Ol' Man River, song (from "Show Boat") - Paul Robeson, Cook, Will Marion [
Seem Lak' to Me, song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Down de Lover's Lane - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Scandalize My Name - Paul Robeson, Brennan, J. Keirn
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - Paul Robeson, Foster, Stephen [18
Weepin' Mary, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Foster, Stephen [18
I Want to Be Ready, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Foster, Stephen [18
My Lord, What a Morning - Paul Robeson, Kern, Jerome [1885-
De li'l pickaninny's gone to sleep, song - Paul Robeson, Woods, Harry [1896-
Git on Board, L'il Chillen, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Carmichael, Hoagy [
There's No Hiding Place - Paul Robeson, Unspecified
Part 1. So Early in t - Paul Robeson, Robinson, Carson [1
Part 2. Away Down Sou - Paul Robeson, Kester, Max [1901-1
Oh Rock Me Julie, song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Oh! Didn't It Rain - Paul Robeson, Johnson, Hal [1888-
Mammy (aka "My Mammy") - Paul Robeson, Unspecified
Roll Away, Clouds (from the musical Virginia) - Paul Robeson, Brown, Lew
Sonny Boy, song - Paul Robeson, Muse, Clarence
Little Pal (from the film Say It With Song) - Paul Robeson, Hall
The Lonesome Road, song - Paul Robeson, Carey
Just Keepin' On - Paul Robeson, Gounod, Charles [18
Mighty Lak' a Rose, for voice & piano (or orchestra) - Paul Robeson, Strickland, Lily [1
Mammy Is Gone, song - Paul Robeson, Clutsam, George [18
Track Listings (20) - Disc #2
Hail the Crown, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Traditional
An Exhortation, song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
I Stood on de Ribber ob Jordan, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Johnson, James Weld
Go Down Moses - Paul Robeson, Cook, Will Marion [
High Water, song - Paul Robeson, Riley
Swanee River - Paul Robeson, Clapham, Ruthland
Old Black Joe, for voice & piano (or orchestra) - Paul Robeson, Klenner, John [1899
My Old Kentucky Home, for voice & piano - Paul Robeson, Parker
Ol' Man River, song (from "Show Boat") - Paul Robeson, Traditional
River, stay 'way from my door - Paul Robeson, Boatner, Edward [18
Rockin' chair - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Medley of Spirituals - Paul Robeson, Traditional
My Heart Is Where the Mohawk Flows Tonight, song - Paul Robeson, Cook, Will Marion [
The Folks I Used to Know, song - Paul Robeson, Blake, Eubie
Mary Had A Baby - Paul Robeson, Berwick
Lil' Gal, song - Paul Robeson, Pepper, Harry S.
Bear the Burden in the Heat of the Day - Paul Robeson, Carmichael, Hoagy [
That's Why Darkies Were Born, song (from George White's Scandals of 192 - Paul Robeson, Bishop, Joe [1907-1
When it's Sleepy-Time Down South - Paul Robeson, Unspecified
I Am Seeking for a City - Paul Robeson, Unspecified
Track Listings (24) - Disc #3
Nearer My God to Thee - Paul Robeson, Traditional
There is a green hill far away, for voice & piano or organ - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Mah Lindy Lou - Paul Robeson, Carmichael, Hoagy [
Ma Curly-headed Baby (Babby) for voice & piano - Paul Robeson, Traditional
The Pilgrim's Song, for voice & piano (or orchestra) - Paul Robeson, Noll, Albert W.
