by David A. James
In 1960 a California school teacher named Chris Strachwitz scraped together some money and released an album by a then unknown Texas country blues picker named Mance Lipscomb. For Strachwitz it was the fulfillment of his dream of recording the music of AmericaÌs traditional musicians, which he had grown to love since immigrating to the States as a child. Over the next four decades the label he founded would come to be known as perhaps the premier purveyor of roots music and much more. A new five CD box set, the Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary Collection, is both a kaleidoscopic look at the diverse styles of music found in America and abroad, and a testament to the efforts of one man to bring largely unknown performers to a wider audience.
Subtitled The Journey of Chris Strachwitz, the set is limited to performances Strachwitz himself was involved in recording. This hardly narrows the scope of the project, which at times seems to be a veritable whoÌs who of traditional folk artists. Bluesmen (and women) Big Joe Williams, Big Mama Thornton, Jesse Fuller (whose well known San Francisco Bay Blues opens the first disc), Katie Webster, and the legendary Lightning Hopkins can be found alongside bluegrass star Del McCoury, country great Rose Maddox, Tex-Mex favorite Flaco Jimenez, zydeco pioneers Clifton Chenier and his son C.J., and Cajun stompers BeauSoleil. That many of these artists were discovered by Strachwitz bears witness to his ability to sniff out talent. Beyond the big names lies a wealth of material by lesser known, though no less deserving, individuals whose music spans the genres of jazz, gospel, old time, avant-garde, mariachi, world, and more.
The recordings are arranged chronologically and provide a cultural history of America in the second half of the twentieth century. Strachwitz, inspired by the musicologist Alan Lomax, frequently set off on recording trips across the country in the Î60s and Î70s, always searching for new sounds, as well as the voices of tradition. His travels extended to Europe, and his interests reached as far away as Belize and Afghanistan. As the years covered by this set progress, the collection encompasses an ever expanding and seemingly endless array of styles.
Many of the best performances are by virtual unknowns. Mexican traditionalists Trio San Antonio deliver true south-of-the-border melodies. Pentecostal minister Bill Neely weds a snappy country melody with an apocalyptic sermon, creating a sharp contrast on SatanÌs Burning Hell. Sonny TreadwayÌs Jesus Will Fix It For You is a bouncing steel guitar instrumental boogie. J.E. Mainer and his family serve up a rollicking hillbilly romp on The Country Blues. A 1968 recording by Bongo Joe called I Wish I Could Sing defies description, though it would sound right at home on a mid Î90s Tom Waits album.
Despite traversing some pretty turbulent years in American history, political commentary is fairly limited here, although Lightning Hopkins and Big Joe Williams address the war in Vietnam and the assassination of Martin Luther King respectively. On a more lighthearted note, Rose Maddox pines for her younger days on the hilarious Single Girl, and Big Mama Thornton belts out one of the sauciest versions of the Willie Dixon classic Little Red Rooster ever recorded. The all female Any Old Time String Band delivers a lilting take on Irving Berlin's See You In C-U-B-A. Mercury Blues, popularized by Steve Miller in the Î70s, is heard here by its originator, K.C. Douglas. The final track is Aubrey GhentÌs recent recording of Just A Closer Walk With Thee, a smoldering example of the kind of gospel that could make even the staunchest heathen think twice.
This remarkable collection, which includes extensive liner notes and photos in a sixty eight page booklet, is well worth the hefty asking price. This is no pop music set, the 106 performances here share a common bond of being rooted in the folk tradition. At a running time of over six hours, this collection covers a huge diversity of musical ideas with nary a synthesized note to be heard. Although Chris Strachwitz may have long ago abandoned his teaching career in favor of the labor of love that Arhoolie Records has become, he has nonetheless remained an educator, teaching all of us the value of the rich musical traditions which this country has spawned. For that, and for this collection, he deserves our thanks.