Daddy-O Daddy! Rare Family Songs of Woody Guthrie

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
That Daddy-O Daddy! is an exceptional record worthy of listeners who span the generational spectrum ought to come as no ground-shaker. Forget, for a moment, that this is a Woody Guthrie tribute--a designation signaling that whatever's to come, it'll be electric-blanket cozy--and focus instead on the talent that producer Frankie Fuchs pulled together here. There's the glorious rough stuff of Taj Mahal; Billy Bragg & the Blokes' robust riptide; Cissy Houston's graceful vocal sway; and the back-porch warble of Ramblin' Jack Elliott, among others. It's a meandering but easy-to-follow recipe of master interpreters, in other words, and one that's not afraid to intermingle ingredients. Add to that the tingly thrill of being on the receiving end of raw material mined from folk music's dear, departed pop (six unreleased, unrecorded, and in some cases unfinished tracks poke up), and you can't help feeling a little awed. Cue this up for kids as young as 2, as the whirly-twirl of tracks like "Tippy-Tap Toe" and "Little Sack o' Sugar" will set them to swooping, swaying, and singing the way Woody would've wanted. Houston's "Sleep Eye" and Bragg's "Dry Bed" soar--one's as warm as the other is high-spirited. These 16 tracks, though, are to be savored for the simple joy with which their creator so deftly dashed them off. "Howdy Little Newlycome," Guthrie's own recitation of a wonderment-filled ditty he recorded in his kitchen in 1951, caps off a perfectly executed disc that pours its heart out in the name of a plainspoken genius. --Tammy La Gorce

Tracks:

Howdy Little Newlycome - Woody Guthrie
Want To See Me Grow - Joe Ely/Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Don't You Push Me Down - Taj Mahal
New Baby Train - Kim Wilson
Little Seed - Cissy Houston
Dry Bed - Billy Bragg & The Blokes
Little Sack O Sugar - Taj Mahal
My Daddy (Flies A Ship In The Sky) - Syd Straw
I'll Write And I'll Draw - Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Bigger - Kim Wilson
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - Billy Bragg & The Blokes
Tippy Tap Toe - Jimmie Dale Gilmore/Joe Ely
Curly Headed Baby - Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Sleep Eye - Cissy Houston
Howdy Little Newlycome - Woody Guthrie

Amazon.com

That Daddy-O Daddy! is an exceptional record worthy of listeners who span the generational spectrum ought to come as no ground-shaker. Forget, for a moment, that this is a Woody Guthrie tribute--a designation signaling that whatever's to come, it'll be electric-blanket cozy--and focus instead on the talent that producer Frankie Fuchs pulled together here. There's the glorious rough stuff of Taj Mahal; Billy Bragg & the Blokes' robust riptide; Cissy Houston's graceful vocal sway; and the back-porch warble of Ramblin' Jack Elliott, among others. It's a meandering but easy-to-follow recipe of master interpreters, in other words, and one that's not afraid to intermingle ingredients. Add to that the tingly thrill of being on the receiving end of raw material mined from folk music's dear, departed pop (six unreleased, unrecorded, and in some cases unfinished tracks poke up), and you can't help feeling a little awed. Cue this up for kids as young as 2, as the whirly-twirl of tracks like "Tippy-Tap Toe" and "Little Sack o' Sugar" will set them to swooping, swaying, and singing the way Woody would've wanted. Houston's "Sleep Eye" and Bragg's "Dry Bed" soar--one's as warm as the other is high-spirited. These 16 tracks, though, are to be savored for the simple joy with which their creator so deftly dashed them off. "Howdy Little Newlycome," Guthrie's own recitation of a wonderment-filled ditty he recorded in his kitchen in 1951, caps off a perfectly executed disc that pours its heart out in the name of a plainspoken genius. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews:

just wonderful.......2002-05-07

It really is as good as the other reviewers say. I got this for the Jimmie Dale Gilmore tune, but I burst out crying with the Syd Straw number. There's a range of styles and emotions, but all of them top-notch.

A must have!.......2002-01-09

A wonderful CD to introduce to children of all ages!!

A treasure for the whole family!.......2002-01-05

I bought this CD for myself, having heard one of the songs on the radio. I now plan on sending one to each of my three grandchildren. These songs are not only fun, they speak to children and adults alike. It is quite apparent that Woody Guthrie wrote these songs with lots of love, and an understanding of his children's feelings and fears. Taj Mahal and the other artists that perform the songs do a great job. I definitely recommend this one!

A "must" for all Guthrie fans.......2001-12-16

Daddy-O Daddy! is an impressive and entertaining collection of fifteen recordings for young listeners composed by the folk music legend Woody Guthrie and performed by a series of outstanding artists. A "must" for all Guthrie fans, as well as highly recommended for children and their families the selection range from Wood Guthrie's performance of Howdy Little Newlycome (2:38), to Kim Wilson's performance of New Baby Train (6:03); to Cissy Houston's Sleep Eye (5:40).

an amazing collection of songs.......2001-12-07

Whether you've got a "little newlycome" at home or not, say howdy to this collection of artists performing rare Woody Guthrie songs. My favorites:
"Want to See Me Grow?" -- Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore
"My Daddy (Flies a Ship in the Sky)" -- Syd Straw -- this song should be the national anthem for airplane travel!
"Dry Bed" -- Billy Bragg. Too much! A trippy song about potty training.

Get this for all the kids you know.

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