Jo Stafford - American Folk Songs (1950) FLAC

Tracks

01. Shenandoah
02. Black Is the Color
03. Old Joe Clark
04. Wayfaring Stranger
05. Barbara Allen
06. Single Girl
07. Red Rosey Bush
08. I Wonder as I Wander
09. Cripple Creek
10. The Nightingale
11. Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier
12. Sourwood Mountain

Jo Stafford was one of the few Swing-era popular singers who was able to communicate the homespun beauty of the American folk idiom. Not surprisingly, since she always brought a Midwestern serenity, even a devotional quality, to just about everything she sang, even the most soaring big-band numbers. In this, she is reminiscent of the great Wagnerian soprano Kirstin Flagstad, who also brought a restrained, serene delivery to highly emotional material. AMERICAN FOLK SONGS, from 1950, benefits from the highly musical, Copland-like arrangments by Stafford's husband and long-time musical partner, Paul Weston. Judy Collins once said that she decided to become a folk singer herself after hearing "Barbara Allen" from this album for the first time. That would be a high recommendation, if nothing else.

Richard Mortifoglio