Sold Date:
December 21, 2023
Start Date:
August 21, 2023
Final Price:
$22.00
(USD)
Seller Feedback:
10926
Buyer Feedback:
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In 1972, the
renknowned and singular folk musician Roscoe Holcomb left his home in rural Daisy, Kentucky and embarked on a west coast tour with
Mike Seeger in 1972, which included a performance at The Old Church in
Portland, Oregon - a beautiful Carpenter Gothic church built in 1882. Decades
later, two particular reels were discovered deep within a pile of 1/4"
tape in a shadowy corner of the KBOO Community Radio archives in Portland.
Incredibly, those tapes contained the sole surviving evidence of a strikingly
intimate and raw performance by Roscoe Holcomb, whose cascading and haunting
banjo, guitar and voice echoed and saturated the room and hushed audience.
In contrast to Roscoe's rarely documented (and at times restrained) live
performances at folk festivals and television programs, Roscoe seems to have
felt more familiar and spiritually moved in the old church that night. Heard
here are standout versions of Appalachian folk-blues classics such as Single
Girl, John Henry, East Virginia Blues, Swanno Mountain and more. Once cited
as Bob Dylan's favorite singer, Roscoe Holcomb appears at the peak of his
powers here, showcasing his immense vocal talents on an extended acapella
version of "The Village Churchyard". The recording itself is warm
and mysterious, sounding like the room itself is alive with the spirit, while
the rumbles of trucks and hints of city sounds peek through the walls from
the outside streets. 160 gram black vinyl LP in gold & black color
reverse-board jacket. Co-release with Jalopy Records.