Many people today do not look back to the music of the distant past, which is a real shame as there are some interesting musical gems in that sense. Woody Guthrie (born Woodrow Wilson Guthrie) was a talented musician back in the day and is mere proof that overlooking the past has frequently been the case in his regard. Mixing a huge variety of styles and songs into a Folk Music basis, he was also highly political, writing songs about Socialism and invented the “This Machine Kills Fascists” phrase, which was often put as a sticker onto his guitar. Bob Dylan was inspired by Woody Guthrie in a very big way. Although Woody Guthrie is long gone in the physical world, he has recorded and performed a huge number of songs throughout his lifetime. This compilation is the first in a series of compilations which is a great starting point to understand Woody Guthrie’s music. Let’s listen to this release, and we hope it sounds very good indeed.

1. This Land is Your Land launches right into it, with some awesome acoustic guitar playing and sweet Country-styled singing by Woody Guthrie. This is obviously a political song in some ways, but it sounds really fantastic and awesome throughout. Wood Guthrie certainly could sing and play guitar very well, and he leaves a big impression on the listener. A really cool tune, and definitely worth hearing if you love singer-songwriter acoustic guitar music. Fantastic to listen to. Very awesome.

2. Car Song launches into some awesome guitar playing and some vocalised sound effects, before entering into a rather ridiculous song. This still maintains some innocence and appeal of the song, even if it isn’t the most relatable listening experience. A sweet and rather nonsensical song, but totally enjoyable nonetheless. Very weird but fun listening to it.

3. Rambling Round is another upbeat acoustic guitar piece with some awesome guitar playing and sweet vocals. Woody Guthrie certainly could make some wonderful music, and he sounds like an accomplished musician in the process. A harmonica is present throughout this song as well. Some of the best singer-songwriter lyrics are present in this tune, and it will take you places. Very, very nice. An awesome tune to listen to, this is sweet, majestic and powerful. Nice song.

4. Talking Fishing Blues is a pleasant and enjoyable tune that is constructed around the idea of casually fishing one’s days away, set to pseudo-Blues Music. A very thoroughly impressive and awesome tune that has some interesting musical qualities about it, Woody Guthrie illustrates his worth through his timeless music. A fantastic song with some eye-opening imagery throughout, this song is another absolute winner. A good tale of imaginative bounds, this does sound extremely good for what it is. Not bad for a three-minute-long song, this blows away a lot of the postmodern music being made today. All in all, a winner. This is very imaginative and worth hearing. A fantastic story.

5. Philadelphia Lawyer begins with some acoustic guitar playing and a load of tape hiss, as this is a very old recording. Some backing vocals are present in this song, making it even more flavoursome. A simple piece of music about a marital affair, this does sound very well written and constructed as a piece of music. An awesome tune, and something definitely worth hearing. A good and interesting tune to listen to, this is a stark warning about romantic deeds, which makes sense if you have ever cheated on someone. Good tune though.

6. Lindbergh begins with frenetic acoustic guitar playing, which sounds really cool. Woody Guthrie sings nicely about the deeds of politicians and is an anti-Nazi tune. At the time, Socialism was seen as the antidote to the nastiness and manipulation of the German Nazis, and Woody Guthrie shared those views. Nonetheless, this is fantastic music to listen to. All forms of government have their pros and cons, and this tune is no different. A pleasant listen, despite the political overtones of it all. Nonetheless, a great song. Good to hear.

7. Hobo’s Lullaby begins with some awesome guitar work and enters into a song about sleeping on the streets. Unfortunately, inequality and poverty are major problems in the world today. Woody Guthrie may have seen Socialism as the answer to that problem, whether or not he is correct will be history to judge. This tune is a gloriously good one to listen to, all the same. A really straightforward and fantastic tune about doing it tough. A great song, period. This sounds really fine and sweet for the sentiment in it. A decent song.

8. Pastures of Plenty begins with some interesting acoustic guitar and harmonica throughout. This is another top-notch and solid gold tune. Woody Guthrie sings very well in this song, and he sounds assertive and punchy about travelling through various environments on the planet. Woody Guthrie sounds very cool and he delivers some fantastically worded poetry set to a themed piece of music. A powerful and memorable music statement, and also worth your ears as well. A winner of a tune. This is a fine listen.

9. Grand Coulee Dam begins with some awesome acoustic guitar and vocals with a load of old tape hiss. This is another joyous and adventurous tune that has attention to detail and some awesome storytelling that suits the music very perfectly. A wonderful and fantastic tune to hear, Woody Guthrie was a man ahead of his musical time. He could make some interesting songs, mostly political but always well done. A really great piece of music to listen to, through and through. Not bad for a two-minute-long piece of music.

