Anthology of Black Music

Disc 1 offers tribal chants, shouts, and spirituals while the second disc explores the slavery era through the Civil War. Disc 3 looks at postwar sounds both urban and rural while the fourth disc crosses into the next century as the street cries and mountain hollers morph into folk ballads, gritty blues, and minstrel shows--the roots of popular music as we know it today. The final disc includes songs of work and songs of worship, the practical tools of survival for African Americans in troubled times. The sounds found across these discs are faithful re-creations featuring a large cast that includes the likes of Belafonte, Bessie Jones, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, and Joe Williams. The lovely 140-page hardbound book includes extensive notes and provocative essays, as well as stunning photos plus artwork by Charles White. To be sure, this is not easy listening and those looking for your basic "roots music" collection will be disappointed. Rather, this is really a fascinating exploration of the roots of roots music. --Marc Greilsamer

This music is basically the foundation of ALL popular music celebrated in the Western world today. Rock, Top 40 Pop, Salsa, Gospel, Blues, R&B, Hip-hop, Country, Bluegrass, they ALL owe an immeasurable debt to the music and culture brought over to the Western hemisphere by African slaves.

The collection starts with African chants and tribal music, and some of the instrumental and vocal arrangements could easily be from modern pop music. As it moves from the African black music experience over to the early Black American music experience, it's easy to hear how African music evolved in America to become the modern American pop, rock, hip-hop and R&B music we know today. People always mention how African music is the roots of pop, rock, soul and Afro-latin music, but this collection really drives the point home when you listen to old tribal music and hear beats and vocals that sound uncannily like those heard in today's modern music genres. There is no modern popular genre that doesn't owe a great debt to African-based musical sensibilities, and although we hear it said all the time, this box set actually illustrates the point better than a million articles and academic speeches ever could.

This collection is more than a history lesson or a source of pride for blacks. That almost makes it sound cold and academic. This collection has WARMTH and personality; it's great entertainment and just plain incredible music. Listen to it regardless of your race, political orientation, or ideology. Buy it and enjoy it because you love good music and want to hear the roots of it straight from the source, not just as a source of racial pride or as an acedmic study in music history.

No, these are not the Lomax field recordings. If you read the book accompanying the five CD's you'll find out why these recordings weren't done in the field. I'm glad they made the decision that they did; for the most part they brought the field into the (now historic) studio.

These songs will make Black people immensely proud of their heritage, and will give others a fine appreciation of the Black experience in America and elsewhere...

• Styles > Blues
• Styles > Blues > Regional Blues
• Styles > Country
• Styles > Folk
• Styles > International > Africa
• Styles > International > Caribbean & Cuba
• Styles > Jazz > Swing Jazz
• Styles > Miscellaneous > Comedy
• Styles > Pop > Compilations
• Styles > Pop > Easy Listening
• Styles > Pop > Oldies
• Styles > Christian & Gospel

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