Roll the Old Chariot Along, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Since You Went Away - Paul Robeson, McCarthy
Wid de Moon, Moon, for voice & piano - Paul Robeson, DeRose, Peter
Got the South in My Soul - Paul Robeson, Boretz, Allen
Hush-a-Bye Lullaby, for voice & piano (or orchestra) - Paul Robeson, Murray
Round the Bend of the Road, song - Paul Robeson, Handy, William Chri
Take Me Away from the River, song - Paul Robeson, Trinkhaus, Geo
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - Paul Robeson, Hoffmann, Al
On Ma Journey - Paul Robeson, Dave
By an' by - Paul Robeson, Homer, Sidney [1864
Were You There when They Crucified My Lord?, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Unspecified
Swing Along - Paul Robeson, Spoliansky, Mischa
Piccaninny Shoes, song - Paul Robeson, Spoliansky, Mischa
In a Narrow Street, song - Paul Robeson, Spoliansky, Mischa
Carry me back to green pastures - Paul Robeson, Spoliansky, Mischa
Lazy Bones - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Blue Prelude - Paul Robeson, Strickland, Lily [1
Paul Robeson Medley, Part 1: Roll de Ole Chariot; Mary Had a Ba - Paul Robeson, Tradition
Paul Robeson Medley, Part 2: Carry Me Back; Mighty Lak' a Rose; - Paul Robeson, Tradition
Track Listings (25) - Disc #4
Fat L'il Feller wid his Mammy's Eyes - Paul Robeson, Tradition
Shortnin' Bread, song - Paul Robeson, Alstyne, Egbert van
Snowball, song - Paul Robeson, Seress, Rezsö [1899
Water Boy, folk song - Paul Robeson, Kern, Jerome
Don't You Cry, My Honey, song - Paul Robeson, Kern, Jerome
Steal Away to Jesus, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Ansell, Eric
Scarecrow - Paul Robeson, Ansell, Eric
Wagon Wheels - Paul Robeson, Ansell, Eric
So Shy, song - Paul Robeson, Ansell, Eric
Piccaninny Slumber Song - Paul Robeson, Guion, David Wendel
St. Louis Blues, song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Mammy's Little Kinky-Headed Boy, song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Little Man, You've Had A Busy Day - Paul Robeson, Purcell, Edward
I Ain't Lazy, I'm Just Dreamin', song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Banjo Song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Paul Robeson Medley No. 2: Lazy Bones; Scarecrow; Fat Li'l Fell - Paul Robeson, Carr, Michael [Song
Love Song - Paul Robeson, Carr, Michael [Song
Congo Lullaby - Paul Robeson, Spoliansky, Mischa
Canoe Song - Paul Robeson, Spoliansky, Mischa
Killing Song - Paul Robeson, Ansell, Eric
Shenandoah, folk song - Paul Robeson, Ansell, Eric
Jes' Mah Song, for voice & piano - Paul Robeson, Ansell, Eric
De Ol' Ark's a-Moverin', spiritual - Paul Robeson, Ansell, Eric
Ezekiel Saw de Wheel - Paul Robeson, Carr, Michael [Song
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Track Listings (26) - Disc #5
Honey (Dat's All) - Paul Robeson, Hughes, Langston
Szomorú Vasárnap (Gloomy Sunday) - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Ol' Man River, song (from "Show Boat") - Paul Robeson, Brown, Lawrence
I Still Suits Me, song (from 1936 film "Show Boat") - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Sleepy River, for 2 voices & orchestra - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Lonely Road (for film Song of Freedom) - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Song of Freedom, song - Paul Robeson, Gruber, Franz [1787
Black Emperor - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Mam'selle Marie - Paul Robeson, DeLange, Eddie
There's No Hiding Place - Paul Robeson, Bigard, Barney
Oh! No, John, folk song - Paul Robeson, Gershwin, George [1
Passing By - Paul Robeson, Gershwin, George [1
Hammer Song - Paul Robeson, Gershwin, George [1
Little David, Play on Your Harp, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Gershwin, George [1
My Way, song (for the film Jericho) - Paul Robeson, Jacobs-Bond, Carrie
Golden River, song (for the film Jericho) - Paul Robeson, Cadman, Chrles Wake
Ho! Ho! (Wagon Song) - Paul Robeson, Traditional, Russia
Climbing Up (The Mountain Song) - Paul Robeson, Traditional, Scotti
Lazin' (from "Big Fella"), song - Paul Robeson, Kilenyi, Edward [19
I Don't Know What's Wrong, song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Roll Up Sailorman, song (from "Big Fella") - Paul Robeson, Traditional
You Didn't Oughta Do Such Things, song - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Deep Desert, song (for the film Jericho) - Paul Robeson, Mussorgsky, Modest
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Minstrel Man (poem) - Paul Robeson, Basbach, Oscar [188
O Grieve You Now My Mother - Paul Robeson, Dvorák, Antonin [18
Track Listings (26) - Disc #6
Dere's A Man Goin' Roun' Takin' Names - Paul Robeson, Traditional, Scotti
Study War No More, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Calcott, J. W.
