Great British Skiffle 1948-1956 (Just About As Good As It Gets)

This is the kind of collection that may well flash right past most American listeners, which would be their loss. For the uninitiated, skiffle was a brand of music melding folk, blues, gospel, and country (with some elements of jazz) that was uniquely (and immensely) popular in England from 1956 until the end of the decade. For some mature listeners, skiffle constituted a lively adjunct to jazz (especially "trad," aka Dixieland), which was how the music came to be showcased in the first place; while for younger Britons, it provided a way into appreciating (and, even more important, performing) such uniquely American musical genres as blues and, later, rock & roll, for which there were no direct antecedents in English music. This nearly two-and-a-half-hour double-CD set, containing 55 cuts, would seem to be the last word in an overview of skiffle, but for the fact that it was merely the first of (so far) four such volumes from Smith & Co. It is a phenomenal jumping-off point, either for the longtime fan or the neophyte: most of the key bases are covered, including the major early contributions of Lonnie Donegan, Ken Colyer, Chris Barber, Wally Whyton, and the Vipers Skiffle Group, Johnny Duncan, et al. Beyond such expected fare, however, are contributions from such figures as jazz legend Humphrey Lyttelton; indeed, Lyttelton's instrumental cuts, and those by Johnny Parker's Washboard Band, are special highlights on a collection otherwise dominated by cuts with vocals; they put the music into a legitimate jazz context, while in other places skiffle's blues and gospel influences (often ignored in less ambitious compilations) are showcased. What's more, most of the best of the artists here -- and all of those named, would fit into that category -- know how to "swing" in the jazziest sense of that word. The result is a collection that not only shows off early skiffle at its best, but also the many sides of that music, which is mostly remembered today (outside of England, anyway) as the basis for a lot of future rock & rollers from the Beatles on down picking up guitars for the first time. American blues figures such as Leadbelly were obvious influences, but listening to this set, one is reminded that '20s and ‘30s jazz also contributed. There are also two direct American contributions on this set: one from Alan Lomax, who put out a skiffle recording with the Ramblers circa 1956 (which manages to embrace country and jazz within the same song, "Hard Case," and thus crosses swords with western swing), and Ramblin‘ Jack Elliot, who appears with the City Ramblers Skiffle Group on "Midnight Special." Those are just two of the surprises here -- most of the others are more of a home-grown nature, including the Ken Colyer Skiffle Group's all-acoustic-guitar rendition of "K.C. Blues," and acts such as Beryl Bryden's Backroom Skiffle and the Clyde Valley Stompers (featuring Mary McGowan). They're all worth discovering. ~ Bruce Eder|