10. End of the Line begins with some excellently strummed acoustic guitar and a recording that sounds old and distorted. Woody Guthrie sings nicely over it all, and he reflects on what was in his lifetime, the near past of the horrors of The Great Depression and then World War II. In any case, this is a wonderful and upbeat tune that deserves your listening attention. An awesome and powerful tune, there is power and melody in these songs. All in all, a really punchy, interesting and fantastic song to listen to. If you like Folk Music of any sort, you will love these tunes. A great song to listen to. Joyous and life-affirming. A real winner of a tune.

11. New York Town begins with a ton of tape hiss and launches straight into an acoustic Folk Music piece with dual vocals about visiting New York itself, which Woody Guthrie did travel to. A really good song about being broke and hungry in one of the most populated cities in the world, this is still a very sensationally good listen throughout. A good lament, but a sad one at that. Woody Guthrie knew how to make magical stories with music, and that is quite clear in this release. A very awesome and timeless two-and-a-half-minute-long listen. Worth every moment.

12. Gypsy Davy begins with some awesome and enjoyable music about a lady of one’s fancy who goes to see a gypsy for life advice. A really sweet and awesome tune to listen to, this sounds really interesting and wacky simultaneously. Woody Guthrie sure knew how to piece together music of an incredibly talented and excellent nature throughout. A great, great listen to enjoy in full to this very day, this works a huge treat for the listener. A cool and wacky listen, this is likely proto-Hippie Music, in a way. The acoustic guitar playing throughout is audibly tasty.

13. Jesus Christ begins with a melodic guitar lick and launches into a good song about the Christian legend. Although some may question the necessity of Christianity, all the same this is a really wonderful tune about some of the life events of the main man himself. In any case, this music does articulate the legend of Jesus. An awesome listening experience that has some magic and consistency throughout, this tune is another legendary listen. A good tale about the modern loss of the message of Christianity. Very, very good to listen to.

14. This Land is Your Land is another take on the fantastic original song by Woody Guthrie. It has a ton of tape hiss and sweet guitar playing throughout. Even though this has already appeared on this album, this is a genuinely sweet and fantastic listen to hear, once again. The acoustic guitar work throughout is really very good, and this tune is no doubt a real winner musically. This sounds really awesome and cool to hear, and it has some powerful musical appeal and lyrical matter throughout. A tale of USA legend, Woody Guthrie is a powerful reminder of some of the greats musically that have been largely ignored over time. Nice tune, all the same.

15. Do-Re-Mi begins with some sweet acoustic guitar riffing and launches into a golden oldie of a tune. Woody Guthrie sings about the travels from New York to California to head out to better shores, so to speak. This is an interesting tune about migrating across the country, and it sounds absolutely joyous and brilliant throughout. Woody Guthrie sings pleasantly about the advice from police officers that one has been given upon arrival to California. A really great tune to listen to, and very wonderful to hear.

16. Jarama Valley begins with some sweet open guitar chords and riffing, launching into a story about fighting Fascist forces in Spain. Regardless of whether you are politically minded or not, this is a very excellent and wonderful listen, through and through. Neither Communism nor Fascism really has a place in this world, and Woody Guthrie illustrates this point in this song very easily. A sweet and enjoyable listen throughout, and a warning to humanity for embracing dangerous dictators. Nonetheless, this music works extremely well as a musical point. Pleasant and enjoyable to listen to. A fine piece of music, through and through. Another awesome song.

17. The Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done launches right into it with some acoustic guitar playing and vocals that sound extremely interesting throughout. This song is an articulate and interesting story about living through history and doing the best thing to survive. A really fantastic and powerful tune, with many left-wing political references throughout. An awesome and majestic tune to listen to, this music still has huge appeal to this very day. A sweet and enjoyable listen from start to finish. It sounds great on many levels, worth a serious listen.

18. A Picture From Life’s Other Side is a strange song with some good and image-evoking lyrical matter. In any case, musically this holds up very nicely, and the singing throughout is magical. Not bad for a three-minute-long piece of music, Woody Guthrie and friends warms one’s heart and clears one’s conscience about various things. A really sweet, interesting and awesome tune, but with some dark lyrical matter in the second half, this is still 100% worth hearing. A great listen, with some backing vocals in the chorus. A really great tune, even with its dark lyrical matter.

19. Jesse James was a USA cowboy back in the 1800s. This song begins with uptempo acoustic guitar and some good singing about Jesse James himself. Woody Guthrie illustrates the situation at hand, and he points out the combat and damage done by gunfire. Nonetheless, this sounds really magical and fantastic, and it showcases the life of a cowboy at large. For the simplicity of this music, it sounds really driven and outstanding throughout. Definitely worth a listen, this has some lovely lyricism about it all. Worth your time and listening experience. A great tale of USA folklore. Great to hear.