Work all de Summer - Paul Robeson, Cook, Will Marion [
Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel? - Paul Robeson, Grechaninov, Alexan
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht (Silent Night) - Paul Robeson, Traditional, Russia
Ar Hyd y Nos (All Through the Night), folk song - Paul Robeson, Spoken Word
Solitude - Paul Robeson, Layton, Turner [189
Mood Indigo - Paul Robeson, Parry, Hubert [1848
Summertime (Lullaby) - Paul Robeson, Clarke, Robert Coni
It Take A Long Pull To Get There - Paul Robeson, Norton, Frederic [1
It Ain't Necessarily So - Paul Robeson, Malashkin, Leonid [
A Woman Is A Sometime Thing - Paul Robeson, Carpenter
Just a-Wearyin' for You, for voice & piano - Paul Robeson, Layton, Turner [189
At Dawning for voice & piano (or orchestra), Op. 29 - Paul Robeson, Nevin, Ethelbert
Eh, Ukhnyem (Song of the Volga Boatmen), folk song - Paul Robeson, Jacobs-Bond, Carrie
Eriskay Love Lilt - Paul Robeson, Metcalf, John W. [1
Encantadora Maria - Paul Robeson, Traditional, Roma
Ride Up in the Chariot, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Koven, Reginald de
Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit, spiritual - Paul Robeson, Martini, Jean Paul
Lay Down Late, song - Paul Robeson, Speaks, Oley [1874-
After the Battle - Paul Robeson, Traditional, Irish
David of the White Rock (Dafydd y Garreg Wen), folk song - Paul Robeson, Adams, Stephen [184
Trees, for voice & piano (or orchestra) - Paul Robeson, Quilter, Roger [187
Songs my mother taught me (Als die alte Mutter), song for voice & piano - Paul Robeson, Ireland, John [1879
Loch Lomond - Paul Robeson, Williams, Thomas Jo
Drink To Me Only - Paul Robeson, James, James [1833-
Track Listings (26) - Disc #7
Down de Lover's Lane - Paul Robeson, Traditional
Lullaby - Paul Robeson, Mendelssohn, Felix
Night
The The Little Black Boy
Dear Old Southland, for voice & orchestra
Jerusalem ("And did those feet in ancient time"), for chorus & organ (o
The Blind Ploughman, for voice & piano (or orchestra)
The Cobbler's Song (from the operetta Chu Chin Chow)
Oh, Could I in Song Tell My Sorrow for voice & piano (or orchestra)
Love at My Heart, song
Nothin', song
The Rosary, for voice & piano
A Perfect Day, for voice & piano (or orchestra)
Absent
Dark eyes ("Ochi chornye," "Black Eyes"), folk song
Oh Promise Me
Plaisir d'amour, for voice & piano (or orchestra)
Sylvia for voice & piano (or orchestra)
She Is Far From the Land
Thora, ballad for voice & piano
Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal for voice & piano, Op. 3/2
Sea fever, for voice & piano
Who is this so weak and helpless (Tune: Ebenezer (Ton Y Botel)) (New En
Hen wlad fy nhadau (Land of My Fathers, Welsh National Anthem)
Deep River, spiritual
Lord God of Abraham; Baal Chorus
170-track digitally remastered 7-CD album set containing all the HMV recordings, as well as the 1928 Columbia recording of 'Ol' Man River' from Show Boat with the Drury Lane chorus and orchestra that was not released until... more » 1976 for contractual reasons. Also included are the two HMV recordings of 'Ol' Man River', the first made in 1930 as a solo with Ray Noble's Orchestra and the second in 1936 with chorus and orchestra conducted by Clifford Greenwood.).« less
170-track digitally remastered 7-CD album set containing all the HMV recordings, as well as the 1928 Columbia recording of 'Ol' Man River' from Show Boat with the Drury Lane chorus and orchestra that was not released until 1976 for contractual reasons. Also included are the two HMV recordings of 'Ol' Man River', the first made in 1930 as a solo with Ray Noble's Orchestra and the second in 1936 with chorus and orchestra conducted by Clifford Greenwood.).
