The new project focuses on Americana associated with the railways, including covers of tunes popularized by Jimmie Rodgers, Leadbelly, Hank Williams, and the Carter Family. There is a strong emphasize on guitar driven blues and folk music. Billy Bragg and Joe Henry have worked together before, on Bragg’s 2013 record Tooth And Nail, where Henry was in the producer’s chair. The record was reviewed by Digital Journal.
Billy Bragg is an English singer-songwriter, known for both his recorded output and his political activism. In the 1980s Bragg had a string of folk and pop hits, before collaborating with the band Wilco on the lost songs of Woody Guthrie in the 1990s. In recent years, Bragg’s music has become more roots orientated.
Joe Henry is a respected music producer and artist in his own right, based in California. Henry has worked with such artists Solomon Burke, Aimee Mann, Elvis Costello, Hugh Laurie, and Allen Toussaint.
With the new project, in March 2016 Billy Bragg and Joe Henry boarded a Los Angeles-bound train at Chicago’s Union Station. The aim was to make music on the way, and attempt to reconnect with the culture of American railroad travel and the music it inspired. The pair rode along 2,728 miles of track over four days. At various junctures the duo recorded classic railroad songs, both in waiting rooms and trackside, producing 13 tracks of guitar-led music.
Speaking with Noise11, Bragg explained the idea of the project further: “Railroad songs provided the bedrock of American popular music, from Jimmie Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman, to Lead Belly, whose repertoire provided several of the songs for this project. In this country, Lonnie Donegan’s 1956 hit ‘Rock Island Line’ sparked the skiffle craze, inspiring a generation of British teens to pick up guitars and form the groups that invaded American in the 60s, from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin.”
Further details about the project are set out in the video below. In the video Bragg explains “We want the noise; we want people to listen to this record and be with us on the journey.”
The songs covered in the recording are:
1. Rock Island Line – Traditional
(Recorded by Lead Belly, Lonnie Donegan)
2. The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore – Jean Ritchie
3. The Midnight Special – Traditional (Lead Belly)
4. Railroad Bill – Traditional (Riley Puckett)
5. Lonesome Whistle – Hank Williams
6. KC Moan – Traditional (The Memphis Jug Band)
7. Waiting For A Train – Jimmie Rodgers
8. In The Pines – Traditional
(Lead Belly, The Louvin Brothers)
9. Gentle On My Mind – John Hartford
(Glenn Campbell, Aretha Franklin)
10. Hobo’s Lullaby – Goebel Reeves (Woody Guthrie)
11. Railroading On The Great Divide – Sara Carter (The Carter Family)
12. John Henry – Traditional (Doc Watson)
13. Early Morning Rain – Gordon Lightfoot
The record, titled Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad, is released on September 23 and it will be supported by a tour.
