Down In The Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove Of Vintage 78S CD

 Musical Miracles That Restore Your Soul
When I was in college, my roommate bought Harry Smith's Anthology of American Music on Folkways. It was like a time tunnel to a golden age. Record collector and disc jockey Joe Bussard is the able heir to Smith's legacy. And "Down in the Basement" is a generous sampling of his immense collection—with a far wider span than Smith allowed himself. In 24 tracks and roughly 75 minutes, he gives us a panorama of what is now called "roots music" that goes back and forth from country to city and lets every genre of American music from gospel and jazz to blues and Cajun shine. I came to this album because it included "The (New) Call of the Freaks," a 1929 recording by band leader Luis Russell that is one of the most amazing jazz records I have ever heard. That leads to "The School House Fire," an account of a 1923 South Carolina five alarmer than took 75 lives by the Dixon Brothers from 1937 that is extraordinary. But I knew from track one, "The Lost Child," by the Stripling Brothers, that this astonishing anthology would never flag. If you're looking for escape from the rock and roll gulag of present-day America, if you're looking for music that restores your soul, start here in Joe Bussard's basement and camp out for a few days, as I have, playing this very important album over and over.
Submitted by David (Narberth, PA) 
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