Last Sessions [Box set]

Last Sessions [Box set]

Editorial Reviews
<"b000001djc7580"> Amazon.com essential recording
Leadbelly's Last Sessions is a remarkable document. Recorded over the course of three nights in 1948, approximately one year before his death, Sessions constitutes the only commercial recordings of Leadbelly ever made on magnetic tape. The sound here is still primitive by most standards, but it's a vast improvement over the quality of his earlier sides. On this four-disc collection, Huddie Ledbetter sets down as much of his repertoire as he could, from field hollers, blues, and country & western songs to children's tunes, ballads, autobiographical pieces, and popular hits of the day. The tape continues to roll between takes, catching Leadbelly's shifts of moods and changes of interest. He didn't know these would be his last recordings, of course, but he seems to have saved something special for these performances, which are as freewheeling, charming, and authoritative as anything he ever recorded. --Daniel Durchholz

<"b000001djc4999"> Album Description
Spontaneous, intimate, spellbinding recordings from 1948. Four discs contain 96 songs and include the two remaining unissued tracks from the Last Sessions, plus his best-known songs such as Midnight Special, Goodnight Irene, and Rock Island Line. The 24-page booklet contains rare photos, articles, original documentation, technical notes, biography, bibliography, and discography. Produced and annotated by Frederic Ramsey, Jr. Reissue compiled and annotated by Anthony Seeger, Matt Walters and Jeff Place. "Rich in tone and pungent with history and personality." –Goldmine