I admit that I had my doubts when I purchased the American Folk Songbook cd from the Suzy Bogguss website. The doubts were not about the quality of the vocals on her first album (other than her latest Christmas cd released last year) since "Sweet Danger" in 2007. With Suzy, there never has been any doubt in that respect. Besides, she sounded great when my wife and I saw her Christmas Show over 6 months ago at the Loveless Barn.
My doubts with American Folk Songbook were about the material. Of the 17 songs on the album, I only heard of about half of them before. Who ever heard of "Froggy Went a Courtin"? Doesn't sound like a folk song. It made me think right away of "Plunk your magic twanger Froggy" and Andy Devine, a name probably familiar only to seniors like me. (I Can't believe it. There's actually a website called www.plunkyourmagictwangerfroggy.com.) Was Suzy taking more than a nip of the wine on her "Wine, Women & Song" tour when she made this selection? And "Banks of the Ohio" is a song about murder? "Shady Grove", the album's opening track, is the name of a woman? What's going on here? "Wayfaring Stranger" is a tale of a sad journey through life ending in the wish to join loved ones in the hereafter. Oh, joy. "All the Pretty Little Horses" is a lullabye; it has nothing to do with the book of a similar title which I found to be sleep inducing. The title is enough to explain what "Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier" is about. The song is said to predate the Revolutionary War. "Careless Love" and the story of a girl's lost love in "Wildwood Flower" rounded out the songs I was not familiar with.
If you asked me to sing any of the songs I was a bit familiar with, you would not be in for a memorable experience. My overall recall of the lyrics is minimal and I can't sing. I know a good bit of Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" and a fair part of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" plus "Red River Valley" and "Git Along Little Dogies" from my TV cowboy watching youth in the 50's. Over the years since then I've also become a little bit familiar with the beautiful ballad "Shenandoah" plus "Ol' Dan Tucker" being late for his supper, "Rock Island Line" is a mighty good line and fifteen miles on the "Erie Canal". My wife remembers singing "Sweet Betsy From Pike" in grade school.
All kidding aside, this is a great album. (See Ben Foster's review of 8/18/11 on Country Universe.) I feel like I've expanded my musical education by familiarizing myself with these classic American folk songs. The album features a wide variety of instrumentation. Besides the guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica, accordion and concertina, there's a Jew's harp, snare drum, tin whistle and even a hammer dulcimer. (I had to google that last one.) Background vocals are provided by Suzy's "Wine, Women & Song" partners, Matraca Berg and Gretchen Peters, two of the all time great songwriters, plus hubby Doug Crider, Gerald Boyd and Harry Stinson also do some singing.
The album is for sale on her website now and the album and accompanying songbook will be available at Cracker Barrel Restaurants on July 18th. The album will also be available at other stores and digital outlets on August 2nd. My website purchase did not include the songbook and I'm a little confused as to how the package will be offered outside of Cracker Barrel.
Someday, I'd love to see Suzy do an album of old pop standards. Once at the Bottom Line in NYC, I heard her sing "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" and at the Blackfriar's Theatre in Staunton, VA, she sang "Someone to Watch Over Me". On her great "Swing" album from 2003, she recorded "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me". More of that please.
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