The Bottom Line
Pros
- "Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister"
- "Battleship of Maine"
- "I'll Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms"
Cons
- None.
Description
- Seventy-two rare tracks, beautifully remastered from original sources, on three CDs.
- Detailed and fascinating booklet including Charlie Poole bio and many rare photos.
- Discs two and three are multi-artist extravaganzas, an amazing glimpse into true Americana.
Guide Review - Charlie Poole - You Ain't Talkin' To Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country
Musical time capsules have become common as interest has increased in old-time "mountain music," a form collectively (and inaccurately) known as bluegrass. This 3-disc set, primarily containing the amazing banjo work of Charlie Poole, is the roots of those roots, some of the earliest recordings of this style of music, and is absolutely fascinating to listen to.Charlie Poole innovated his own unique style of claw-finger banjo playing as well as writing some crisp and clever lyrics (with songs that have fed the folk and country trough for decades), but as amazing as these historical recordings are, more interesting still is reading about the man's heartbreaking life.
The CD booklet was primarily written by award-winning composer Henry "Hank" Sapoznik, pulling details from Poole's biography by Kinney Rorrer. The story painted of the wildman musician is at sharp odds with the haunting pictures of a wide-eyed, clean-cut young man posing in suit and tie. Indeed, the almost scary cover portrait by comic artist R. Crumb seems to do more to capture the man, image and reality, than those old photos can. Charlie Poole not only set a standard for country music to come, but sadly, for country artists, as well. He drank himself to death at the age of 39. His legacy remains in these amazing, ancient recordings. While some tunes are familiar, the lyrics have mutated in the years that have passed; the hiss and crackle of the old recordings do not hide the genius lurking therein.
