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Gavin B. · 11-18-2009, 12:15 PM

Song of the Day
Notable Albums of 2009

2009 Notable Album: Midnight at the Movies by Justin Townes Earle

They Killed John Henry- Justin Townes Earle Justin Townes Earle has a double curse in his given names. He carries the last name of his father, legendary tunesmith Steve Earle, and he carries as his middle name the given name of his father's good friend the equally talented songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Justin Townes Earle's sophomore album Midnight At The Movies displays an adeptness and musical sophistication of remarkable, organic breadth and is as lyrically sharp as a lover's tongue as she is walking out the door. Justin effortlessly taps the romanticism imbued in the beaten-soled travelogues of Woody Guthrie; Midnight at the Movies is held firm by Justin's astonishing vision and conviction, yet roams o'er the vast landscape of American music without so much as a stumble.

They Killed John Henry is Justin Earle's retelling of the American folk lore story of John Henry the freed slave who "died with a hammer in his hand" in a race with a steam powered hammer to dig the Big Bend Tunnel for the Chesepeake and Ohio Railroad in Talcott West Virginia in 1870. Like his railroad counterpart Casey Jones, nobody is really certain if John Henry existed, however there is a degree of truth in every folk ballad.

Prior to the rise of extensive newspaper coverage of events on the American frontier, the folk ballad sung by a traveling troubador was a common method of spreading the news of significant events. Topical folk ballads sung by wandering troubadors were a method of spreading news events in 19th Century frontier America. A troubador was a sort of musical news reporter if you will. Unfortunately there wasn't a method of fact checking the events chronicled in a folk ballad.

There were plenty of Depression era newspapers and magazines around to confirm the existence of a notorious bankrobber named Charles Arthur Floyd when Woody Guthrie wrote the song Pretty Boy Floyd. However, there wasn't any media on the site of the Big Bend Tunnel iin 1870 to confirm the that a certain man named John Henry died in a race with a steam hammer to dig the tunner, but railroad historian Roy C. Long found that there was indeed Big Bend Tunnels along the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railway....and the C&O employed multiple black men who went by the name "John Henry" at the time that those tunnels were being built.

The legend of John Henry has become museum piece in the cabinet of American historical curiosities. The 24 hour news cycle and globalization of the news product, has made the troubador an obsolete profession Justin's version of They Killed John Henry breathes new life into an old tradition and he makes the legend of John Henry becomes something more than a lost postcard from the past.

11-18-2009, 12:15 PM	#148 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	Song of the Day Notable Albums of 2009 *2009 Notable Album: Midnight at the Movies* by Justin Townes Earle They Killed John Henry- Justin Townes Earle** Justin Townes Earle has a double curse in his given names. He carries the last name of his father, legendary tunesmith Steve Earle, and he carries as his middle name the given name of his father's good friend the equally talented songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Justin Townes Earle's sophomore album Midnight At The Movies displays an adeptness and musical sophistication of remarkable, organic breadth and is as lyrically sharp as a lover's tongue as she is walking out the door. Justin effortlessly taps the romanticism imbued in the beaten-soled travelogues of Woody Guthrie; Midnight at the Movies is held firm by Justin's astonishing vision and conviction, yet roams o'er the vast landscape of American music without so much as a stumble. They Killed John Henry is Justin Earle's retelling of the American folk lore story of John Henry the freed slave who "died with a hammer in his hand" in a race with a steam powered hammer to dig the Big Bend Tunnel for the Chesepeake and Ohio Railroad in Talcott West Virginia in 1870. Like his railroad counterpart Casey Jones, nobody is really certain if John Henry existed, however there is a degree of truth in every folk ballad. Prior to the rise of extensive newspaper coverage of events on the American frontier, the folk ballad sung by a traveling troubador was a common method of spreading the news of significant events. Topical folk ballads sung by wandering troubadors were a method of spreading news events in 19th Century frontier America. A troubador was a sort of musical news reporter if you will. Unfortunately there wasn't a method of fact checking the events chronicled in a folk ballad. There were plenty of Depression era newspapers and magazines around to confirm the existence of a notorious bankrobber named Charles Arthur Floyd when Woody Guthrie wrote the song Pretty Boy Floyd. However, there wasn't any media on the site of the Big Bend Tunnel iin 1870 to confirm the that a certain man named John Henry died in a race with a steam hammer to dig the tunner, but railroad historian Roy C. Long found that there was indeed Big Bend Tunnels along the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railway....and the C&O employed multiple black men who went by the name "John Henry" at the time that those tunnels were being built. The legend of John Henry has become museum piece in the cabinet of American historical curiosities. The 24 hour news cycle and globalization of the news product, has made the troubador an obsolete profession Justin's version of They Killed John Henry breathes new life into an old tradition and he makes the legend of John Henry becomes something more than a lost postcard from the past.