The Oxford American : The Southern Music Issue

The Oxford American's 2005 Southern Music issue and its accompanying CD arrived a while back. For me, Sammi Smith's whisky-voiced rendition of "This Room for Rent" is the highlight of the collection. "Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb", from the Pilgrim Travelers, is an entertaining piece of Cold War evangelical wackiness, and I was pleased to note that the insightful profile that accompanies it is by Bob Darden, editor of the Wittenburg Door, sometime gospel-music reporter for Billboard, and one of my former professors at Thee University. Zora Neale Hurston singing "Crow Dance", a black folk song with African roots, is of some historical interest, and there's a smattering of good tracks from big names, including a live recording of Elvis Presley's first public performance of "Suspicious Minds", to go along with the usual (for the OA) selection of forgotten bluesmen and eccentric, obscure garage bands and lounge singers.

It's pleasant to listen to, but for some reason doesn't have quite the same eccentric kick as previous iterations. None of the tracks send chills down my spine like the first time I heard, say, King Pleasure's "Swan Blues" or Esther Williams' version of "No Headstone on my Grave" from the 2003 collection, or Wilco and Billy Bragg's "When the Roses Bloom Again", Dolly Parton's "Silver Dagger", or Todd Snider's "Back to the Crossroads" from the 2000 collection. Nor do any of them make me laugh like Earl Scruggs and Billy Bob Thornton's bizarre hick-hop version of "Ring of Fire" from the 2002 version, although the DeZurik Sisters' intricately playful "Arizona Yodeler" comes close. Perhaps I'm becoming jaded.

Don't let me discourage you if you have the slightest curiousity about southern music. It's still better than just about anything you're likely to hear on the radio, it's pleasantly eclectic, and the accompanying articles about the musicians are entertaining and informative. And the OA, which is currently on its third life after relocating to Little Rock, Arkansas, could use the money. (Other online reactions to the music issue, mostly positive, can be found here.)