Document Records
has released some 900 titles over the years, giving the label the world's largest in print catalog of vintage American roots music, and its archival reach encompasses rare 78s and
field recordings
from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s in all avenues of music, including
blues
,
jazz
country
, and
gospel
, as well as several hybrids that defy classification. As a historical source, no label, not even
Smithsonian Folkways
, has done a more thorough job of tracing the early roots and branches of American vernacular music and making it available in affordable editions. Which is why the label's new
Shortcuts
sampler series is such a great idea, since it allows listeners a budget-minded peak into
Document
's vast backlist.
My Babe
is the third in this series, and it yields several neglected gems, including
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
's proto-
rock & roll
rave-up
"Where Did You Stay Last Night?,"
recorded in 1951, and
the Norfolk Jazz Quartet
's assured and unaccompanied
"Stand By the Bedside of a Neighbor,"
recorded in North Carolina in 1938. The eerie, primal sound of
One String Sam
playing what used to be called a diddley bow on
"My Baby Ooo,"
recorded in Detroit in 1956, is another highlight, as is the equally bizarre
"Blaze Face Cow"
by
Jazzbo Tommy & His Lowlanders
, recorded in Arkansas in 1937.
Jazzbo Tommy
, in this case, was
Tommy Settlers
, and his kazoo playing simply defies both gravity and reason. It may be true, as some say, that it has all been said, sung, and shouted a thousand times over, but the kinds of 78s that
assembles in its collections prove that, no matter what, you haven't heard it all. ~ Steve Leggett