Bragg Billy / Henry Joe: Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad

Vinyl LP pressing. In March 2016 acclaimed singers Billy Bragg and Joe Henry guitars in hand boarded a Los Angeles bound train at Chicagos Union Station with the hope of reconnecting with the culture of American railroad travel and the songs it inspired. Winding along 2728 miles of track the pair recorded songs while the train paused to pick up passengers. In waiting rooms and at the track side in St. Louis Fort Worth San Antonio Alpine El Paso and Tucson they set up their recording equipment performing classic railroad songs while keeping one eye on the train bounding back aboard just before pulling out for the next town. After four days crossing the country they pulled into Los Angeles at 4:30am recording their final song in Union Station at dawn just as the first birds began to sing. The resulting album Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad takes listeners along on that journey and will be released September 2016 on Cooking Vinyl Records. The album features the perfectly matched voices of Bragg & Henry and captures the varied atmospheres and environments in which they recorded - from the close proximity of soft furnished sleeping cars to cathedral-like ambience of waiting halls built to hold thousands of passengers. Containing thirteen-songs originally recorded by legendary singers such as Lead Belly Hank Williams Jimmie Rodgers and more Shine A Light reveals an often forgotten but integral part of Americas musical heritage

1.1 Rock Island Line - Traditional Recorded By Lead Belly Lonnie Donegan
1.2 The LN Dont Stop Here Anymore - Jean Ritchie
1.3 The Midnight Special - Traditional Lead Belly
1.4 Railroad Bill - Traditional Riley Puckett
1.5 Lonesome Whistle - Hank Williams
1.6 KC Moan - Traditional The Memphis Jug Band
1.7 Waiting for a Train - Jimmie Rodgers
1.8 In the Pines - Traditional Lead Belly the Louvin Brothers
1.9 Gentle on My Mind - John Hartford Glenn Campbell Aretha Franklin
1.10 Hobos Lullaby - Goebel Reeves Woody Guthrie
1.11 Railroading on the Great Divide - Sara Carter The Carter Family
1.12 John Henry - Traditional Doc Watson
1.13 Early Morning Rain - Gordon Lightfoot


H 0.38
W 12.18
L 12.41