Re: Sampler questions
R42N81 (R42N81@aol.com)
Wed, 22 Apr 1998 21:11:25 -0400 (EDT)
I don't know if I can, but I will try to not make this too long. Several
years ago I awoke to my clock radio which was set to my local NPR affiliate,
and caught while half asleep an interview of Pierce Pettis and then a
rendition of his song Legacy. My wife was running a record store and I bugged
her for 6 months to get me the album. It was nowhere to be found in the
phonolog of in print music or any of the updates. Eventually her company sent
her to Albany N.Y. for some sort of music retailer convention and the Windham
Hill rep. was promoting the Legacy compilation. My wife said to the rep. is
that Pierce Pettis? The guy was astounded that someone in the midwest had
even heard of him let alone any of his work. It turned out that after his
exposure on NPR's Morning Edition his CD release was delayed, but they decided
to release a compilation of new folk music using Legacy as the title cut. The
rep. rewarded my wife with 2 copies of Legacy (one for in store play, and one
for her estute husband). From that CD I discovered John Gorka, Bill
Morrissey, Cliff Eberhardt, and several others. It is still one of my all
time favorite CD's. And my wife stopped accusing me of dreaming the whole
thing.
Compilations like the Christine Lavin- Follow That Road, On A Winter's Night,
When October Goes, and Big Times in a Small Town, are veritable treasures for
the uninitiated. One more thing I truly enjoy the live performances intros,
warts and all better than most of the studio recordings of the same songs.
It's almost tangible when the artist connects with the audience. Give me
Steve Goodman's live recordings any day over the studio stuff. The live
Goodman compared to the studio Goodman is the difference between a Roman
Candle and a candle.
Also I recommend the 20 years of Philo Folk, it is inexpensive and has really
good stuff, (it was a helluva good tour, too).
Later on,
Rich