Paul Robeson
remains as well known as an actor and athlete as for his musical
activities, and in general is a "big name" whose music most listeners
have sampled only in bits and pieces. For that reason alone, this
seven-disc compilation of Robeson's EMI
recordings, made in Britain, would be worth a place in libraries and
collections; it presents music by the great African-American bass not
in bits and pieces but in collections that show the full range of his
activities and capture a whole arc of his career. Missing among the
types of music Robeson recorded are only
his explicitly leftist workers' anthems, which generally date from
years later than the 1939 cutoff point of this set. Beyond that, the
first thing to strike the listener may be the vast range of music with
which Robeson was comfortable. He is best known for African-American spirituals and for the artful quasi-spiritual language of Jerome Kern's
"Ol' Man River" and similar items. But even a quick Internet sampling
of this set will reveal much more. A partial list would include early
African-American musical theater (Robeson's several versions of Will Marion Cook's
"Down de Lovers Lane" convey perhaps the best idea yet of what these
shows sounded like in their time); minstrel and "plantation" songs like
Dixie, from both white and black composers (some of them irredeemably
racist by today's standards); pop songs including a glorious set by Hoagy Carmichael; operetta; folk songs from Russia and elsewhere; parlor-room classics by Ethelbert Nevin and Carrie Jacobs Bond; country and western music (which were separate genres at the time); and American and British art songs. Robeson sounds as natural singing of "England's green and pleasant land" in Hubert Parry's
Jerusalem (CD 7, track 6) as in a spiritual like Steal Away. The
British origin of the recordings results in a few ridiculous moments,
but Robeson spent years in Britain
(especially in Wales, whose industrial struggles played a key role in
the development of his activist consciousness), and in general the box
represents the mainstream of Robeson's
career in the late '20s and 1930s, not one of its tributaries. The
remastering is superb, and the original recordings, with the later ones
supervised by legendary producer Walter Legge, were impressive enough in their own time. The booklet notes, in English, French, and German, basically present a brief Robeson
biography with a slight emphasis on the European phases of his career,
but the track list is detailed and informative in itself. A major
historical release that is highly listenable in itself.CD1: The 1928-1929 Sessions
01. Ol' Man River (Kern) - 3:53
02. Seem Lak' to Me (Johnson) - 3:07
03. Down de Lover's Lane (Cook) - 3:03
04. Scandalize My Name (Trad.) - 2:10
05. Sinner, Please Doan' Let Dis Harves' Pass (Trad.) - 2:07
06. Weepin' Mary (Trad.) - 1:43
07. I Want to Be Ready (Trad.) - 1:32
08. My Lord, What a Mornin' (Trad.) - 2:52
09. De Li'l Pickaninny's Gone to Sleep (Trad.) - 3:30
10. Git on Board Li'l Children (Trad.) - 1:17
11. Dere's No Hidin' Place (Trad.) - 1:00
12. Plantation Songs (Part 1): So Early in the Morning/Carry Me Back to Old Virginia/Old Folks at Home/Goodnight Ladies - 3:54
13. Plantation Songs (Part 2): Away Down South in Dixie/Poor Old Joe/Oh, Susanna/My Old Kentucky Home - 4:18
14. Oh! Rock me, Julie (Trad.) - 1:35
15. Oh, Didn't It Rain (Trad.) - 1:22
16. Mammy (Tunbridge) - 3:51
17. Roll Away, Clouds (Trad.) - 3:14
18. Sonny Boy (Trad.) - 2:43