20. Talking Hard Work begins with some jangly acoustic guitar, and launches into a really excellent song about working one’s rear off to achieve the best possible results in life. A really fine and awesome tune to listen to, this music is really a good reminder of the experiences that life can bring to one. The music, playing and artistry of Woody Guthrie cannot be questioned. He puts clearly his life experiences on a medley of sorts in this tune. Nonetheless, this music is so much better than expected. Woody Guthrie is easily a musical great, and he deserves his time and place in the music history books. A really awesome and powerful listen about travelling and working hard, this is a winner. Worth hearing. Totally awesome.

21. When That Great Ship Went Down begins with some jangly acoustic guitar progressions and harmonica. It quickly enters into a song that sounds absolutely beautiful and sweet throughout. Woody Guthrie knew how to make simple yet powerful music count. A really interesting, lively and terrific tune to listen to. This is extremely catchy and tight rhythm-wise, enough for you to bop along to whilst listening to this song. A fantastic tune with some characteristic musicianship and playing throughout, Woody Guthrie is more underrated than overrated as a musician. Nonetheless, a very wonderful and anthemic listen from start to finish. This sounds amazing for what it is. There is an extended acoustic guitar outro, followed by one last chorus. Sweet.

22. Hard Ain’t It Hard launches straight into it, and is a strange song about missing one’s love. A good listen all the same, this is strangely a song about true love, sung by Woody Guthrie from a lady’s perspective. Very odd to hear, this is a strange listen. Woody Guthrie was a straight man, so for him to sing a song such as this is very odd. Nonetheless, this is a good listen, although a bit awkwardly so. This music still has a celebratory and great feel to it. Some tremolo picking emerges in the solo section before this tune wraps up with the chorus after its logical conclusion. Good but very weird, given the musical context of it all.

23. Going Down The Road Feeling Bad begins with harmonica and acoustic guitar playing. It quickly launches into the song at hand and sounds really fantastically good to listen to. It is a real-life blues sort of tune and is perfect to hear when you are down and out. Some lyrical Biblical references are present throughout this song, and Woody Guthrie illustrates this music in the best way possible. This is a thoroughly great song about doing the best thing in life to break out of ordinary circumstances. Nonetheless, a winner, through and through. A sad sort of tune, but nonetheless, a good one. Worth hearing.

24. I Ain’t Got Nobody is a musically wonderful song with upbeat acoustic guitar and gets right into it with some frenetic playing. This is a really cool tune that has some interesting playing and sounds, without any lyrics until the second half of the song. It progresses along very nicely and is a great example of a mainly instrumental tune that one can experience listening to. Woody Guthrie obviously had a huge amount of musical talent, and he easily expressed that in these songs. A very listenable and loveable song nonetheless. Worth hearing.

25. The Sinking of the Reuben James is another shipwreck tune. This begins with some uptempo acoustic guitar and has some direct and emotional singing by Woody Guthrie. This is a pleasant and moving listen from many decades ago about the sinking of a major ship. Nonetheless, this music works incredibly and wonderfully well for a piece of music of this sort. A sweet and magical listen, this is music for those of you who are old fashioned and like their music to be served incredibly simply. A reminder of past events in human history, Woody Guthrie is a great storyteller. Worth listening to, once again. Magical.

26. Why, Oh Why? begins with harmonica and acoustic guitar playing. It launches into a sweet and interesting song about life’s troubles and experiences that are primarily negative. Singing some strange lyrics that are somewhat surreal, Woody Guthrie illustrates his musical legend status by creating some absolutely fantastic and autobiographical songs throughout this album. This is no different, and although this song isn’t the best one on this compilation, it is still an okay listen. A strange listen for this song, it has some rapid-fire lyrics towards the end. Not the greatest song on this compilation.

27. This Land is Your Land (Reprise) is a sub-one-minute piece that begins with some commentary by Woody Guthrie, before entering into the reprise of the title track. A nice little addition to this compilation, which ends here.

This is a very decent compilation album that, although musically simple, retains its energy and focus throughout. Woody Guthrie was a musical legend many decades ago, and his music still shines bright today. The mixture of simple Folk Music with left-wing politics and a touch of Christianity makes for some interesting listening. The songs here are all A Grade, making this quite an essential compilation to listen to. Should you listen to this? If you love Folk Music which is out there, do give this a shot. Those of you who love Donald Trump may find this music unappealing, however.

A really great selection of Folk Music songs.

9/10