Folkways Reissues Range From Cajun to Lithuanian

During the last two years, Smithsonian/Folkways Records has built rather quietly the beginnings of an impressive album catalogue, much of it drawn from the historic Folkways Records collection.

Now that the company has nearly 60 titles in circulation, it is planning to move more aggressively into promotion--so expect to read a lot about the albums and see more displays of Smithsonian/Folkways product in stores.

Matt Walters, director of operations for the Cambridge, Mass.--based label, said that Smithsonian/Folkways was started in 1987 after the Smithsonian Institution bought the rights to the 2,200 Folkways album titles from the Moe Asch Estate in 1986.

Folkways, started by Asch in 1947, specialized in folk-oriented music from America and around the world. Its catalogue included recordings by such major figures as Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and Pete Seeger. The company also released numerous children’s albums as well as collections of poetry and social documentaries.

The plan is to reissue original Folkways albums--some with bonus tracks--and to release new albums commissioned for the series.

These current titles underscore the range of the Smithsonian/Folkways offerings:

“Sing for Freedom”--A collection of songs and testimonies documenting the emotions and ideals of the civil rights movement in the ‘60s.

“Cajun Social Music”--These lively, informal samples of the fiddle and accordion-accented music from Southwest Louisiana were recorded in 1975 at actual social gatherings.

“Musics From the Soviet Union”--An equally disarming package that ranges from a Lithuanian lullaby to Estonian bagpipe music, spotlighting the diversity of the country.

“Tuva: Voices From the Center of Asia”--An especially intriguing album recorded in the Soviet republic that showcases “throat singing,” defined in the liner notes as one singer producing two or more notes simultaneously by selectively amplifying overtones or harmonies.

“Woody Guthrie Sings Folk Songs”--The man who influenced everyone from Dylan to Springsteen is joined on some tracks by Leadbelly, Cisco Houston, Sonny Terry and Bess Hawes.

EARLY ELY: Joe Ely’s first four albums “Joe Ely,” “Honky Tonk Masquerade,” “Down on the Drag” and “Musta Notta Gotta Lotta,” have just been released in CD by MCA Records, and they remind you of a time in the late ‘70s when Ely seemed to have the talent, authority and showmanship to continue in the superstar footsteps of fellow Texans Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. But country radio never really accepted him and his flirtation with rock didn’t quite work. The first two albums, both from the late ‘70s, are mini-classics in a free-wheeling, honky-tonk style.