19. Little Pal (De Sylva-Brown-Henderson) - 3:31
20. The Lonesome Road (Shilkret) - 2:45
21. Just Keepin' On (Phillips) - 3:12
22. Mighty Lak' a Rose (Nevin) - 3:27
23. Mammy Is Gone (De Sylva-Brown-Henderson) - 3:23
CD2: The 1930-1931 Sessions
01. Hail de Crown (Trad.) - 2:13
02. Exhortation (Cook) - 2:11
03. I Stood on the Ribber Jordan/Peter Go Ring Dem Bells (Trad.) - 2:57
04. Go Down, Moses (Trad.) - 2:06
05. High Water (McHardy-Brennan) - 2:36
06. Old Folks at Home (Foster) - 3:20
07. Poor Old Joe (Foster) - 3:11
08. My Old Kentucky Home (Foster) - 3:31
09. Ol' Man River (Kern) - 2:50
10. River Stay 'Way from My Door (Woods) - 3:30
11. Rockin' Chair (Carmichael) - 3:33
12. Medley of Spirituals: I'm Rolling and Sing-A-Ho/Hail De Crown/Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho/I Got a Robe/Oh Lord I Done/De Gospel Train/Black Sheep/Heav'n Bells Are Ringin'/I'll Hear de Trumpet Sound/Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/Walk Together, Children - 7:47
13. My Heart Is Where the Mohawk Flows Tonight (Robinson) - 3:30
14. The Folks I Used to Know (Kester) - 2:53
15. Mary Had a Baby (Trad.) - 2:17
16. Li'l Gal (Johnson) - 3:01
17. Bear de Burden/All God's Chillun Got Wings (Trad.) - 3:32
18. That's Why Darkies Were Born (Brown-Henderson) - 2:41
19. When It's Sleepy Time Down South (Muse-Rowe) - 3:27
20. Seekin' (Marshall-Hall) - 2:36
CD3: The 1932-1933 Sessions
01. Nearer My God to Thee (Carey) - 4:16
02. There Is a Green Hill (Gounod) - 4:02
03. Ma Lindy Lou (Strickland) - 3:17
04. Ma Curly-Headed Baby (Clutsam) - 3:05
05. Pilgrim's Song (Trad.) - 2:40
06. Roll de Ole Chariot Along (Trad.) - 2:44
07. Since You Went Away (Johnson) - 3:10
08. Wid de Moon, Moon, Moon (Cook) - 3:32
09. Got the South in My Soul (Washington-Young-Riley) - 3:03
10. Hush-Aa-Bye Lullaby (Clapham) - 3:19
11. Round the Bend of the Road (Klenner) - 2:57
12. Take Me Away from the River (Parker) - 3:00
13. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (Trad.) - 2:51
14. On Ma Journey (Boatner) - 2:10
15. Bye and Bye (Trad.) - 2:30
16. Were You There? (Trad.) - 2:48
17. Swing Along (Cook) - 3:22
18. Piccaninny Shoes (Sissle-Blake) - 2:54
19. In a Narrow Street (Warren-Berwick) - 2:49
20. Carry Me Back to Green Pastures (Pepper) - 2:57
21. Lazy Bones (Carmichael) - 3:27
22. Blue Prelude (Bishop) - 2:51
23. Paul Robeson Medley (Part 1): Roll de Ole Chariot/Mary Had a Baby/Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/Heav'n, Heav'n - 4:06
24. Paul Robeson Medley (Part 2) - Carry Me Back to Old Virginia/Mighty Lak' a Rose/Round the Bend of the River/River, Stay 'Way from My Door/Ol' Man River - 4:09
CD4: The 1933-1936 Sessions
01. Fat Li'l Fella wid His Mammy's Eyes (Trad.) - 2:04
02. Shortnin' Bread (Trad.) - 1:10
03. Snowball (Carmichael) - 3:22
04. Water Boy (Trad.) - 2:40
05. Doan' You Cry, Ma Honey (Noll) - 3:37
06. Steal Away (Trad.) - 3:04
07. Scarecrow (McCarthy-Redmond-Simon) - 3:29
08. Wagon Wheels (Hill-De Rose) - 3:27
09. So Shy (Boretz-Samuels) - 3:25
10. Piccaninny's Slumber Song (Murray) - 3:08
11. St. Louis Blues (Handy) - 3:33
12. Mammy's Little Kinky-Headed Boy (White-Trinkhaus) - 3:16
13. Little Man, You've Had a Busy Day (Wayne-Hoofman) - 3:20
14. I Ain't Lazy, I'm Just Dreaming (Dave-Franklin) - 2:51
15. The Banjo Song (Homer) - 3:08
16. Paul Robeson Medley No.2: Lazy Bones/Scarecrow/Fat Li'l Fella/Wagon Wheels/Deep River/Ma Curly-Headed Baby/Carry Me Back to Green Pastures/Old Folks at Home - 8:46
17. Love Song (Spoliansky) - 3:26
