This new project from English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg and his American contemporary Joe Henry sounds really cool.
The folk singers have recorded songs originally made famous by the likes of Hank Williams, Lead Belly, The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Glen Campbell, Gordon Lightfoot and more all while riding a train across America. The result is the album Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad.
“Railroad songs provided the bedrock of American popular music, from Jimmie Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman, to Lead Belly, whose repertoire provided several of the songs for this project,” Bragg explained. “Growing up in the UK, I’d always been aware of this tradition but when I travelled to the US, I was surprised to find how few people look to the railroad as a means of transport. With this project, we wanted to explore the transformative power that the coming of the railroad had on the lives of ordinary people by taking these songs back to the places that inspired their creation.”
Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad is due for release on the 23rd September. Check out the full track list below and a great live video of the classic track “The Midnight Special” below:
1. Rock Island Line – Traditional (Recorded by Lead Belly, Lonnie Donegan)
2. The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore – Jean Ritchie
3. The Midnight Special – Traditional (Lead Belly)
4. Railroad Bill – Traditional (Riley Puckett)
5. Lonesome Whistle – Hank Williams
6. KC Moan – Traditional (The Memphis Jug Band)
7. Waiting For A Train – Jimmie Rodgers
8. In The Pines – Traditional (Lead Belly, The Louvin Brothers)
9. Gentle On My Mind – John Hartford (Glenn Campbell, Aretha Franklin)
10. Hobo’s Lullaby – Goebel Reeves (Woody Guthrie)
11. Railroading On The Great Divide – Sara Carter (The Carter Family)
12. John Henry – Traditional (Doc Watson)
13. Early Morning Rain – Gordon Lightfoot
From the new album “Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad” by Billy Bragg & Joe Henry . More info, exclusive content, tour tickets and album pre-orders available now from the brand new Shine A Light website – http://po.st/ShineALight3
In March 2016 Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, guitars in hand, boarded a Los Angeles-bound train at Chicago’s Union Station looking to reconnect with the culture of American railroad travel and the music it inspired. Winding along 2,728 miles of track over four days, the pair recorded classic railroad songs in waiting rooms and at trackside while the train paused to pick up passengers.
Pre-order the album now from the official store or iTunes to receive an instant download of The Midnight Special, and check out the Shine A Light website for more video snippets and updates from Billy and Joe’s journey.
NEW TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
Billy and Joe will be hitting the road again this autumn, playing songs form the journey, along with the favourites from their own back catalogues.
Billy Bragg – http://www.billybragg.co.uk
Joe Henry – http://joehenrylovesyoumadly.com
The Fat Angel Sings 