Search - Josh White :: In Chronological Order, Volume 4 (1940-1941)

Vintage White In a Variety of Settings

08/13/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Document Records produces some of the most historically important recordings on the market -- often obsure numbers of siginifcant value to musicians and genre affcianados. However, the average consumer always has to be at least a little careful, as is the case with this offering. Of the songs on this CD, only 4 are pure Josh White vocal and solo guitar. The remainder feature him in trio and band settings. The songs are great, but it's not what most people would expect. A little more clarification on the label would go a long way in this case.The White solo efforts are the highlight of this offering. Uncle Sam Says and Bad Housing Blues are extremely progressive civil rights songs for the era.Note that many of these tracks were gleaned from rare old recordings, the sound quality is predictably uneven, but perfectly within the standards for this type of compilation."