Ballad for Americans and Other American Ballads

Studio album by Odetta

Released

1960

Genre

Folk, blues

Label

Vanguard

Odetta chronology

My Eyes Have Seen
(1959)

Ballad for Americans and Other American Ballads
(1959)

Odetta at Carnegie Hall
(1960)

Ballad for Americans and Other American Ballads is an album by American folk singer Odetta, first released in 1960. It is now out of print.

Background

The title song was written by Earl Robinson who had been blacklisted during the Red Scare in the US. Allmusic states: "Odetta's rendition has a vitality and immediacy that puts it squarely in the thick of 1960, in the middle of the civil rights movement's heyday, at a time when Paul Robeson, because of age and infirmity, and years of fighting the government's efforts to silence him, was in eclipse as an artist."

Ballad For Americans and Other American Ballads was re-released on CD along with Odetta at Carnegie Hall on the Italian label Universe. It is difficult to locate as an import.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]

In his review for Allmusic, critic Bruce Eder wrote the album was Odetta's "most ambitious album up to this point in time—and for some years to come." He singled out "Pastures of Plenty," as one of the best tracks, calling it "a rendition so ominous and provocative that it rates with the best this reviewer has ever heard (which are Guthrie's own and Dylan's early-'60s officially unreleased version)."^[2]

Track listing

"Ballad for Americans" (Earl Robinson) – 11:44
"This Land" (Woody Guthrie) – 2:20
"On Top of Old Smokey" (Traditional) – 3:02
"Hush Little Baby" (Traditional) – 1:32
"Dark as a Dungeon" (Merle Travis) – 4:21
"Great Historical Bum" (Guthrie) – 1:58
"Payday at Coal Creek" (Traditional) – 3:30
"Going Home" (Traditional) – 2:42
"Pastures of Plenty" (Woody Guthrie) 4:02

Personnel

Odetta – vocals, guitar
Bill Lee – bass
Fred Hellerman – guitar
Robert De Cormier – choral arranger, conductor

References

↑ Allmusic entry for compilation Ballad for Americans and Other American Ballads/Odetta at Carnegie Hall.
1 2 Eder, Bruce. "Ballad for Americans and Other American Ballads > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved September 11, 2016.

Odetta
Studio albums	The Tin Angel Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues At the Gate of Horn My Eyes Have Seen Ballad for Americans and Other American Ballads Christmas Spirituals Odetta and the Blues Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin' One Grain of Sand Odetta Sings Folk Songs It's a Mighty World Odetta Sings of Many Things Odetta Sings Dylan Odetta Odetta Sings the Blues Odetta Sings Blues Everywhere I Go Looking for a Home
Live albums	Odetta at Carnegie Hall Odetta at Town Hall Odetta in Japan The Essential Odetta Odetta at the Best of Harlem Movin' It On To Ella Women in (E)motion Gonna Let It Shine
Compilation albums	Odetta The Best of Odetta The Best of Odetta: Ballads and Blues The Best of the Vanguard Years Livin' with the Blues Absolutely the Best The Tradition Masters Best of the M.C. Records Years 1999–2005 Vanguard Visionaries
Filmography	Cinerama Holiday Festival The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman No Direction Home
Television	The Dick Cavett Show The Johnny Cash Show Later... with Jools Holland Politically Incorrect (with Bill Maher) Late Show with David Letterman The Tavis Smiley Show
Related topics	Discography Odetta & Larry Newport Folk Festival
Book:Odetta

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