Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, Vol. 1 - Various Artists
Since 1957, Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music has served as a catalyst for folk’s progression and preservation, attracting students who would go on to greater glories (such as the Byrds’ Jim–later Roger–McGuinn) and providing an intimate performing space for a wide range of artists. On the verge of its 50th anniversary, the School has enlisted instructors and some higher-profile kindred spirits, including the Mekons’ Jon Langford, Freakwater’s Janet Bean, Wilco’s John Stirratt, and the Bad Livers’ Danny Barnes, to perform a generous selection of 23 folk standards. Many of these are well-known and all have long stories (documented in the accompanying booklet), but they hold up well and a new generation does them proud. There’s rarely a dropoff in quality from the better-known recording artists to the instructors, though a couple of the latter treat the material with a reverence that borders on sterility. Among the liberties taken, Elaine Moore brings a ragtime twist to the spiritual “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” Bill Brickey delivers an uptempo, syncopated “Down in the Valley,” and Dan Zanes and band inject some reggae toasting into “Drunken Sailor.” The music is acoustic but rarely solo, with supporting instrumentation and harmonies adding to the communal, hootenanny spirit. –Don McLeese
