I got this the same day as the Jack Nitzsche album, featured ten days ago, also in Clerkenwell Music.
Like that CD, it's another new compilation and another labour of love, this time from the Proper Records label. I'm not knocking the curators and writers from other countries, but I am proud of the fact that so many of these compilations, including yesterday's Beefheart one and the Jack Nitzsche one are put together in the UK. Then there's the high quality fan biographies, like those I've praised of Jonathan Richman and Roedelius, also made in England. Not to mention magazines from Word to The Wire, and online blogs and zines like Tangents.
I guess I bought this because the Carter Family are so often talked about, especially as an influence, but don't seem to be played that much, at least on the radio. So I wanted to hear a bit more of them than the handful of tracks I've got on other compilations.
One thing I'll say is that these songs were never recorded with the expectation that anyone would listen to 25 of them in a row over 70 minutes. That would have seemed very odd in the era of 78 r.p.m. records. I found it difficult to maintain concentration over long periods, and I'd recommend playing no more than eight songs in one go.
Details of this album from Proper Records |
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