LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

“Bessie Smith in Stereo” said jazz critic Leonard Feather in Playboy whenBarbara Dane burst onto the scene in the late ‘50s. Time magazine said of her:“The voice is pure, rich...rare as a 20 karat diamond.” To Ebony magazine, sheseemed “startlingly blonde, especially when that powerful dusky alto voicebegins to moan of trouble, two-timing men and freedom...with stubborndetermination, enthusiasm and a basic love for the underdog she is” Theseven-page Ebony article -their first feature story about a white woman (Nov.1959) - was filled with photos of Dane working with Memphis Slim, WillieDixon, Muddy Waters, et al. During the 1960’s Dane performed and recordedblues, folk, and jazz music in her own style on several labels - one result ofwhich was her 1966 collaboration with the Chambers Brothers for Folkways Records titled “Barbara Dane and theChambers Brothers” - which found this wonderful woman joining forces with a young group of African Americangospel/rock/soul singers known as the Chambers Brothers (later to hit it big with their psychedelic soul song “Time HasCome Today”). This Folkways album (on CD for the first time) finds these ground-breaking legends performing soul-folkgospelversions of songs by Dane, Chambers Brothers, Malvina Reynolds, and Richard & Mimi Farina (a great version ofFarina’s hit “Pack Up Your Sorrows is on here).
T R A C K L I S T I N G :1. It Isn’t Nice 2. You’ve Got To Reap What You Sow 3. You Can’t Make It By Yourself 4. Pack Up Your Sorrows 5. I Am A Weary AndA Lonesome Traveller 6. We’ll Never Turn Back 7. Come By Here 8. Freedom Is A Constant Struggle 9. Go Tell It On The Mountain