CD Reviews
This is only for dedicated fans, but for us, it is a treasur
William E. Adams | Midland, Texas USA | 09/19/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I could not afford this seven-disc box, but my dear friends Jim and Cindy Clark of Kansas, realizing that I am the only Robeson fan they are ever likely to meet, gifted me with this. I am extremely grateful. I "discovered" Paul in 1959, when I was 14, via a Vanguard folk sampler I checked out of the Trenton, NJ Public Library. The song was "Get on Board, Little Children" and lasted all of 77 seconds, but it changed my life. (On the same set, I "discovered" Cisco Houston, and that track also changed my life. What a great trip to the library that turned out to be.)
I went on to eventually own 11 Robeson LP's, the videotape of James Earl Jones doing a one-man show as Paul, a hardcover full-length biography, and a dozen or more newspaper or magazine articles about him. Most of those items are gone now, and my collection was down to two CD's and a 78 RPM box set of his "Ballad for Americans" on RCA from 1940. Then EMI remastered these 1930's recordings from London, and the Clarks played Santa for me. (Pay attention to the "new or used" line in this listing, because you can find this at a much better price than the one shown.)
Here one gets 170 tracks, about eight hours' worth of Robeson. There are a lot of repetitions here, including three versions of "Old Man River" which became Paul's signature tune for his "classical" fans. One of those versions was for the London cast recording of "Showboat" in 1928, and it leads off the package in great style.
Paul actually began his recording career in the USA in 1927 with a package of spirituals. Those sessions were reissued back in the 1960's on an LP, and most of them were re-recorded in London over the subsequent few years and do appear on this set. The Robesons lived in London for most of the 1930's, because Paul found more concert and film work there than in America. Since these beautifully remastered performances end in 1939 with the outbreak of World War II and Paul's return to the USA, the ten-minute "Ballad for Americans" is NOT included here. Neither is "Joe Hill" which is Robeson's signature song for his "folk-oriented" followers.
If you buy this box, or whine until a friend gives it to you as a present, you will find much that is outdated, even junky by today's standards. Here there are some novelty songs which hold little interest to modern ears, and many plantation/darky songs which are more offensive now, even to black ears. However, the sparkling gems definitely outweigh the drab stones in these 170 slices of Paul's British life 70 years ago.
I'll conclude by listing some of my favorites on each disc:
CD One gives us the 1928-29 sessions (at what is now the famous Abbey Road Studio)and I like: Old Man River, Scandalize My Name, I Want to Be Ready, My Lord What a Morning, Git On Board, Li'l Children, Dere's No Hiding Place, and Oh, Didn't It Rain.
CD Two (1930-31) brings you Go Down Moses, (one of Paul's favorites), Old Folks at Home, Poor Old Joe, My Old Kentucky Home, River, Stay Away From My Door, and Bear The Burden.
On Disc Three, I especially enjoyed Nearer My God to Thee, Roll De Chariot Along, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, On My Journey, Bye and Bye, and the two four-minute song medleys which conclude the CD.
For Disc Four, 1933-36, the winners are Water Boy, Steal Away, the eight-minute medly that is track 16, Shenandoah, Ezekiel Saw The Wheel, and Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho.
The fifth CD in the bos brings us Song of Freedom, Oh, No, John, Li'l David, and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, along with 22 other rarities and re-recordings. These sessions were held at Abbey Road in 1936-37.
On Disc Six, the 1937-38 bookings at the studio, you will enjoy Dere's A Man Going 'Round Takin' Names, and No More, Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel? and the surprisingly lovely Silent Night, Holy Night. (Paul did not record many "Christmas Songs" in his career.) I also loved All Through the Night and Every Time I Feel The Spirit and Loch Lomond.
Finally, CD Seven brings us his studio work during 1939, and the diamonds here are Jerusalem and Deep River. The other tracks include songs from the film "Proud Valley", a handful of plantation numbers, and several songs previously unknown to me, which are interesting to hear but perhaps not compelling enough to hear repeatedly.
