Woody Guthrie Sings Folk Songs

Review

Folk music, more than anything, stresses song over performer, making Woody Guthrie an anomaly within the field: a genuine folk superstar. Unlike, say, a Pete Seeger, Guthrie brought a presence to his recordings, a nasal everyman voice tormented by injustice but hopeful all the same. It's easy to see why a romantic young Bob Dylan would latch onto Guthrie — here was a hard-living man who had seen the world and lived to sing its awful tales. And just as second-generation punk rockers were emboldened by the simplicity of the Ramones, the directness of Guthrie's guitar playing cannot be underestimated. Aside from an occasional fret-walk, there is little here that an aspiring guitarist couldn't emulate in a matter of days.