18. Congo Lullaby (Spoliansky) - 3:11
19. Canoe Song (Spoliansky) - 3:04
20. Killing Song (Spoliansky) - 2:26
21. Shenandoah (Trad.) - 3:19
22. Jes' Mah Song (StricklandD) - 2:30
23. De Ole Ark's A-Movering (Trad.) - 1:05
24. Ezekiel Saw de Wheel (Trad.) - 1:20
25. Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho (Trad.) - 2:02
CD5: The 1936-1937 Sessions
01. Honey (Dat's All) (Alstyne) - 2:20
02. Gloomy Sunday (Seress) - 2:48
03. Ol' Man River (Kern) - 2:39
04. I Still Suits Me (Kern) - 2:49
05. Sleepy River (Ansell) - 3:05
06. Lonely Road (Ansell) - 3:20
07. Song of Freedom (Ansell) - 2:42
08. The Black Emperor (Ansell) - 2:50
09. Mam'selle Marie (Guion) - 1:57
10. Dere's No Hidin' Place (Trad.) - 0:57
11. Oh! No John (Trad.) - 2:16
12. Passing By (Purcell) - 2:24
13. Hammer Song (Trad.) - 1:53
14. Li'l David (Trad.) - 1:35
15. My Way (Carr-Kennedy) - 2:51
16. Golden River (Carr-Kennedy) - 2:07
17. Ho! Ho! (Spoliansky) - 2:14
18. Climbing Up (Spoliansky) - 3:14
19. Lazin' (Ansell) - 2:51
20. I Don't Know What's Wrong (Ansell) - 3:22
21. Roll Up, Sailorman (Ansell) - 2:17
22. You Didn't Oughta Do Such Things (Ansell) - 2:18
23. Deep Desert (Carr-Kennedy) - 3:01
24. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (Trad.) - 2:24
25. Minstrel Man (Hughes) - 0:30
26. The Wanderer (Trad.) - 2:44
CD6: The 1937-1938 Sessions
01. Dere's a Man Goin' Round' Takin' Names (Brown) - 3:10
02. No More (Trad.) - 2:32
03. Work All de Summer (Trad.) - 1:36
04. Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel? (Trad.) - 1:07
05. Silent Night, Holy Night (Gruber) - 3:29
06. All Through the Night (Trad.) - 3:26
07. Solitude (Ellington-De Lange-Mills) - 3:36
08. Mood Indigo (Ellington-Mills-Bigard) - 3:21
09. Summertime (Gershwin) - 2:40
10. It Take a Long Pull to Get There (Gershwin) - 3:07
11. It Ain't Necessarily So (Gershwin) - 2:36
12. A Woman Is a Sometime Thing (Gershwin) - 2:23
13. Just A-Wearyin' for You (Jacobs-Bond) - 2:39
14. At Dawning (Cadman) - 2:25
15. Song of the Volga Boatmen (Trad.) - 2:50
16. An Eriskay Love-Lilt (Trad.) - 2:55
17. Encantadora Maria (Kilenyi) - 2:43
18. Goin' to Ride Up in de Chariot (Trad.) - 1:02
19. Every Time I Feel de Spirit (Trad.) - 1:19
20. Lay Down Late (Trad.) - 2:29
21. After the Battle (Mussorgsky) - 2:23
22. David of the White Rock (Trad.) - 3:28
23. Trees (Rasbach) - 2:31
24. Songs My Mother Taught Me (Dvorak) - 2:16
25. Loch Lomond (Trad.) - 2:39
26. Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes (Calcott) - 3:28
CD7: The 1939 Sessions
01. Down de Lovers' Lane (Cook) - 2:30
02. Lullaby (Grechaninov) - 2:07
03. Night (Trad.) - 2:54
04. The Little Black Boy (Blake) - 2:20
05. Dear Old Southland (Layton) - 2:57
06. Jerusalem (Parry) - 2:27
07. The Blind Ploughman (Clarke) - 2:09
08. The Cobbler's Song (Norton) - 2:42
09. Oh, Could I But Express in Song (Malashkin) - 1:53
10. Love at My Heart (Libbie-Davidson-Carpenter) - 2:09
11. Nothin' (Layton) - 2:24
12. The Rosary (Nevin) - 1:40
13. A Perfect Day (Jacobs-Bond) - 2:36
14. Absent (Metcalf) - 2:12
15. Black Eyes (Trad.) - 2:33
16. Oh, Promise Me (De Koven) - 2:39
17. Plaisir d'amour (Martini) - 3:42
18. Sylvia (Speaks) - 2:02
19. She is Far from the Land (Trad.) - 2:52
20. Thora (Adams) - 3:29
21. Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal (Quilter) - 2:24
22. Sea Fever (Ireland) - 2:12
23. Ebenezer (Williams) - 2:33
24. Land of My Fathers (Trad.) - 2:26
25. Deep River (Trad.) - 2:30
26. Lord God of Abraham/Baal chorus (Mendelssohn) - 2:20
