Shine a Light (Billy Bragg and Joe Henry album)

Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad
Live album by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry
Released 23 September 2016
Recorded Various railway stations between Chicago and Los Angeles March 2016
Genre Folk
Length 42:58
Label Cooking Vinyl
Producer Billy Bragg, Joe Henry
Billy Bragg and Joe Henry chronology
Tooth & Nail
(2013)Tooth & Nail2013		 Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad
(2016)		 Bridges Not Walls
(2017)Bridges Not Walls2017
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The Arts Desk[2]
The Guardian[3]
Popmatters[4]

Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad is a 2017 album of field recordings made by British singer Billy Bragg and American musician Joe Henry in waiting rooms and trackside at railway stations on a journey between Chicago and Los Angeles in March 2016. The project was conceived after Henry produced Bragg's thirteenth studio album Tooth & Nail at his home studio in South Pasadena. It was released on the Cooking Vinyl label on 23 September 2016. The project is named after a lyric in the traditional folk song "Midnight Special" (mistakenly credited to Lead Belly after a 1934 recording he made).[5]

Recording

In March 2016, English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg and fellow troubadour and producer Joe Henry set off from Chicago's Union Station with the intention of "reconnect[ing] with the culture of American railroad travel and the music it inspired."[5] They undertook a 2,700-mile, 65-hour train ride recording songs that ""reflect the railroad’s impact on the nation’s social and cultural life."[6] Woody Guthrie's Hobo’s Lullaby was captured at an Amtrak station in Alpine, Texas; the folk ballad Railroad Bill at St Louis Gateway station, Lonesome Whistle by Hank Williams in a sleeping berth near Whistle Junction, Missouri.[7]

A short documentary Shine a Light was made of the trip and streamed for free on the official website.[5]

Track listing

All songs performed by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry; music composers are listed below.

  1. "Rock Island Line" (traditional, arranged by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry) – 2:55
  2. "The L&N Don't Stop Here Any More" (Jean Ritchie) – 4:29
  3. "Midnight Special" (Huddie Ledbetter) – 3:34
  4. "Railroad Bill" (traditional, arranged by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry) – 2:49
  5. "Lonesome Whistle" (Hank Williams; Jimmie Davis) – 2:53
  6. "KC Moan" (Tewee Blackman) – 2:40
  7. "Waiting for a Train" (Jimmie Rodgers) – 2:46
  8. "In the Pines" (traditional, arranged by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry) – 3:31
  9. "Gentle on My Mind" (John Hartford) – 3:39
  10. "Hobo's Lullaby" (Goebel Reeves) – 3:57
  11. "Railroading on the Great Divide" (Sara Carter) – 3:08
  12. "John Henry" (traditional, arranged by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry) – 2:42
  13. "Early Morning Rain" (Gordon Lightfoot) – 4:13

Personnel

  • Billy Bragg – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals
  • Joe Henry – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica, vocals

References

  1. ↑ Deming, Mark (September 22, 2016). "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry: Shine A Light — review". Allmusic. Allmusic Group.
  2. ↑ Green, Thomas H (September 21, 2016). "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry: Shine A Light — review". The Arts Desk. Popmatters.
  3. ↑ Simpson, Dave (September 22, 2016). "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry: Shine A Light — review". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group.
  4. ↑ Frahm, Jonathan (September 20, 2016). "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry: Shine A Light — review". Popmatters. Popmatters Group.
  5. 1 2 3 "Shine A Light". Official Shine A Light website. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  6. ↑ "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry review – just the ticket". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  7. ↑ "Laying down tracks: Billy Bragg and Joe Henry take a railroad trip to the blues". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
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