Southern Journey, Vol. 8: Velvet Voices - Eastern Shores Choirs, Quartets, And Colonial Era Music

This CD is part of an ambitious reissue program of folklorist (did someone say saint?) Alan Lomax's library of recordings. Recorded during a 1960 trip by Lomax to the Eastern Shores of Virginia, these are not the velvet voices of today's high-gloss studio productions. These are the actual voices of the gospel choirs, jubilee singers, and fisherman who continued to honor their African American musical traditions long after the rest of the world had plunged into the modern age. Colonial fife-and-banjo music is represented by the fascinating song "Joe Turner." The sparkling call-and-response of the "Menhaden Chanties" shows how fishermen once used song to lighten their load when pulling in their nets. But most impressive are the gospel groups the Silver Leaf Quartet and the Bright Light Quartet. Contrary to its title, "So Tired" by the Bright Light Quartet will have you doing cartwheels in the aisles and working happily all through the day. --Ken Hohman