TBGB Reviews…The Little Wonders & The Dixie Hummingbirds Live

Recordings from the Collection of Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music
The Dixie Hummingbirds and The Little Wonders
Field Recorders’ Collective 2007
www.fieldrecorder.com

The Field Recorders’ Collective is an aggregation of music enthusiasts dedicated to sharing priceless recordings from their collections with the public, not leaving them sitting on a shelf or stored in an archive, largely unheard and unknown.

This volume features traditional quartet singing from one regional and one internationally famous quartet: the Little Wonders of Havre de Grace, Maryland; and the Dixie Hummingbirds of Philadelphia, respectively. Both groups sing with minimal accompaniment: the Little Wonders with a guitar, and the Birds with guitar and drum machine (though for the record, I prefer a snare set to the synthetically repetitive pssst-thump of the drum machine).

Formed in 1941, the Little Wonders sang in the jubilee style over AM radio, as did hundreds and hundreds of local quartets across the country during gospel’s Golden Age. On the first eight tracks of the CD, recorded at the Brandywine Mountain Music Convention, the Little Wonders – Granderson Jones, Joseph Shivers, and Joseph Brooks – demonstrate that their style hasn’t strayed too far from their AM radio days. Listen to “These Bones Shall Rise Again” and “It’s Going to Rain” (Roberta Martin’s “Didn’t It Rain”) for some authentic quartet singing.

The Dixie Hummingbirds’ personnel for their Brandywine performance consists of Ira Tucker, Beachey Thompson, Paul Owens, James Walker, and guitarist Howard Carroll. Rev. Joe Williams, a former member of the Sons of the Birds, and Leon Bright assist.

The Birds’ show is well-tuned and organized, befitting a group that has been around since before the Great Depression. Their close, well-honed harmonies dazzle on “Beams from Heaven” and on the spiritual “Swing Low,” which interpolates “Swing Down Chariot” for a little uplift.

Speaking of uplift, “Don’t Give Up, Just Hold On” is a “little wooden church” song that showcases the Birds’ ability to stretch out a performance for maximum impact, even when, as here, the folk festival crowd is politely appreciative, unaccustomed to shouting in the spirit. Extended performances of songs such as “Don’t Give Up” and the CD’s finest track, “Help Me,” give listeners a true quartet program experience, where the groups’ arrangements were not limited to what could fit on a ten- or seven-inch single.

Howard Carroll provides a master class on quartet guitar on “Jesus is Coming Soon.” In his effortless riffs, one hears dozens of latter-day guitarists who emulated his style. And although Tucker handles lead duties for the most part, Beachey Thompson takes the microphone on the country-flavored “After the Rapture, Where Will You Be?”

Perhaps the only component of this project more significant than the music itself is the record company’s mission, which is to preserve traditional music, facilitate the sharing of older tunes and styles with younger musicians, and “when possible, provide funds [from CD sales] to the immediate family of the musician.” In other words, burning, not buying, this project has multiple negative impacts.

This is an enjoyable project, a precious glimpse into what quartet singing used to be like before electricity took over.

PLEASE NOTE: This CD is only available from the Field Recorders’ Collective website: www.fieldrecorder.com

Three of Four Stars