Part of the
Lomax collection of
Leadbelly recordings, this set focuses on Library of Congress recordings made between 1939 and 1943, after the singer had exiled himself from the South and moved to New York City. It's the singer's usual cornucopia of blues, work songs, spirituals, children's tunes and topical songs. The centerpiece is the title track, a nearly five-minute-long monologue about heavyweight champion Jack Johnson trying to board the doomed ship and his reaction upon hearing of its eventual end. The sound is grainy and scratchy, but far superior to other issues of this same material, and a solid addition to anyone's American folk music or blues collection.