Smithsonian Folkways has a long and distinguished reputation as champions of the maritime tradition, and the long overdue reissue of the 32 tracks on their Classic Maritime Music compilation is a wonder to behold. None of the records that these songs originally appeared on is in print, and the compilers have done a commendable job at choosing representative tracks from the large array of artists whose work has graced many a turntable over the course of the last 60 years. Opening the set are two cuts ...   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

From the band name and punny album title, one would be forgiven for expecting the Salty Dogs' Autoharpoon to be, say, maritime folk-punk songs from Newfoundland about the drunken adventures of whalers or something like that. In fact, the Salty Dogs are an Arkansas quartet proffering pure old-fashioned honky tonk country in the great tradition of early Ray Price and the Bakersfield posse. Singer/songwriter Brad Williams knows his two-steps and shuffles, and he and the band, esp...   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

Smithsonian Folkways ninth installment of its popular Classic Series chronicles the golden age of the American railroad. Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways picks up where 2004's Classic Maritime Music collection left off, unearthing previously unheard of gems from their archives along with classics from some of the genre's finest practitioners. Twenty-one of these remarkable folk songs, field recordings, tall tales, and work songs appear on CD for the first time, from the cr...   [ read more ]

CD $11.38