Various Artists - American Epic: The Sessions

180-gram 3LP set pays tribute to roots of modern pop

Twenty famed artists recording on vintage gear

Includes performances by Taj Mahal and Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton

Celebrating the PBS/BBC film series "American Epic"

In America, the 1920s were the "Big Bang" of modern popular music. Now, celebrate with 20 of today's greatest recording artists paying tribute to that era with American Epic: The Sessions. The album is a companion to the noted 2017 PBS/BBC film series exploring the roots of pop music from so-called "field recordings" made in that notable era, revealing folk, blues, country and ethnic songs performed by rural Americans.

The artists on American Epic: The Sessions were filmed replicating the early recording process, direct to disc, on an original 1920s electrical recording system, the lone one of its kind known to exist, reassembled from original parts. The system consists of a single microphone, a towering six-foot amplifier rack, and a live record-cutting lathe, powered by a weight-driven pulley system of clockwork gears. The musicians had roughly three minutes to record their song direct to disc before the weight hits the floor. In the 1920s, they called this "catching lightning in a bottle." All the musical performances in the film and recorded for this LP set are live. The audio you hear on the soundtrack is taken directly from the discs they were recorded to, with no editing or enhancements.

Produced by Jack White and T Bone Burnett, The American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack features Alabama Shakes, The Americans, Ana Gabriel, Ashley Monroe, The Avett Brothers, Beck, Bettye LaVette, Bobby Ingano, Elton John, Frank Fairfield, Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton, Los Lobos, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Nas, Pokey LaFarge, Raphael Saadiq, Rhiannon Giddens, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Taj Mahal, Jack White, and Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.

Blues Masters at the Crossroads audiences will recall Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton performing at the 15th annual concert in 2012. The real-life son of Robert Johnson's cousin, this talented fiddle, banjo and guitar player is a passionate throwback to blues' very roots. Taj Mahal needs no introduction to blues aficionados — the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and composer can also be heard on Labor of Love, from Analogue Productions, available as a 200-gram LP pressed at Quality Record Pressings.

The American Epic film series comprises a three-part historical music documentary airing in the U.S. on PBS on Tuesdays May 16, 23 and 30, 2017, at 8 p.m. CST, and in the U.K. on the BBC in May. The companion feature-length film — The American Epic Sessions — airs in the U.S. on PBS at 7 p.m. CST Tuesday, June 6, and in the U.K. on BBC in June.

The companion series of American Epic record releases include 15 tracks of newly-restored audio recordings from the 1920s and 1930s from Sony Music Entertainment/Legacy Recordings, the American Epic: The Sessions recordings, as well as a deluxe set of vinyl records from Third Man Records, and contemporary performances from Columbia Records.

 

 

SIDE A

1. Killer Diller Blues by Alabama Shakes

2. On the Road Again by Nas

3. Candy Man by Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton

4. 2 Fingers of Whiskey by Elton John and Jack White

5. The Coo Coo Bird by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell

6. Like a Rose by Ashley Monroe

SIDE B

1. The Only Man Wilder than Me by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard

2. Matrimonial Intentions by Jack White

3. One Hour Mama by Rhiannon Giddens

4. Mal Hombre by Ana Gabriel

5. El Cascabel by Los Lobos

SIDE C

1. Closer Walk with Thee by The Avett Brothers

2. Fourteen Rivers,Fourteen Floods by Beck

3. Nobody’s Dirty Business by Bettye Lavette

4. St. Louis Blues by Pokey LaFarge

5. High Water Everywhere,Part 2 by Taj Mahal

SIDE D

1. One Mic by Nas

2. Pretty Saro by Rhiannon Giddens

3. Jubilee by Ashley Monroe and The Americans

4. Tous les Matins by Lost Bayou Ramblers

5. When I Woke Up this Morning by Bettye Lavette

6. If the River was Whiskey by Frank Fairfield

SIDE E

1. Stealin’ Stealin’ by Raphael Saadiq

2. Jordan am a Hard Road to Travel by The Avett Brothers

3. Sail Away Ladies by The Americans

4. Tomi Tomi by The Hawaiians

5. Last Kind Words by Christine Pizzuti

SIDE F

1. Come On in My Kitchen Stephen Stills

2. Mama’s Angel Child Jack White

3. Josephine Pokey LaFarge Hilo

4. Hanakahi The Hawaiians

5. Old Fashioned Love Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard

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