If you possess this one box, you might say with a high degree of accuracy that you have everything worthwhile that Robeson recorded in the first half of his long career. Beyond 1939, he has a brief period of adulation in America, due to the "Ballad for Americans" and some other patriotic numbers. However, his love for Russia lasted beyond the period in which we were allies in World War II, and that led, in the early 1950's, to Robeson being labelled un-American, and blacklisted, along with the Weavers, Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, and many of their leftist fellow artists. Paul had one great comeback in him, however, and after he won back his passport rights in 1958, he not only recorded again in England and traveled to Russia and Germany, but he staged several farewell concerts in New York City which were preserved on vinyl for Columbia, and stand among his best-recorded works. Between 1940 and his retirement in 1963, he recorded in the USA about 80 percent of the contents of this box set. Paul died in 1976, having suffered a form of dementia during his last six or seven years of life. He was not an active presence in the civil rights turmoil of the Sixties, but he worked for civil rights for the four decades prior, and without his grace and courage, that movement might not have succeeded when it did.
"
FIVE STARS (TIMES 7) FOR THIS SUPERLATIVE REISSUE
Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 10/03/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was introduced to the glorious voice of Paul Robeson by way of my grandfather's 78s, and he would have wept tears of joy at this superlative presentation from EMI Classics, which I've been playing in concentrated bursts ever since it arrived.
Three versions of "Ol' Man River" are included, the first being the Columbia recording from the Drury Lane production of "Show Boat", which was not released at the time because Robeson was under contract to Victor/HMV. That is the opening track of the first CD, which is fitting, because Robeson's role as Joe launched his career in England. The importance of the song to his career merited some care in its background description. The play had been adapted from Edna Ferber's novel, with Oscar Hammerstein II writing book and lyrics, and Jerome Kern providing the score. It comes as a shock, therefore, that in the discography the song is credited solely to Jerome Kern (as is the later "I Still Suits Me" in which he duets with Elisabeth Welch), and the opening of Patrick O'Connor's liner note refers to "Jerome Kern's musical play"!
That's not the only bit of carelessness; both "Roll, Away Clouds" (Jack Waller, Joe Tunbridge) and "Sonny Boy" (de Sylva, Brown & Henderson) are credited as "Trad. Arr. Paul Robeson" whilst Nat Shilkret's life has been curtailed by 50 years. Finally, it is disappointing that the 23 pages of discography carry no details about the original releases. On the other hand, the booklet is well-produced with some fascinating photographs.
Turning to the recordings themselves, many which reflect Robeson's religious background as the son of a preacher were accompanied by pianist Lawrence Brown, although Jack Hylton & his orchestra backed the 1931 medley of spirituals. But Robeson also recorded many traditional songs, and some of the popular songs of the day, which appealed to an extremely wide audience, and continue to do so. He sang similar fare on the concert platform, and the majority of these recordings have never been out of the catalogue.
The debate about some of these songs has been well rehearsed: suffice it to say here that the controversy generated centred on Paul, rather than the lyricists concerned. A clear case of shooting the messenger! NOTE: the second version of "Ol' Man River" kicks off with the N word, but Robeson amended it for the later recording and performances.
For me, this is a spellbinding collection, the hidden delights of which reside in those tracks (mainly the then current popular songs) which were accompanied by the HMV studio orchestra. Its directors, mainly Carroll Gibbons and Ray Noble, were able to call upon the cream of London's musicians. Thus we hear Max Goldberg's muted trumpet accompaniment on several songs, including "River, Stay `Way From My Door", and some splendid guitar work on "Lazy Bones".
As to the quality of the transfers, the volume generated in "Roll Away, Clouds" by the orchestra and chorus seem to have defeated the recording engineers, because the acoustic sounds boxy and the peaks of sound are uncomfortable to my ear. Certain tracks suffer also from surface noise, some more so than others, but overall the standard is extremely high
"
Excellent set!
A. J. Furer | Cambridge, MA | 01/26/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"An excellent set, showcasing many of Robeson's commercial (as opposed to political recordings) mostly recorded while he resided in the UK. A must for libraries and fans. When complemented by _The Collector's Paul Robeson_ (available from Smithsonian Folkways), _Songs of Free Men_, and _Songs for Free Men_ (these are two separate albums, despite the similarity in title), one sees the enormous breadth of Robeson's recordings, which cover many genres (spirituals, work songs, folk songs, classical, jazz, pop, Broadway, etc.) and over a dozen languages, from Yiddish and Celtic to Russian and Chinese. There are, of course, many other Robeson albums worth purchasing, such as _The Tchaikovsky Hall Concert_, and _Ballad for Americans_, among many others. And, for film fans, the Criterion Collection of Robeson's films, also on sale at Amazon, is a must."