Yazoo CD 2053 / A collection of the greatest barrelhouse piano classics of the 20s and 30s, featuring rare and classic performances by towering artists such as Skip James and Little Brother Montgomery as well as legendary figures such as Louise Johnson and Jabo Williams all at the height of their powers. An amazing array of powerful styles that set the course of rocking blues piano for all time to come.
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Yazoo CD 2056 / This fascinating panorama of acoustic steel guitar performances inspired by the worldwide Hawaiian music craze in the first few decades of the 20th century includes classics from a broad spectrum of musical genres where the Hawaiian acoustic steel took root, featuring jazz, blues, country, vaudeville, and instrumental novelties from the U.S. as well as foreign classics from Trinidad, Argentina, France, Greece and more. The roots of what was to become the pedal steel and Dobro in country music or the blues slide and bottleneck guitar can be heard in these rare recordings.
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Yazoo CD 2071 / Blind Willie McTell was one of the greatest of the pre-World War II country blues artists; he was also an anomaly. Throughout the history of the blues, few artists have matched his total command of rural traditional music. He was a brilliant guitarist equally adept in a variety of styles and had a unique ability to reinvent a few favorite arrangements into new-sounding pieces. He sang, composed and preserved some of the most inventive and breath-taking traditional songs, blues and arrangements of all time. Although his nasal voice did not have great range, it processed volumes of warmth and conviction and was charged with sensitivity and a broad range of emotion. McTell plays the 12-string guitar with unusual clarity and precision, whether performing slow blues with a bottleneck/slide or a fast ragtime dance.

Yazoo CD 7014 / Ethnic Music Classics '25-'48 / Compiled here are many of the greatest performances of world and ethnic music ever recorded. This volume represents a trip around the world, stopping at each port to sample one of that country's finest recordings of its indigenous music. Each of these recordings was captured at a period during the golden age of recording when traditional styles were at their peak of power and emotion. Included inside are extensive notes a beautiful period photographs that work together with the music to communicate an exciting sense of discovery.
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